photoshooter

Very nice! I especially love the folding stock.

There's a good thread on the subject going on here.

The Saiga 7.62x39 and .223 rifles have 1" of barrel out in front of the front sight block, so this brake has been threaded deeper to account for this. I guess I interpreted his description to mean that the threading doesn't start at the edge of the brake so that it will go over the non-threaded area of the barrel as well. It isn't really clear though.

Hey YW, sorry I somehow missed this post. I put the SureShot on my Sig 522 and had some fun with it. So far I like it and it works as advertised but I was shooting 22LR. It would probably hold up ok on an AK but it's a $30 holo sight so I don't have very high expectations. At some point I'd like to get something better but it's low priority. I think you did better by going with the Bushnell. Looks like it gets good reviews. I still have a Primary Arms microdot floating around; I may put that on an AK but for now I've been having a lot of fun shooting iron sights.

I was poking around trying to decide which 74 style brake to get and saw the description on Dinzag's brake: This is a '74 style muzzle brake that is threaded 1.00" deep. These are all safe for calibers up to 0.308". The Saiga 7.62x39 and .223 rifles have 1" of barrel out in front of the front sight block, so this brake has been threaded deeper to account for this. Normally AK barrels stick out 9/16" in front of the FSB tower and the brakes are threaded 5/8" to 3/4" deep inside. **note: the 1/2-28 is not threaded 1.00" deep, only standard depth. So in TR's case where the shroud was cut all

Something I've been wondering; instead of cutting the shroud and threading the barrel 14x1 can you skip that step and thread the shroud 24x1.5? Just curious.

From what I've read two issues I can see with that are holding a zero since there is some play in the dust cover. Also there's a thread elsewhere on here where someone is having trouble getting their side-rail on the rifle because it won't slide past the rear mounted Tech Sight. I have a set of Tech Sights on one of my Ruger 10/22s and I like them very much. I had been considering getting them for one of my AKs too but for now I've decided to stick with the standard sight placement. Edit: I read over some of the posts again and a side-mount is only a problem if it sits low. A higher m

I started to cut my shroud with a pipe cutter but it wouldn't go all the way through. After spinning it around for a while and creating a nicely defined channel I was able to finish the job off with my Dremel very easily. I cut 1/2 inch off my shroud because that was as much clearance as the pipe cutter would allow. I may try to cut away a little more if necessary but not until I get a muzzle break. I've heard some people cut right up to the front sight block. I'm not sure how far back the barrel is threaded.

Mine is also March 13, 2009 so I'll assume your baby has dimples and a threaded barrel too.

No sorry, didn't mean to mislead. I've decided to go with that combo but haven't purchased them yet. My Saiga is currently in pieces on my bench so no use ordering the sights until my conversion is near complete. I'll be sure to post my thoughts on the setup along with pics.

At this point I've decided to go with the Ameriglo front dot sight and Krebs rear. I couldn't find too much in the way of reviews either but I'm starting to suspect that the Ameriglo and Meprolight front sight are the same product sold by different companies.

Looks like I'm going to be the guinea pig here since I already have a set on order. I'm not into rails so mine will sport the simple look. I have to be honest I ordered this set before I saw any pics. For under $70 I was (and still am) willing to take the risk. I really like the feel of the Hogue rubber grips so I was very intrigued by the idea of having a handguard in the same material. I would have bought the pistol grip either way so if I end up tossing the handguards I'm only out about $45 or so. The pics they posted are of a prototype. Sounds like the actual product doesn't exist yet

I'm no expert but every time I see a post on the subject the AK74 style brake has been recommended. It looks like you can get a US made version in all price levels from the Tapco at under $20 to the Krebs custom for $65. edited to add: KVAR also sells one. Just be sure to get the right size (or adapter bushing) for attaching to the front sight block or directly to the barrel.

I posed the question in the thread at sigforum to Ken at Hogue about whether the parts are US made. The Grips are US made parts and are tagged "US Made" In regards to the forend parts, I asked one of the owners here if this will be a USA made part, He Said, "We have not discussed it but Yes, it would be in our best interest to mold these part in our Paso facility" Tooling is currently being designed, the part you see above are rapid proto-types of the design thus far. I will know more next Tuesday as to a firm answer to the USA MAde brand for these parts and report back. No dou

I prefer quality items and in general more metal, less plastic suits me fine. I often see references to the cheaper handguards not having metal heat shields. I would always opt for a metal heat shield for my own use but just for the sake of conversation I'm sitting here tinkering with the stock Saiga handguard and see that it does not have a heat shield either. It has a small metal reinforcement panel at the very front of the handguard. It's about 2 1/4" long and looks to be there primarily as an anchor point for the sling swivel. I find this interesting. I still prefer metal.

Mine is March 09 and I have a threaded barrel. I'll bet you do too.

Yes. Woo hoo!! Good answer RD. I was getting a little concerned. I ordered the whole set in desert tan. Now I just have to be patient for three months I guess my restoration will have to take on a different look while waiting.

To anyone who is using the Hogue AK pistol grip - is it a US made product?

Same here, I've been really eager to do a traditional style conversion with nice wood furniture but I keep getting sidetracked by all of the options available. I couldn't resist this set either so I placed an order. It's getting ugly. If I were to do a conversion in each style I like I'd end up with a pile of Saigas. Not that there's anything wrong with that

I like the various Hogue products I own especially the rubber overmold grips so when I saw AK furniture sets listed on their site I ordered "sight unseen" as there were no pics posted. I figured that if the furniture matched their existing AK pistol grips I was sure to like it. Today Ken from Hogue Inc posted pics and details on another forum. Just thought I'd share for anyone who may be interested. I don't want to break any forum rules so I've edited the original post and removed pricing info so it doesn't read like an advertisement. (there are no links to mfg website, only to pics on im

Have you looked at the Tapco offerings? I think the Intrafuse upper and lower handguards can be had with or without rails. CSS handguard page Edited to add: Hogue has just come out with rubber overmold AK handguards. They are listed on their website but I'm not even sure if they're actually available yet. I ordered a set and have yet to get confirmation. In any case if these are as grippy and comfy as Hogue's rubber pistol grips I'm going to love them. They have rail sections that can be installed or left off. Here is a pic from the SHOT show a few weeks ago. Edited again to add:

I appreciate all of the research your putting into this especially since I'm currently in the market for iron sights. I agree that any of these options would be an improvement over the stock sights. Using the Krebs rear peep sight, the MeproLight front seems like a good match since it's a circle/dot and would be easy to center in the rear aperture. I have Meprolights on my Sigs and like them. I've seen the AK front and rear set from $80ish to $135 but I haven't found any place that sells the front sight only. When I'm ready for sights I'll be fine with either the Mep front or XS stripe.

Disclaimer: I have ZERO experience in this area but will soon be doing the same exact thing. My thought was to put the bushing together with the brake using Loctite effectively creating a single unit. I don't know if this would work or not since I haven't gotten that far yet...

My feeling exactly. I have an SGL20 in plum and I feel that removing the plum stock is a no-no. I've decided not to mess with the Arsenal but will instead keep restoring Saigas with all of the other options I like.

Nice work and of course the gun looks much nicer with the brake on it.