glennb

Can't figure out how to modify the title. The mags were sold to a member of the club I shoot at. Thanks for your interest.

I have two steel 30 round 7.62x39 AK mags for sale. Both have their catch tabs shaved for use in a Saiga that has not had it's mag catch modified. One is in good condition, one has some surface rust and minor pitting around the reinforced area at the top of the mag. $12 shipped for both. Be sure you know your state and local regs before buying. *sold locally*

As I take stock in preparation to sell my converted Saiga, I just want to be sure I have the parts count right. I did the conversion a few years ago, following the popular tutorial, and added the following US made parts: G2 FCG, KVAR Warsaw length buttstock, Tapco PG. I was always under the impression that a Saiga sans muzzle device was at 15 foreign parts, and that I was good to go with the 5 US made parts. Anyone here see any flaw in my thinking or math?

Hmm, if it was just the iron sights that you noticed this with, I would suggest you check for a canted FSB. It would seem that putting a scope on would bypass any cant problem though; I don't read here enough to know if anyone has ever had experience with a Saiga showing up with a bent barrel, although it is probably not outside the realm of possibilities.

Two years ago the day after Thanksgiving the Dunham's here was selling them for $179. I bought the first one of the morning and got a pair of cheap shooting glasses thrown in to boot. Now mine has become a safe queen...

I remember some Olympic threads from the past, and I had concurred that the stuff was junk. But I just finished off the last 200 of 400 rounds yesterday, including bump firing two 30 round mags full without a hitch. I still wouldn't suggest anyone run out and buy the stuff without checking the rounds over, but with this current drought of good 7.62x39, I would buy it again, especially if it was under 4 bucks for a 40 round box.

I modified my original 10 round Saiga mag to clear the extended length of my bullet guide. I basically just cut out the material at the top front of the mag like a standard AK mag. It was a waste of time though; my kid mainly uses the Saiga now, and he doesnt want to use anything other than the 20 and 30 rounders.

Sixty Driver, great post. I never had a problem with any ammo feeding over my bullet guide till I bought some Olympic ammo, and found that with two of my 30 rounds mags the bullet tip would stop dead on the face of the guide. I thought of beveling the entire edge, but notching it looks like a great solution. Thanks.

Wolverine, the rounds were FMJ. The bullets don't have a cannelure, so any crimping would probably do damage. The biggest bummer was that I thought that a local buy with ammo under $0.10 a round was a good deal. Too bad I didn't do a little web search beforehand.

I also bought some Olympic from Gander Mountain when they were closing it out at our local store (I paid 3.95 per box of 40 though). I tok my son to the range last weekend with our Saiga and FAL. My son loaded up the mags for the Saiga, fixed a 30 rounder cycled the bolt and it jammed. The bullet tip was jammed against the edge of the feedramp. Cleared that and noticed the first problem with the Olympic; lack of crimp and cannelure caused the bullet to get shoved into the case quite a bit. Tried a 20 round mag which cycled all ok. No accuracy report though, we were shooting up a large galvan

The firing pin channel should be dry, no lube, as that attracts crud and causes it to stick eventually. I think the firing pin return spring in the .223 version would be a good idea for the 7.62x39 as well.

That seems to be about the lowest price I have seen for a NIB Saiga rifle. I paid $179 for mine at Christmas. I doubt that you will find one cheaper right now.

I heard of using shaving cream for cleaning the carbon off off gas pistons, but not as a bore cleaner. I haven't had had a can of shave cream for a while though, so I haven't tried it first hand.

monomonk, in the original configuration, you always have that transfer bar to contend with, which connects the trigger unit to the disconnector/hooks. Your MAK-90 has the hooks/trigger in one unit, which also shares the axis pin with and cradles the disconnector. Unless you go with the conversion, you won't be able to duplicate the trigger in the MAK-90. Before I did the conversion I tried polishing the entire linkage in place, with no decent results. You could modify the hooks (at your own risk of course), but you would still have to contend with the contact surfaces where the trigger meets t

The trigger and "hooks" in the OEM FCG are proprietary, and are connected by a transfer bar. There are plenty of variables there; you may have been lucky with your .308 trigger in getting one with a good feel. The "hooks" may actually be the biggest factor in your trigger pull; the trigger itself mainly pushes on the rear end of the transfer bar.

