Antelop

I have a lot of other pistols but my favorite for backcountry (hiking, Dirtbiking etc) is Taurus .44 Magnum, 4" barrel in Titanium. Whole set up very light (like a composite 9 mm). Not the kind of gun you want to shoot a lot of rounds as recoil kind of punishing, but a great pistol and excellent peace of mind if you run into predator, 2 or 4 legged. I think it was in high $500 range, a good value. I spend some time in Rockies Backcountry. Most of the guys in the know will not take a pistol in less than .44 caliber. You dont have a chance against a Bear in anything less. My favorite qu

I have had good luck with Taurus even though they are reasonably priced.

Great question, failures have been reported with the Tromix DIY TG due to exactly what you are talking about. Bottom line, it might take the recoil or it might fail as has been reported on Forum. Yes there are 3 screws but only two take the recoil. The third is attached to front of TG which does not absorb recoil because the part is not monolithic. If one screw fails as has been reported the PG NUT portion will deform and potentially fail entirely. On the other hand there are many satisfied users of this product and it has gotten favorable reviews from most. Most folks love Tromix prod

If you dont want to modify your gun or want to use with multiple guns try a PAST brand Shoulder recoil pad. Fits very easy on Shoulder with a strap, not the gun. It has a visco elastic insert which absorbs shock extemely well. Ive had one for over a decade, and works great especially for Magnum loads or just plain shooting a lot of rounds. Not sure why it is not more popular, it's one of my most useful accessories for rifle. I just dont worry about shoulder bruising at all any more.

Whatever finish you use, you need two steps first if you want really good finish. 1) Dip whole thing in clean high grade solvent to remove all trace of oil and contaminants 2) blast with abrasive down to clean bare metal Then pick your coating. Duracoat is a little easier to use but Cerakote seems to be a little harder finsh And BTW there is no trigger guard on your pic, best to install first before coating. If you weld blast first. If you bolt on blast all the residual paint. Also totally reassemble your gun BEFORE you coat to make sure everything fits. Much harder to correct mista

In my opinion one should not worry about over gassing as there are a lot of remedies to this. Latter 3 hole gas port guns are notorious for difficulty with light loads but there are fixes for that too. Great thread on this Saiga light load cycling

ETAC does more than just add stuff. The primary increase in accuracy comes from Estebans way he crowns the barrel and the VERY sweet triggers that allow you to hold on target as round goes off.

Before this thread gets too far off topic, about the price, I have known Esteban for over 15 years and have never known him to price gouge. He puts in a lot of his time and only uses top quality parts. I have seen a lot of gun owners over the years initially stumble over a price for his work only later to boast loud and long about the fine weapon they got and the price is forgotten. To compare a custom rifle with a production one is not fair. When you get a custom gun from Esteban you get years of pride of ownership and the price is not an issue. Granted the price is a bit high but they are si

Thanks to Bigcec1 for the in depth report and agee they are both A+ products but here's my two cents. Agree they are both excellent but totally different. The Tromix one is stamped metal and does have a safety stop. The ETAC one is MUCH beefier and is designed to stabilize the receiver as well as "guard" the trigger. With the ETAC you can use the original factory safety stop if you DIY. On ETAC's own factory conversion they solve both problem by adding a safety stop pin which is a very nice touch. With ETAC's there is no question that the pistol grip nut will be perfect as the part is one pi

I wont comment on all the other stuff but about the test fire. If it is modified or converted, almost every insurance policy for those that manufacture or modify firearms require that they be test fired. If it's NIB then does not need test fireing but if it has been converted it almost has to be. If it's in "good condition" buyer beware.

3 cheers for Aresv. His references are great. For those that dont read all the references, Here are the take away points. All solid materials creep or deform but phenomena is more pronounced at high temps. The closer to melting point the more creep. For practical application of Guns, if the springs are properly heat treated and material is good expect less than 5% creep. I dont know what technical specs are for OEM springs but would guess the Russian engineers would specify heat treated creep resistant springs.

Fascinating thread because application seems to influence answer. For LEO or Military when weapon is in service, BHO, Mag inserted. When in storage trigger droped and bolt closed as is case for most rifles I can think of. However, not sure about the constant strain theory of springs not deforming the metal. I seem to recall from College physics that even rigid solids, eventually deform under strain, its just a question of time. If I recall correctly increased entropy and quantum theory demand even solid deform over time. HOWEVER, the time scale may be too long to matter in practical applic

I think no matter what happens we have seen the rock bottom low of Saiga prices and Conversions. If Izmash stops producing them or Obama admin tinkers with 922r there will be less supply of basic guns and conversions. I think anybody who remotely wants one should get it now. I just cant see how they will ever be cheaper or even possiblly available in future. About the domestic production of S12 idea, it might work if feds allow it, but it's got to be more expensive than the russian price now. Like I said if you want one, get it now. I recently ordered a rifle conversion after purchasing th

I think no matter what happens we have seen the rock bottom low of Saiga prices and Conversions. If Izmash stops producing them or Obama admin tinkers with 922r there will be less supply of basic guns and conversions. I think anybody who remotely wants one should get it now. I just cant see how they will ever be cheaper or even possiblly available in future. About the domestic production of S12 idea, it might work if feds allow it, but it's got to be more expensive than the russian price now. Like I said if you want one, get it now. I recently ordered a rifle conversion after purchasing th