555JM

You folks talking Bullseye; where are you finding it? It's a favorite of mine, but I haven't seen any in stock for well over a year. Recently I was able to latch onto some RedDot. Also have a fair amount of Promo, so I'm not exactly hurting. Truth be known, I've probably got enough to last me the rest of my life, LOL Over the past year I've been loading .38 Spcl wadcutters and 200 gr. .45 acp target loads with Alliant e3 using RedDot starting loads. Seems to work OK, but I haven't chronoed anything. Plan to try e3 in 9mm, but going to start pretty light.

It's strange. For me, ARs are like motorcycles and tattoos. I've tried to get interested, but can't.

Never say 'Never'; but I doubt I'll ever go AR. Not really a fan of SA rifles to begin with and the utilitarian aspect of the Saiga perfectly matches the practical purposes I have in mind. With my current contingent of Saigas plus a couple of Mini-14s, my SA rifle needs are well met. I've tried to get interested in the AR platform, but it doesn't work for me. Plus, being in NY, there ARE restrictions. For that reason, it's good that I left the Saigas unconverted.

Last one I bought a year or so ago was under $300. Front sight's canted, no reference to R.A.A. anywhere, match-striker patch where I'd expect to see R.A.A.; but I love it. Somehow it came with a chamber that doesn't mutilate the brass. Finally an x39 Saiga I can reload for. Do the current 7.62x39 Saigas still mutilate the fired brass at the neck? I'd buy another if I could be sure they didn't.

Left mine stock as it came out of the box. It's fine for my purposes and I like the sporter look. It's just a Truck gun. Took some razzing whenever I mentioned that here. Then along came NY's S.A.F.E. Act. Had I converted it, I would have to register it. I'd rather own a gun that's not on anyone's list and not upsetting to the overly sensitive among us.

You and me, both. I regard them as cheaper, tougher, more reliable versions of the Mini 14/30...and I happen to like the Minis. As a mfg. engineer, I lived by "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" for many years. The sporter Saiga ain't broke. If I want fine triggers and better balance, I'll shoot my hunting rifles. This has turned out to be the right approach. Here in NY a converted Saiga now has to be registered; not so if unconverted. I'll take unconverted/unregistered over converted/registered any day.

I found that video, Sim. The problem that guy had was much more serious than what I had. With the gaps his rifle had, front & rear, it looked like something in his receiver was stretching or being battered. Mine has very small gaps, front & rear.

OK, I fixed it...for now anyway. Tried another recoil spring assy. per Sim. Helped some but noticed the cover still very loose at the front. So I put the orginal spring assy. back in the gun. To fix it, I used a metal fluting plier that was in my tool box. Went at it as though I was going to use the tool to deepen the dimple that's on the front of the cover. Gave the tool a firm squeeze and then checked the fit. It was about perfect. The tool didn't deepen the dimple noticeably, it just changed the curvature on the front of the cover to a slight interference fit in the groove under t

Convert here in NY and you'll have to register your rifle. I see you're in IL, so laws probably not as stupid...yet.

The top (dust) cover on my unconverted '09 from TGI is so loose it rattles when you carry the rifle around. Tried another dust cover and it was the same. Thinking of pinching the sides of the cover in toward the rear (button) end. Before doing that, thought I'd ask to see if someone has a better fix. Tried search, but not so good at that & came up dry.

I had a squib load today from one of those, and after I cleared the barrel the next one hang fired. Same box. When I opened the chamber on the squib a bunch of green and brown shit that looked like sawdust came out of the shell unburned. Had to tap the bullet out with the cleaning rod. First time getting one of those. Just shot the rest of it off. Not hunting with it. Had 2 boxes. They grouped shitty too. Using different ammo. Thanks for the post, rnem. Not what I hoped to hear, but forewarned is forearmed. Unfortunately, I've got quite a bit of that ammo...forgot I had some and order

In NY, we don't need no stinking 10th round (or 9th or 8th). In fact, if we load any beyond the 7th, we're Class D felons. Guys that commit negligent homicide get a lesser charge. Consider yourself lucky. /whine

Does anyone have field experience with using the 154 gr soft point Cabela's (Herters) is currently selling? I ordered some this morning and hope to use it for deer. Range where I hunt will be 120 yards or less.