Nice shooting vjor. It sounds like you got a good gun there, and a far sight better than my Saiga. I also took mine out on Saturday, shooting both Wolf 122gr HP's, and some plain box Russian 122gr HP's (came in a green sardine can, burnt powder smells different than Wolf tho') and was lucky to get 18 rounds scattered all over in an 8" black at 100 yds., with 2 flyers outside. If my Saiga has the potential to shoot groups like yours, I sure haven't been able to wring it out of the gun.

charger, my bullet guide is .625" long, which puts it about even with the little shelf on the bottom of the trunion that the front of the mag catches on. I had to make it that long to get the cartridge to lift high enough to slip into the chamber without glancing off of the breech face first.

I used QD contact cleaner to blast the crap out of the receiver. I did not notice any harm to the finish, but I didn't overspray much, and wiped it off the exterior right away. I was a lazy man when I refinished the bare metal areas; I just used Birchwood Casey blueing, and gave the exposed metal a few treatments. It is so dark it looks black. Not a perfect match, but close enough till I feel like painting it.

The non-metallic feed ramp experiment ended after todays's shooting. Having shot about 600 rounds through the Saiga since installing the guide, I noticed cracks radiating from the screw hole. I am not sure if I over torqued the screw, but I noticed that the radius in the trunion and feed ramp are not a perfect match, and the added stress from forcing the plastic to match is too much for prolonged use. It looks like I will be completeing the pipe nipple based ramp after all.

Welcome rsring130. I ordered the Tapco PG. I had a grip screw that I picked up at a gunshow (Bulgarian take offs I think) The Tapco grip has no escutcheon, but does have what appears to be a washer in the recess in the bottom of the PG. I tried to fashion an escutcheon from my loose parts bin, but then my grip screw was not long enough. I just installed the PG with the screw head seated on that washer.(the head is just large enough) I recently bought a K-Var stock set and that PG does come with an escutchean. It is also a bit more swept back than the Tapco grip, and the U.S. stamp is externall

This plastic feedramp is still experimental. It would be great to get a few others trying it out and sharing experiences. I have not exposed the ramp to any harsh chemicals like PowderBlast and Gunscrubber. I don't use those at all. It held up to Hoppes #9, and QD contact cleaner which does a great job imitating a degreaser. That PVC may just melt when exposed to one of those other solvents.

After installing my PVC feedramp I took a trip to the range. I managed to get 300 rounds in before dark and frozen fingers took over. I burned through at least two 30 rounds mags at almost a bump fire rate, hoping to produce enough heat to check the bullet guide for any sign of softening. The PVC I ended up using was rated at 185 degrees F, compared to the dark grey schedule 80 PVC rated at less than 100 degrees. Only the breech face was slighly warm, the bullet guide and trunion were cold. Back at home I took a good look for any sign of wear or chipping, and only noticed that the 6-32 flat s

I am glad to hear someone else has tried the PVC, I started cutting it last night, and I will report back after I shoot up a significant number of rounds (getting to the range at this time of year behind the Cheddar curtain is definitely dependent on the weather). I would think that the initial wear would be to the square shoulder the edge of the PVC would present to the cartridge when it first leaves the mag. If it gets to the point that it would have to be replaced every 1000 rounds then metal would be the better choice. Heating is another variable; I am hoping the trunnion acts as a heat s

Why ("other than wear" -isn't THAT enough) ? That is what I am asking, other than wear what is the downside. I am just looking for considerations other than wear as wear is one unknown. Looking at the leading edge of the stock mag you can see wear from cartridges and that is some tough stuff like pistonring8 mentioned. I am thinking in terms of the dark grey PVC to make the ramp out of initially, then look for other materials at work or other supplier if needed. Teflon would probably be ideal. I don't think the feed ramp in an AK gets a lot of abuse as the rounds very nearly make the c

I have all I need to make a feed ramp now and I am wondering if I can just make the ramp from a plastic material. Other than wear, I don't see a downside, as the built in feed ramp on the mag is plastic. Some downsides may be solvent resistance, or the ability to be tightened down enough to stay in place, but I am hoping the Locktite will take care of that. I am only assuming the plastic will be easier to cut and shape than cutting it from the pipe nipple as shown in the tutorial. Any thoughts?