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Been thinking about picking up some steel cased Wolf ammo for my two Mini-14s and my 9mm and 45ACP handguns. I understand that Wolf ammo is steel cased and some of the bullets are steel jacketed. This doesn't bother me for the Saiga as its barrel has a chrome-plated bore and chrome is harder than steel...the AK family was designed to shoot steel ammo. But what about American rifles and handguns designed to shoot brass cased ammo? These have plain steel or stainless steel bores & chambers that may not be much harder than the steel used in the ammo. Will there be unusual wear of cham

When my unconverted Saigas begin to either bore or aggravate me, I'll convert 'em. From what I've seen here, the conversion work looks straightforward and maybe fun. Converting would be cheaper than swapping for another gun...but, would give you another gun. It's nice having something to look forward to. Until then, like another has already said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Bob

I didn't say the mini-14 was bad, mav. My old one shoots 2" to 3" groups at 100 yds. wearing glass. I think the mini-30 would've done the same if the scopes hadn't kept crapping out. Tip off came when it started shooting worse with a scope than it did with irons. Just picked up a new mini-14 with the heavy barrel. 580 series? We'll see how it shoots. Maybe shouldn't bait the AK elitists by talking Ruger. Bob

Yeah, I managed to get one too. Got it from Peach State Guns in GA. Good to deal with and quick shipping. With transfer fee and shipping, it worked out to $454. This one's got the 16" barrel. My other Saiga's a 20 incher. Can't believe how sharp the sights stand out on this one. My eyes struggle a bit with the sights on the longer barreled gun, even though they're the same. Guess the longer sight radius requires more focus range than old eyes are capable of. Bob

I had a Mini-30 for awhile. It wasn't horrible. Accuracy was on a par with my Mini-14. As I recall, it shot 4" to 5" groups at 100 yards with iron sights and rarely jammed; in fact I can't remember it jamming. Mini-30s have a .308 barrel; not the .311 that the Saigas have. I handloaded .308 bullets for it so that might be why it shot reasonably well. Off the shelf Russian x39 ammo is probably a poor choice for this gun. Even though I rarely sell guns, I sold that one. Its worst vice was that it regularly wrecked the scopes I put on it. Couldn't really tell how accurate it was

Same/similar here. Cabelas said 1000 rounds Wolf 122Gr. HP (black box) expected arrival at Cabelas on 5/1. 1000 rounds Wolf 122Gr. FMJ expected arrival 6/15. Cabelas has been pretty straight-up in all of this and the plastic dry box they throw in is actually useful. I've noticed Midway has jacked up prices some. They're about even with Cabelas now; but no dry box.

Thanks for the response, Norseman. Cutting back on the charge makes sense. With powder what it is today, I normally only put together loads with "starting" charges anyway....especially if they're to be used for practice. Maybe cut it back a little more and give it a try. Thanks for the CCI tip. I've got a thousand or so CCI LR Magnum and will set them aside for the Saiga. Bob

I've got a few thousand Large Rifle Magnum primers from various manufacturers and almost as many Large Pistol Magnum primers. OTOH, I'm a bit low on the standard strength primers of both types. I'm wondering if I can use these to reload .45ACP and 7.62x39. Anyone know of any drawbacks to using magnum strength primers in small capacity cartridges that really don't need them? Also, are slam fires going to be an issue in the x39 Saiga when standard sensitivity (non-military) primers are used? Thanks. Bob

Was at the gun show in Syracuse this weekend and stumbled across a few Marlin Camp Carbines going for about $450. I think they were all 9mm and they all looked like they had seen very little use. Found out later, Marlin also made them in .45 ACP. Also remembered that Ruger made something called a Police Carbine in pistol calibers that competed directly with the Marlin guns. Found a 2006 catalog that listed the Ruger in 9mm and 40. However, a search of the Marlin and Ruger sites found no mention of them...at least in the current product lineup. Looks like both have been dropped.

What type of primer does the PRVI PARTIZAN '90s issue ammo use? One of the big issues with reloading Berdan primed ammos is getting the spent primer out. The standard decapping rod won't work.

A thousand rounds or so of steel might smooth some rough edges. Burn up a case of that precious Wolf and then try the Fiocchi again. You know you want to.

