Groovy Mike

WHOA! That is one fine avatar!

CSS low brass reliability kit solved the problem in my S12. I did not try the parts seperately I just replaced the puck, plug, and spring at the same time and enjoyed flawless semiauto mag dumps This makes me happy.

SUCCESS! the low brass reliability kit from CSS let me feed, fire, and eject EVERYTHING I put in it including federal target loads and the same reloads (17 grains bullseye behind an ounce of shot) that failed to eject before. I am a happy S12 owner now.

30 grains of HS6 behind an ounce of #8 shot works great in my S12. So too does 30 grains of HS5. The only other reload I have tried is 18 grains of Bullseye behind an ounce of #8 shot. It failed to reliably eject. I would be interested to see if anyone has a Bullseye, Red Dot, or Herco load that works well in the S12.

If I can get the first one up and running the way they should, then I'd consider a second...

Hope to try the CSS low brass kit in mine tomorrow. It has been shooting full power loads just fine, but target loads fail to eject 90% of the time.

Bought the "low brass reliability kit" from Carolina shooter supply and it is already en route to me. It will give me a replacement gas plug, spring, and puck. I'll swap them in and put another couple boxes of shells through her and let you know how I make out! http://store.carolinashooterssupply.com/servlet/-strse-967/Saiga-12-low-brass/Detail

I have all the same questions. Rather than fight through the frustration of trying eighteen "fixes" that might work, I want a good gunsmith to send my Saiga 12 to and get it back running flawlessly. As an alternateive, my gun could become a parts gun and I could buy a saiga that runs like it should. Anybody have recommendations for either solution?

You see the forum venders, right? I see you are in teh northeast. I'm in upstate NY. Can you recommend anyone close to us?

Thanks guys. Ok, I'll slow down. I read through the linked pages and I will try it. I'm sure every single S12 owner feels exactly as I did - high hopes for the ultra-reliable AK design and then frustrating disappointment when the dang think doesn't work like it should! Some gunsmith could make a fortune just specializing in making the S12 work like it should! It won't hurt to order an extra 'improved' plug either. If I can get this one running I'd love to have a second anyway but dang why didn't they build the thing right to start with?

My Saiga 12 will function just fine with higher pressure shells (factory loaded buckshot or my own higher pressure hand loads) but will not cycle with factory target loads. They just don’t have enough pressure to cycle the gun no matter where the gas plug setting is set on. I have tried opening the port in the gas plug without it making any difference. My next step is to open the gas port in the barrel to let a little more gas into the gas system. I only see one hole to bleed gas into the gas system from the barrel. Any reason why I shouldn’t do it? I'm thinking maybe a 1/8 drill bit….