Falcon73

My converted 22" .308 also has a bad fit with my Red Star Arms trigger. I noticed the slop when manually cycling the action after completing my conversion. It can slip far enough to the right to bind dangerously. To prevent binding I have just been pressing the trigger to the left before each shot, but this is a pitiful band-aid fix. By the way, the trigger hole in mine is 100% factory. I haven't measured either the trigger or the hole. Based on the excellent quality of the RSA trigger I have to guess that the hole is not standard AK dimension.

Thanks for taking the detailed pics of that handguard. I was considering that handguard for one of my Saigas but I am not pleased at all with that fit. Those gaps look as silly as the cheesy door on the bottom of my SAW grip. Based on your post and others it sounds like the feel is as bad as the fit. My hat is off to the Tapco guys for responding to the Saiga market but I wish they would refine the products a bit.

Dunham's Sports just received a BSA-labeled multi-reticle that looks absolutely identical to the Hakko MkIII Bed35. I just got to play with one yesterday and I was very impressed. Four reticles, very crisp, just like you described. They are priced at $79.99. I haven't seen a Hakko first hand, but I'd be shocked if this isn't the exact same optic sold under a different label. I intend to throw one on top of my converted .223 once I get a stock I like on it. It should be a sweet close quarters optic.

LOL! I'm with you 40Bikes. If I see another AR15 dressed like a sci-fi movie prop I think I may vomit. It really makes me appreciate the simple beauty of an uncluttered weapon, which sounds like what you are going for with your "Socommie". Still, I can't quite envision how an SKS stock is going to be modified to work with an AK receiver. I think you'd be better served with factory Saiga furniture for a non-pistolgrip style rifle, but don't let me rain on your parade. As far as the trigger goes, how you can tolerate the factory trigger is beyond me. Heck, if it's good for you, enjoy, just don't

The AK you saw is the new Century GP WASR 10. The stock IS the Tapco folder, and no, it ain't great. The first guy to market a nicely made folder that attaches directly to the back of the rifle (no adapter block) is gonna make some $$. I can't imagine why no one has made a GOOD copy of the Galil stock yet. By the way, I manage one of the top firearm departments in the Dunham's chain, so please know that not all Dunham's staff are boneheads that fold stocks backwards. Falcon73

You didn't mention whether or not you have converted to pistol grip, but if you have then do not get a factory Saiga mount. They angle backward to work with the longer factory buttstock rather than forward like a typical AK mount. It will put the scope right on your eyebrow. For clarification I'm talking about the EAA/Saiga high mount with built-in 1"rings. Excellent for original configuration Saigas, but not so hot for the rest of us.

I'm not sure why you are avoiding a US trigger group. Dropping in the RSA trigger will save you from fighting with normal AK trigger parts and spending money on other US-sourced parts. Money very well spent IMO. I have a RSA in my .308 and I LOVE it. No drilling, no cutting springs, takes care of 3 US parts, fully adjustable, irresistable if you ask me. If you give in and get one pick it up from BlackJack. He is running them a bit cheaper than RSA is and his service is top-notch.

I like the larger feel of the SAW grip, the angle I'm not sure about yet. I do like the way it "beavertails" along the bottom of the receiver. However, I was very disappointed with the construction of the trapdoor and latch. It is so cheesy I almost yanked it off before I installed the grip. The trapdoor itself is nothing more than a flap of plastic with a pin for a hinge and a flimsy bent-wire clip to latch it. I think I'll try the ACE Galil grip on my next one. The ergo grip just looks too...AR-ish. Before you know it you'll be adding telescoping stocks and handguards with rails. What really

The mag availability is a concern if you are spec'ing out a true battle rifle for use in worst case scenarios. Thankfully Daewoo came to the plate with his 20 round mag project. Assuming they will be delivered as hoped, nothing should prevent you from having all the .308 Saiga 20rd. mags you want. While they will not be true "mil-spec" I trust they will be far more than adequate for my use and will last decently into the apocalypse, or at least until I succumb to a government-engineered virus, flesh-eating zombies, or sex-crazed aliens and don't care about fighting off the evil-doers anymore.

