TJohn
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Posts posted by TJohn
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The 7.62 with the dempled receiver should have the hole for the pistol grip already, at least the two 7.62's that I converted did. Actually all the rifles that I have converted had the pistol grip hole already,including the .7.62, 5.45, .308 and .223 rifles and some of these were non-dimpled receivers. The only rifle that needed a hole drilled for anything was the .308 which needed one screw hole so the new trigger guard would fit. .Sounds like you got lucky on the mag catch issue, I had to hit mine slightly with a dremel/file to get the surplus mags to work, i.e., snap in properly.
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I am not the OP but I used a dremel with a tungsten carbide bit with the mag catch still on the rifle. You have to watch to make sure you don't slip off the piece and mar your finish but it isn't difficult. Check the fit of your mag frequently till you get it where you want Like everyone has said it is best to use a steel surplus mag to fit the mag catch as the Tapco mags are a little thick in the mag catch area, but they will work in fine if you fit the catch to a steel surplus mag.
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I recently just purchased a new Saiga .308. After performing the trigger modification with a CSS kit I was in love with the gun. I put about a hundred rounds through it with no issue. However when I went to zero it at the range I began experiencing misfeeds/FTF using a brand new SGM 25 round magazine and wolf military classic ammo. The cartridge would. One up but not seat correctly in the chamber effectively getting stuck or wedged. I know these guns are known for their reliability. Anyone have any ideas to solve this issue and increase reliability? My first thoughts are grinding and polishing all the internals but I was hoping there might be an easier fix. Thanks again guys!
Ken
Did you experience the same problem with your factory Saiga mag? Try your factory mag if you haven't already, it sounds like more of a problem with the SGM mag rather than the rifle itself. It has been my experience that some SGM mags need fitting to the rifle in order to fit and/or work properly. You might look into a CSSpecs mag or Unita mags if you want greater than 8 round capacity. You could contact SGM for a replacement mag, pehaps the mag is flawed somehow.
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The trigger group you have pictured looks like the standard single hook Tapco group that everyone uses when they move the trigger group forward on a conversion. I am not sure that there is even an aftermarket trigger out there for Saiga rifles that will work without moving the trigger group forward. I haven't seen the stock trigger replaced without moving it forward. Since you have the trigger you might as well move it forward and get the rifle back to it's intended configuration.
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The red lacquer on the ammo has a tendency to stick in the chamber and make the diameter a wee bit smaller. Clean ASAP after range, or take a bore brush with you. That stuff is hard to get out if allowed to build up.
I had a Smith & Wesson MP15-R that I shot thousands of steel cased Monarch 5.45x39 ammo (the kind coated with the red lacquer) through and never had a jam or failure to extract, with very minimal cleaning. You will see lots and lots of red flakes and junk in your rifle but I never seen a jam caused by it. I believe the problem is more with the steel case not expanding as much as the brass in the chamber letting soot and powder residue build up in the chamber, rather than the lacquer itself. However, the lacquer does seem to get into and build up in the firing pin channel and under the extractor though, but I have yet to experience a problem from that.
try some WPA ammoI had a range trip yesterday and my ar-15 with a stag arms model 2 upper got stuck cases with tula ammo twice out of around 100 rounds. The chamber was cleaned before the trip. I've searched around about fixes and haven't found much. Is there anything I can do short of replacing the entire upper?
WPA ammo, you know the new polymer coated stuff, is the only type that I have seen jam in any of my 5.56x45 AR15's. That stuck case occurred using a Stag Model 4H upper, of course I had shot a mixture of about 80 rounds of various steel cased ammo (Wolf, WPA, Monarch, Siver Bear and Wolf Military Classic), then shot 30 or so rounds of brass and then went back to shooting some WPA polymer coated ammo and had a stuck case before firing off over 10 rounds of ammo. It was black soot on the case wall not lacquer.
BCM M-16 BCG's are the way to go for steel cased ammo. I use one in my 7.5" pistol and it has seen at least 1,000 rds of the cheapest steel cased shit you can get with ZERO jams.
The stuck case mentioned above occured with a brand new Stag 4H upper that came with a Stag M16 BCG, but I had decided to keep that one for a spare and dropped in a brand new BCM M16 BCG, and this was what I was using when the stuck case occurred. I had not installed the o-ring that came with the BCG as I was testing it to see if it was needed. The upper was cleaned and lubed before using as well. It is possible that the presence of the o-ring may have applied enough pressure to have extracted the case if it had been installed. I might install the o-ring and try again.
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Yes, except I'm pretty sure the rear locking tab/lug is not reinforced. The info doesn't seem to be out there, and I'm not brave enough to cut into a $25 mag to find out. The clear magazines don't have a reinforced rear lug/tab, so I assume the black ones don't either. The front tab/lug is reinforced, and it also has a reinforced front spine that's about half the length of the mag.
Disassemble the mag, i.e,. remove the spring and follower like you would for cleaning and run a good magnet around the body of the mag and see if it sticks anywhere. No need to cut up a perfectly good mag.
