Lone Star Arms

Congratulations, brother! He's beautiful!!! Mike

"Do any of yall run recoil buffers on your rigs/do you recommend them?" We don't usually install them unless a customer specifically requests it, and this is exceedingly rare. Black Jack buffers are primarily sold as a recoil reducer, and for that purpose they aren't effective at all. What they are effective for is preventing your bolt carrier from hammering and deforming your rear trunnion. If your gun is tuned properly for the ammo you're shooting, you probably don't need one.

Taking a couple of coils off the recoil spring lowers resistance, theoretically increasing low end performance. The caveat is if you like to shoot high powered stuff, without something like a blackjack buffer, you're more likely to damage the rear trunnion. What you are referring to as the 'piston' is the 'op rod'. On this platform, the puck is actually the gas piston, and a slightly off center impression where it contacts the op rod is more common than uncommon, so unless it's way off, or you start to see cracking where the op rod inserts into the bolt carrier, I wouldn't worry about it.

Without mods I doubt it can be coaxed to reliably run the stuff you're shooting. CSS sells reduced power springs that might lower resistance enough to get the 1325 - 1350 FPS shells to run without having to get into modifying the action and gas system. If it runs 1450 - 1600 FPS ammo as is, it will definitely run the lower powered ammo with correct modification, but as it's a "new" clone, no one really knows yet how well it will hold up over time.

Note: Posts advertising non-LSA vendor products which are not currently available have been removed from this thread. Brothers, if you have a truly useful or great innovative KS-12, Saiga 12, or Vepr 12 product you want to mention in relationship to Lone Star Arms high performance work , I welcome your input here, but if you advertise it to MY customers, It better goddamn well be available, and work "as advertised". Lone Star Arms does not endorse "vaporware," or allow advertisement for products which are not "as advertised" or available when referenced. One warning only. Mike

Present... and still building extreme high performance Kalashnikov platform shotguns, and loving every minute of what I do..... What are you up to these days, brother?

"I'm fortunate enough to not lay on my death bed wishing I would have. It makes all of the things about the business that I hate worth it (paperwork, sales tax reports, the occasional customer who refuses to read and follow instructions and it leads to some sort of shipping debacle, etc.). I'm definitely not doing it for the money, lol. " Well...that's at least mostly true! There are likely (especially in the Trump economy) many other things we could be doing to make a buck, and at the end of the day, along with taking care of our customers, we do need to eat, and to feed our families. But, and this is a big "But" (pun intended), there is nothing more satisfying than delivering the absolute ultimate in whatever it is one does, and knowing that at the end of that build, you have absolutely "delivered the goods" for your client. As the economy continues to expand, there will no doubt be a great number of self styled "gurus" "instant experts", and snake oil salesmen showing up on the forum. The typical pattern is to: A). Write extensive posts building oneself up an absolute and unassailable "Expert", devoting particular attention to one's unique "Genius" and "Extraordinary Abilities". B). Disparage, and tear down established forum vendors and regular forum contributors in a way that completely demeans and discredits them and their contributions to the community. C). While actively discrediting others, copy whatever it is they (the originators) are doing and (with emphasis) pass if off as their own. D). To promote/hawk/sell whatever it is they are attempting to sell/pass off at the expense of others. At this point the forum, its membership, and its management have separated the wheat from the chaff. The members, vendors, and forum staff who remain are those who are A). All of those who are truly dedicated to the platform, and B). Those vendors who deliver good value for money. The forum, and the platform around which it is organized have undergone a true "trial by fire", withstanding, a long period of political adversity, various con men, hucksters, and snake oil specialist (you all know who), assaults on the 2nd Amendment, political turmoil, and outright bans. Through all of this, we have remained a tight knit community united in patriotism, a respect for the 2nd Amendment, and true passion for AK platform firearms. My take is that things continue to get better from here. Anecdotally, we are are seeing a tremendous uptick in interest in interest in AK platform shotguns nationwide, and customers (throughout the US) are enthusiastically voting for the platform with their guns and with their wallets. My customers today are bright, educated, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, motivated, dedicated to 2nd Amendment rights, and affluent enough to commission exactly the work they want without compromises. This is a very, very good thing. I continue to do what I do because I LOVE what I do. I love the platform, and ultimately I need to pay my bills. Artist stuff.... Yep. For 30 years before I started building guns for a living (and ever since), I have worked as a designer, Silver and Goldsmith and have at it. My Jewelry work has been sold in the Smithsonian, Museum of Man, Museum of the American West, Autry Museum, Verkamps at the Grand Canyon, The Heard Museum, and numerous art galleries throughout the US, and in Europe and Japan. Yep. I'm a real, honest to God artist who chooses to build guns. No brag. No bullshit. No self aggrandizement. Why do I do it? Because I absolutely love it, because I'm extremely good at it, and because my customers are willing to pay me what my time is worth for what I do. Honestly, I am absolutely blessed to do exactly what I love to do.

If that works for you, stay with it!

From the photos, the receiver actually looks pretty straight, unremarkable. Would have to have the gun in hand to confirm, but from the photos It does look like there is (at least) bilateral constriction of the carrier path directly at the front trunnion. Saiga 12 cycling issues are seldom attributable to just one factor. The guns are made from a combination cast, forged, machined, and milled parts, and are assembled by hand at the factory, so cycling issues are not uncommon and can be fairly complex. As Anthony (Evl) has pointed out, receivers are often torqued in one direction or another from the factory, and this is a primary suspect (when all things being equal) a gun simply isn't cycling properly. IF mechanical constriction at the front trunnion is the issue, going after receiver geometry with a file is strictly "Appalachian Engineering". Don't do it. There's alot of DIY advice on this forum, and frankly among the gems, is a vast minefield of absolute turds. The best advice I can give you is to proceed carefully and cautiously, and if after doing your best, you find yourself in the minefield, don't hesitate to contact a forum vendor for professional work.

What you need to look for is any corresponding deformation on the barrel extensions, areas surrounding lug channels, around the outer edges of the chamber, and on the forward leading edge of the hammer. Pay particular attention to the "shoulder" on the right hand inner portion of the front trunnion just ahead of the forward most edge of the RH carrier rail. For what its worth, it looks like the slightly deformed edge is rolled back from continuous contact over a long period of time. As Tony pointed out, poor factory fitment is most likely the cause. At this point, I doubt the wear on the bolt has anything to do with the cycling issues you're experiencing.

Edited: Meant to reply to a different topic.

Good to hear you're well and happy, Jerry. Ditto on Dave's "enjoy what you've earned" wishes!