Eston, I would convert to pistol grip (aids weapon control and shortens overall length) with a rigid buttstock (folders complicate things unnecessarily-you shoot from the shoulder unless you are in Hollywood), shorten barrel to minimum legal 18" (again to shorten overall length for mobility inside), mount a quality flashlight to the handguard (MUST IDENTIFY TARGET!!!), and install night sights (can't aim if you can't see sights). If this is your only gun then just get a flashlight on it for now and practice using it. It won't do you any good in parts or at the gunsmith. Practice moving throug

Doerdie is exactly right. Dunhams is the only major sporting goods retailer with the balls to carry politically incorrect firearms. The supply simply dried up. They are still for sale at a few Dunhams stores that have stock remaining.

In a nutshell: ....................Saiga .308.................Century CETME Fit/finish........Very good..................Fair - Good Function........Excellent....................Luck of the draw Approx $*.....$350-400...................$300-350 Condition.......New..........................Built off old parts kits Mags.............US 20's soon..............Cheap and plentiful 20's P-grip............No, but not hard.........Yes Trigger..........Poor..........................Poor *Add ~$100-200 to Saiga to convert to pistol grip depending on skill and parts I s

Thanks for the input guys. I had mistakenly thought the plum was more of a shade of black. Once I received my synthetic handguard it was obvious that the buttstock would have to be black to match properly.

Which color KVAR buttstocks have you guys found to be the best color match to the black FAL-style pistol grip (from Blackjack & others)? "Black" or "plum" obviously, but which matches more closely?

I'm getting hopelessly jealous hearing everyone drooling over my old stocks while my .308 sits naked awaiting the trade parts. I'm getting anxious here Lithium.

I wish I had known I could buy sythethics outright before I monkeyed around swapping my wood. Ah well, at least the wood went to someone who wanted it rather than sitting in my spare parts until hell freezes over.

Sorry cvasq, looks like you are pretty much up on all of what I covered in my post. I put it up as you were posting the letters. Thanks for making the effort to get the mag issue cleared up.

The big problem wouldn't be the mag, it would be the rifle that is able to use them. One of the reasons the Saigas take a unique (if only slightly unique) mag is to get them around being able to readily accept military magazines. If you convert it to properly function with regular AK mags then the rifle is in a configuration which could not have been imported and is a no-no to our ATF friends. Reasonable, logical, intelligent....hell no, but we are talking politics and gun laws, not common sense. Of course all is fine and dandy as long as it's a so-called domestic rifle with 10 foreign parts o

I knew you'd like it Lithium. Looks great. I think the wood looks so much nicer on the more compact rifles. Once I have my .308 tricked out with pistol grip, etc. and your synthetic handguard I'll post it for the world to see.

Thanks Servo, but the deal is looking good. If anything changes I will message you.

I have not used the AK or SKS stocks from ATI, but I can tell you the Mosin-Nagant stocks from ATI are definetly marginal in quality. I have seen many of them warped badly (brand new) especially the ones installed on Century's "Scout" M44's. I have looked at their AK and SKS stocks and they don't impress me at all. That combined with the poor quality I've seen on the Mosin versions is enough to keep me far away from them.

PM sent lithium. Thanks for the response.

I have a wood handguard and buttstock from a .308 to offer you guys. The hanguard-to-receiver screw hole is at least 1/8" off center on mine (new in box). They actually elongated the receiver hole to make it fit. It shouldn't be a big deal correct the handguard if you are fairly handy with wood. I'll trade my new handguard +buttstock for a synthetic handguard (prefer one from a x39 or .223, cannot be off a shotgun) + $20 if any of you want to mess with it.

I've tried the .223 and x39 synthetic handguards and they looked like they needed to be opened up a little more for the .308 gasblock. .308 fits the smaller calibers with a little room to spare, but the smaller cals. don't fit well on my .308 (22")without a little tweaking. Also, I have a wood handguard and buttstock to offer you guys. The hanguard-to-receiver screw hole is at least 1/8" off center on mine (new in box). They actually elongated the receiver hole to make it fit. It shouldn't be a big deal to fix, but I'm not interested in keeping my wood anyway. I'll trade my new handgua