saiga: thumbhole stock trigger?

[badbadtz560]

Is there any reason not to buy a saiga with the thumbhole stock?

I'm thinking of getting a .223 version and making it look similar to a dragunov

I once heard that the triggers on the saigas were bad and should be swapped out when converting to an AK. Does this still hold true on the thumbhole stock versions? Can someone link me to a better trigger to swap it out with?

 

[sarduy]

if you want to use the thumbhole or skeletor stock , you dont need a new trigger, if you want to convert it you may want to look for a different trigger.

edit: if you want a dragunov look, make sure you get a 20'' barrel

 

[nalioth]

Both the thumbhole and monte carlo stocked Saigas have a trigger linkage in them so they can be used with their 'sporting purposes' buttstock.

Dinzag sells a modified trigger group for those wanting a better trigger, but not wanting to fully convert their Saigas.

Personally, I find the factory skeleton/thumbhole stocks to be very unbalanced.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Couple comments. First, there are now at least two different thumbhole stocks available on the Saiga: a black plastic one that is very chunky and uses the far-rearward trigger location; and fairly new wood ones that look nicer and appear to have the trigger in the location where it would be on an AK, or if the Saiga had been converted to AK design. The latter first appeared on .308 Saigas, but now appears to be available for other calibers. See this link for what I'm talking about:

http://www.centerfiresystems.com/SAI-308TH.aspx

So, which of those two are you asking about?

Second, I have shot the stock saiga .223 (non-thumbhole stock, not converted) and find the trigger not to be too bad for what it is. It's not a 0.5 MOA bolt rifle, but the trigger isn't worse than many other comparable rifles. It does have a rube goldberg mechanism because of the adaptation around the silly import restrictions, but lubing the moving surfaces helps somewhat.

 

[nalioth]

First, there are now at least two different thumbhole stocks available on the Saiga: a black plastic one that is very chunky and uses the far-rearward trigger location; and fairly new wood ones that look nicer and appear to have the trigger in the location where it would be on an AK, or if the Saiga had been converted to AK design. The latter first appeared on .308 Saigas, but now appears to be available for other calibers.

Only the .308 Saiga is available with the trigger in the standard position. I suspect this is because it's not the friendlier clone of a military Kalashnikov.

The rest of the standard Saigas will all have the rearward rube goldberg trigger arrangement.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Gilbert's Guns claims to have in stock the same configuration as the .308 wood thumbhole, in .223 and 7.62x39mm:

http://www.gilbertsguns.com/Rifles/Saiga/Saiga+M+7+62x29+21+8+Thumbhole+Rifle

http://www.gilbertsguns.com/Rifles/Saiga/Saiga+M+223+21+8+Thumbhole+Rifle

I think these are brand new off the boat.

 

[nalioth]

Z-Michigan, those are Saiga-M rifles, not standard Saigas.

They are being built in the former Molot factory, I believe.

I don't know anyone who has one that can report if they have square receivers (or slant cut) or what.

I DO suspect they are built on 1.6mm receivers, but my suspicions may be way off.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Interesting. Does Saiga-M by Molot = VEPR?

Very interested to learn more on these. The pictures are poor resolution, but from what little I can see I don't see any of the RPK type bulges I'd expect.

 

[nalioth]

Interesting. Does Saiga-M by Molot = VEPR?

Popular conjecture says so.