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Just did a saiga 5.45 conversion last month - yeah - you're going to have to file the mag catch - takes 5 mins, quit being a girl about it
Not always, I have done two 5.45 Saiga conversions and on one I did not have to touch the mag catch at all; and on the second I just had to do a very slight filing to work with surplus mags (nothing to the extent I had to with the 7.62 or .223 Saiga rifles).
Like others are saying, tnmarktx, the mag catch and bullet guides aren't really that big of deal after you have done one or two.
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Try this for info on Florida concealed carry: http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/index.html.
Each State is different. In Oklahoma if you have concealed carry permit, you can carry a long gun in the vehicle with magazine loaded but no round chambered; and of course you can carry your concealed carry pistol/revolver/derringer loaded and round chambered. In Oklahoma if you do not have a concealed carry permit any firearms in the vehicle must be unloaded, no rounds chambered and no mag with rounds inserted in the firearm. Additionally for hand guns if you have no concealed carry permit the hand gun must be in plain view in the vehicle.
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Gabe Suarez doesn't allow them in classes either, see here: http://www.warriortalk.com/showthread.php?49242-More-Serpa&highlight=serpa+holster+banned.
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Thanks for clearing that up. I just wasnt sure, because I have the tapco t6 with pistol grip attached. So either the kit comes with the hardware or I can reuse the screw that is currently in.
Do you have this stock http://store.carolin...NTRAFUSE/Detail?
or
This one http://store.carolin...BLE-AK47/Detail?
If it is the first one, it is for an unconverted Saiga and the pistol grip screws to the stock. If you are moving the triggergroup forward using this one you will have to move the pistol grip up to the original AK position in order for it to be in the correct place. I have one of these laying around, I will have to look at it and see what screw the pistol grip used. You will also have a little long area of the stock right behind the receiver which you wont have if you use the second stock mentioned above. If doing the conversion where you remove the sporter plate, you will definately need a pistol grip nut. You will probably need a different screw as well.
If you get one of the kits from CSS it should have everything you need in it. Hope this helps.
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As far as the sheperds hook/retaining plate, really it is your preference. Personally I think the retaining plate is easier. The Sheperds hook isn't that bad to install though either but there are different shapes and styles out there.
The Saw grips are economical, give you a more substantial grip and storage area for small parts, and are basically a pretty decent grip for the price. I eventually switched mine out for US Palm grips on my conversions.
You will most likely need to install the bullet guide on the 7.62 for reliable function with surplus mags. Neither one of the 7.62 conversions that I did would even cyle more than 2 or 3 rounds by hand before jamming and messing up the case on a round without a bullet guide when using surplus mags.
I ordered my Tapco trigger groups from CSS and I think that the disconnector spring was included with the trigger kit if I remember right. I have done seven basic buttstock, trigger group and pistol grip conversions so far, two each of the the smaller calibers and one .308 and I can't remember for sure at the moment, I have slept since then, LOL, but I think everything you need for the trigger group is included, at least in the CSS trigger groups I used. This helps alleviate some issues that apparently affected some Tapco triggers in the past.
Good drill bits are a must, the Saiga steel is quite hard. A good dremel tool is very handy.
As far as the trigger guard, like the grips and pin retainer method, it is up to your personal preference for the particular look that you are going for, if any. I like the Tapco stocks and grips, for economics and function, but I can't say that I personally care much for the look and fit of the tapco intrafuse tri-rail forearms (tried one, just didnt like it). I am sticking with the stock Saiga forearms for now. I have been thinking about trying one of the Carolina Saiga AR style aluminum forearms or something similar to the Midwest Industries/US Palm type railed aluminum forearms. At the moment, I am not caring if my rifles look traditional or not. I am not really trying to make my Saiga's look like an AR either, just the aluminum forearms seem more practical for my intended use of the rifles.
As for the other questions I will leave that for other members to chime in, as I just did the basic conversion only on mine so far. It sounds like you got a pretty good handle on what's needed and what you have to do to get there. Good luck on your conversion, there are lots of people here with good info if you run into any problems in the process.
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I think the retaining plates are easier, they are basically drop in on the .223, 5.45x39 and 7.62x39, at least in my experience. However, I used a shepards hook on my .308 conversion as the retaining plate required to much fitting to my liking to work on it. Most pistol grips will come with their own screw. I haven't used the trigger guard that comes iwth the built in pg nut, you might contact the vendor to make sure you got everything you need.
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So you got it fixed? If so, what did you do?
Did you shoot it before the conversion, and did it work then?
Did you intall a bullet guide? If yes, perhaps you got it too far to the right in the receiver and it is not letting the bolt rotate closed.
12vman said: "The only thing I did different on this one is that i re used the disconnector spring out of the saiga and put it in the tapco group.....could that be it?"
That should be fine unless there is some problem with the tapco group. There apparently have been some issues in the past with this.
Did you function check the trigger group after installation but before installing the bolt and recoil assembly?