Happy to hear that Ballistol works. Just got a couple cans of it....for the muzzleloaders, but haven't tried it yet. Lithium grease makes sense. Slick, cheap, stays where you put it, resists heat; dab a little on with an acid brush and you'd be good to go. Now I better go wipe the oil off that gas piston. Bob

Field stripped my new Saiga last night (still haven't shot it) and noticed everything seemed bone dry. Normally like to keep my guns well lubed but am aware that it can be overdone with a gas operated semi-automatic....especially if the ammo's dirty. What kinds of lubes are you folks using and where are you putting them? Anything go on that gas piston? I put a very light film of gun oil on that last night, but then had second thoughts once it was back together. Normally I favor Rem Oil and CLP and have a fair amount on hand. Is there anything that should be avoided? ...or is thi

Getting into the ammo Backorder queue at Cabelas isn't a bad idea. They let you backorder what you want and then fill the backorders, first-come-first-served, when a shipment arrives. The stuff never appears to be in stock because incoming shipments are already spoken for by the backorders. The prices are a little better then Widener's (much better if you're only ordering 500 at a time), plus they give you a plastic dry box/ammo can...for whatever that's worth. The delay between ordering and shipping can be a few weeks, though....not much different than Widener's in that respect.

My thoughts, exactly!

Sent you a PM Thanks, rangemaster, I'll get on it. Bob

Where did you find the IMI brass, rangemaster? I used to reload that for my Mini-30, but haven't been able to find any recently. I've got bullets, powder and primers. Wouldn't mind picking up another 500 cases. Handloading keeps me from going too crazy at the range. Bob

Well, I jumped right on this in hopes of picking up a 16" barreled version. Thought I had things set up with a local gunshop to respond to the request for the FFL#. Well, the ball got dropped....maybe by me as I'd never done this before. Apparently guns in stock go to the first customers to come up with a valid FFL. Got an update from customarms saying "waiting for FFL" and then another saying "out of stock" the next morning. Now they're gone. Too bad. The price was very good compared to my long-barrel Saiga (don't ask). Next time; more proactive. If anyone comes across more of

Thanks for the offer of help, Big Boss. I'll give it some thought. I'm sure the Saiga's trigger would be improved by a conversion, but will give myself a chance to get used to it first. I actually prefer the "dorky but dangerous" look of the Saiga over that of the "evil" AK. Kinda like an updated SKS. I've got a dremel, a drill press and some metal working experience, so don't imagine a conversion would be too tough once I knew what needed to be done. We'll see; the jury's still out. Thanks especially for the mojosights link. Most all of my other unscoped rifles have aperture sig

Hi, New here with new Saiga. Older guy living in upstate NY (Wayne Co.). I'm happy with the Saiga sporter stock and rearward trigger placement and plan to keep both. They keep my older eyes further from the rear sight which makes the rear sight picture clearer. Besides, I won't be frightening the old ladies in the neighborhood....anymore than I already do. I would like the capability of going to high capacity magazines with minimum work if the SHTF. Until then, I'll be happy enough banging away with the factory 10 rounders. What I'm planning to do is install one of Dinzag's bu

CDNN?? Sorry, not familiar. Need some mags meself. Bob On edit: Nevah mind. I have found CDNN.

Doggone it, Havoc, that avatar almost caused me to overlook crucial information. Oh, and thanks. Wideners got my order. Bob

Thanks for posting this thread, segasaiga. Was looking over my new x39 Saiga ('06 vintage) last night and noticed the same thing. Thought it odd, but figured someone had chosen a low mass firing pin, done the calculations, and determined the spring was unnecessary. Still, the comment about hard-primed military ammo doesn't always apply. I'll be shooting handloads in mine....at least until Wolf ammo availability improves. I thought, with components on hand, why not? Maybe this is "why not". Now I've got something to watch out for. Bob

Thanks, simple. Ordered one this morning. Bob

Hi, Newby making first post here. Picked up a x39 Saiga today and am trying to figure out how to adjust the sights. From what I can glean from the service manual, adjustments are all made with the front sight. The post screws in and out for elevation changes and moves left and right for windage. The SM also refers to a sight adjustment tool which I don't have. The bottom of the post looks like it is slotted but with a hole in the center. Does it require a small right-angle screw driver? What keeps it tight once elevation is set? Are windage adjustments made by drifting the cylind