Deaden

This thread has convinced me (rather quickly) to stay away from LTLs. I was planning on buying a pump shotgun and using them in the case of a burglary to gain the upper hand in the law. Guess it wouldn't have, really. I am curious, though. What if a burglar is shot and is unarmed? Would using this argument: "I wasn't sure if he was, and I wasn't going to take any chances," work in most cases?

They saw his Saiga-12. So they... taught him how to load it on a closed bolt.

I think I have, but it's been a while, so I'll look through them again. As for ammo, I've considered using more expensive stuff, but that usually means less shooting. I might use it just to break the gun in more, but I'd prefer to be able to use the 100rd value packs, as I don't make a lot of money, but love to shoot a lot when I can. Using bandaid fixed can save a lot in the long run. Spending 50-100% more on ammo... not so much.

If only everyone could afford to buy premium ammunition to plink with.

EDIT: I'm sorry about the crappy camera, but this is the best pic I could get for now. Can you kind of see where the finish is fading a bit? In some lighting conditions it's very noticeable, in others it's almost not even visible. I'll try to get some better ones in the near future. Federal Value Pack, 1 1/8 0z, 2 3/4". Yes, I have the lighter recoil spring from CSS. Once I grab an MD booster puck, I'm going to try the factory one again. I've fired about 300-350 rounds. Mostly value pack. Some high-brass bird shot. I'm going to be trying some Winchester

High setting as in more gas flow. I think it's setting 4(or 3) on the V-plug, and it's setting 2 on the factory. I'll try to get pics. What's mostly happening to the gas tube is that the finish seems to be kind of fading. I'll be taking it out to shoot again in a month or so with the new gas puck. If the problem persists I'll post pics here of this orange residue.

I did some searches but couldn't quite find the information I was looking for. When I try firing low-brass value pack ammo, I have to keep the gun on a high gas setting. Problem is, I get this weird orange residue on the gas tube, which I believe means it's being overgassed. It goes away after a while, but it's wearing away the finish on the tube (which isn't a super big deal to me cosmetically, but I want to make sure I'm not damaging the gun itself). Currently I have installed these parts: A lighter recoil spring from CSS. The V-plug from MD Arms. And the E-Tac twister puck. I

Just about any small file will work. Doesn't need to be anything real specific. I've heard of one guy who even used a nail file (not recommended lol, might take a while).

Sounds like you just need to do some fitting on your mags.

My Russian sledgehammer is finally in a state to be shown!

Nope. I reused the factory BHO with no modifications.

I tried 2 different standard twister pucks in my low gassed gun and both were extremely unreliable with federal bulk birdshot. The gun would stovepipe 80% of the time if not worse. I popped the twister puck out and put a KA puck in and the gun runs 100% with federal bulk. All other things being equal. I then popped the KA puck out and compared it to the factory puck and the gun cycled better with the KA puck. Really? I haven't tried my twister puck yet (hence the "I thinks"). I'll bring my factory plug along just in case.

Someone did a pretty extensive review of the autoplug. The result was a decent gas plug for higher powered stuff, but it's a bit of a reliability sacrifice, for versatility. Do a forum search of it to read the review for yourself. A new gas puck is a good idea. I think using the twister puck my E-Tac keeps your gas system a bit cleaner. Overall, I don't think they notably impact performance. They also add a compliant part.

I'll be looking into some R&Ls. I've been waiting for a mag that will work nicely with pouches. The $55 range is a tad steep, though. I'm sure I'll buy at least one, but I'd like a mag that I can really stock up on. Either way, this magazine NEEDS to happen. The design sounds perfect. Definitely preordering one. +1 to that!

Great tutorial! I'm almost done with my own conversion using this tut as a guide. What kind of paint did you use?