Have you checked your bolt to see if it is gunked up or if there is something impeding the movement of the firing pin?
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I am suprised and frankly somewhat disappointed that someone hasn't mentioned JB weld due to it's populariity with bullet guide installations. After all JB Weld is an one stop fix.
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If my memory serves me right, it should be just forward of the factory trigger under the Y shaped yolk that connects the factory fire control group to the stock trigger.
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Like everyone above said, the BHO is up to you, I left it off all my conversions (saved the parts if I ever decide that I want it in. I just used the stock safety; haven't heard anything bad about the Krebs safety, appears it could be quite handy. The saw grips are an improvement over the skinny stock grips, but I wound up using US Palm grips on all my conversions (they seem similiar to Magpul grips for AR's).
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Straydog is right, hammer and punch is the best way to remove a broken tap, they are really brittle.
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I have two, one on a M1A and the other is on a AR15, just using Russian slings on the Saiga's so far. The MS3 seems well made, and seems pretty durable. It is easily adjusted and the locking clips are a nice feature too.
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Your comparing products that where developed under massive government projects, with annual volume in the millions of units.. Rather than owner funded, and volume in the low thousands of units....
Well said! I for one am glad that you had the incentive and took the risk to provide an alternate source of mags for the Saiga .308, and have a continuing interest in improving them as possible. Options are always good to have.
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When I first got my csspecs mags in, I thought, geez these are heavy (but really they are pretty comparable to surplus steel ak mags in weight anyways). I have three csspecs 10 rounders that have been flawless so far, no feeding issues whatsoever, they have functioned 100% . They fit tight in the magwell on my Saiga .308, but no so tight that they are difficult to insert. In other words, no fitting was required to make them work. The followers on mine seem to work just fine. I haven't ran them through a class, but they have had lots of rounds ran through them and haven't experienced any feed problems when stored loaded for extended periods either.
They do not click in when inserted like the stock mags do, but they do lock up just fine. I thought about possibly hitting the mag catch a little bit with file/dremel, but I dont want to mess up the way the stock mags fit and I need to try more csspecs mags to see if there is any variation on lockup between different mags or production runs. With the csspecs mag locking up fine, I didnt see the need to file any on them, although it is reassuring to hear the click when inserting a Saiga/AK mag.
The stock Saiga mags and csspecs mags are my preferred mags for the .308. I like them much better than SGM/Surefire mags, as I had to do some filing on my Surefire mags to get them to lock in.
If I had one complaint about csspec mags, it would be that I don't have enough of them.
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Any of these worth buying.....
http://ammo4guns.com/223_5.html
Whats a good bullet weight for a Saiga barrel twist?
It should run fine with any of those on that page. I usually run wolf, WPA, Tul ammo, Silver Bear and Monarch through mine, just depending on whats available. I have shot very little brass cased ammo through my Saiga rifles. I have constistently stayed with 50, 55 or 62 grain ammo, basically due to price and availability.
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Do you have a picture of it installed, looking down at the top of the rifle? Does it touch the gas tube? or What kind of clearance is there?
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The biggest thing I see that needs to come off with these mags is the very front of the feed lips on each side (maybe 3/16 or 1/4 inch from the very front corner on each side of the mag to where the lips start to rise going toward the back of the mag).
Careful here. The amount of variation between these rifles is so great that what works on your rifle can screw things up on others. I had to remove material from the feedlips of the Weigers, but doing so on the Circle 10s would have resulted in wobbly mags. As you said, they need to press against the lugs at the top front sides of the mag wells in order to lock up tight. Everyone has to determine for themselves what fitting steps (if any) are needed for their own rifle. It's sad that that's the case, and is the reason why I wouldn't buy another Saiga 223. An SLR106 would be a better choice, and will work without modification with the Circle 10s.
That is true about the potential variation between rifles, but that is why a person needs to periodically check/test fit the mags, while in the process of modding the mags. Just like the interdiction tabs, I didn't have to do much on mine, but I have seen pics on the internet where people have took them off to the point of notching the mag well under the mag catch. It does help if you have the top cover off and bolt pulled so you can look in from the top and see how the mags are or are not fitting.
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With respect to the clear/smoke circle 10 twenty round mags that I use in my .223 Saigas (a 2006 and 2009), I took very little off of the interdiction tabs on two .223 conversions. On the last one I am not really sure that it needed it all that much, but did seem like mag insertion was a little easier, but the mags were inserting before i touched the interdiction tab. The biggest thing I see that needs to come off with these mags is the very front of the feed lips on each side (maybe 3/16 or 1/4 inch from the very front corner on each side of the mag to where the lips start to rise going toward the back of the mag). It also eems like if you leave those corner bumps (where the little metal nubs stick up on each corner of the mag) on the front of either side of the front corners of the mag, that the mags will lock up very little or no wobble.
Good price on new saiga .308 16"
in Saiga .308
Posted
That sounds about right in the current market, before the election the cheapest Saiga .308's that I saw locally were going for $565 or more.