I've got both stepped and unstepped Saigas. Only reloaders will have a problem with stepped. I have some unfired 7.62x39 brass that I reloaded for the stepped Saiga. Almost all of it cracked at the neck after the second firing. Haven't tried reloading for the unstepped Saiga yet.

To cut down on flash and noise, I'd try starting loads of a couple of the faster powders. IMR 4198 and AA1680 come to mind. The old red Lee manual had .223 loads for both, but the latest version seems to have dropped 1680. You might have to visit the Accurate Arms site to get the latest data. Don't get creative. Stick with published data.

The thing I don't like about Ed's Red is the Acetone. Besides being very flammable, it eats plastic. Get sloppy and your TAPCO furniture will bear the scars. Ed made a surprise appearance in a HighRoad thread a few years ago when this drawback was mentioned. Said Ed's Red would perform as well in a 3 part mixture (Equal parts kerosene, Mineral Spirits, and ATF) that leaves out the Acetone. I've been using that way since as a cleaning solvent. The solvents (kerosene and mineral spirits) eventually evaporate but the ATF which stays behind to protect metal. The Ed's Red "variation" d

The thing I don't like about Ed's Red is the Acetone. Besides being very flammable, it eats plastic. Get sloppy and your TAPCO furniture will bear the scars. Ed made a surprise appearance in a HighRoad thread a few years ago when this drawback was mentioned. Said Ed's Red would perform as well in a 3 part mixture (Equal parts kerosene, Mineral Spirits, and ATF) that leaves out the Acetone. I've been using that way since as a cleaning solvent. The solvents (kerosene and mineral spirits) eventually evaporate but the ATF which stays behind to protect metal. The Ed's Red "variation" d

Maybe they did see the A Team reruns. For all the shooting, no one ever seemed to get hit. They probaby think a Mini-14 is like a kid's cap gun. Shhhhh.....don't say anything to wake 'em up.

Same here.

That's about what I figured. Did see the AE .223 at Natchez. Got there just before it sold out. Couldn't make myself hit the check-out button. Looked like a rip-off, plus the shipping was high. I've already earned the "hoarder" merit badge, so I can wait for prices to fall. Guess it's back to muzzleloaders for awhile. In its own way, it's just as much fun. Slower paced, but that's good for an old guy.

A quick perusal of my usual sources (Midway, Powder Valley, Lucky Gunner, Wideners) didn't come up with any. Cabelas doesn't even show .223 in their caliber list when searching ammunition. So where are folks finding the stuff? I'm not in bad shape and do reload; but have gotten addicted to shooting the steel-cased stuff because there's no searching for spent brass. Just trying to keep my inventory intact while shooting up a few hundred rounds a month.

Mini-14s are starting to look better and better.

What company in financial straits would be willing to stock pile any product which could be banned with a stroke of a pen? One with a crystal ball, or, lacking that, one that's made big donations to Obama's campaign. Risky, I agree. But risk is where the gains come from and it's a risk that many a LGS took. Ideally they'd warehouse them in Texas and ship them back to mother Russia if a ban is imminent. Hard to take these gambles if $ are short.

It seems that if they maintained a well-stocked warehouse here in the states, they could distribute guns as needed to their retailers at the going rate. If some kind of panic was going on, they could supply the retailers at higher rates and make a buck. What businesses are finding is that this is no longer a country where you can expect tomorrow to be much the same as yesterday. Everybody is getting jerked around by Obama and the panic of the moment. 'Just In Time' inventory management was cool when people knew what was going to happen. With what's going on now, planning for contingenc

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/01/americans-buy-enough-guns-in-last-two-months-to-outfit-the-entire-chinese-and-indian-army/ And where were all the Saigas? Was looking around for 7.62x39 and .308 Saigas a month or more before Newtown and this latest AWB scare. Got what I need, just wanted to see what they were going for. None were in stock. If you wanted one, you had to go on Gunbroker. IZHMASH could've dug itself out of its financial problems it had had product to ship. Hope this lesson isn't lost on those guys.