jgillaspy

I found them on-line and sent them an email. They replied quickly and informed me that they had no more Saigas, but had a 5.45x39 for $389.00 and would have it in San Antonio for the Saxet Gun Show. I was out of town, so I didn't make it. At this point I'm looking at the Live Oak show Nov. 27 & 28. Maybe I'll have some cash by then, but I doubt it... JG

So, here I am 104 lbs later... Had to resort to Gastric Bypass, but man, what a world of difference! Before 7 months post op Man, do I feel better! JG

I am not and have never been a "tree hugger" type, but that kind of stuff is just wrong!!! 24 months is an insult to the animals that lost their lives. Had it been people that died it would have been murder in the 1st degree and likely held a life sentence. This was just wrong... JG

Thanks emr454 for the great deal! Pleasure doing business... JG

Exactly why I want a 5.45x39 to take to the Appleseed Shoot I'm doing in December... What scope and mount did you use? I was thinking about using Tech-Sights. JG

Check these guys out - lots of 10/22s and lots of info: Rimfire Central JG

If you could get the rail extended to the GB, then use a BUIS set, you could extend the sight radius by 75% and be able to use aperture sights easily. The issue quickly becomes the parallax you get at distance with the sights being 3+ inched above the bore centerline. This is what I was attempting to do when I first converted my 7.62x39, but gave up because of the sight height above the bore. JG

Not to stir the pot here, but adding a muzzle device makes the rifle a non-sporting firearm - 922r will then apply. Stick with your 10-round mags and have fun. Treat the rifle like a poor-man's M14. There are several excellent examples of this style firearm on this site. As I recall a muzzle device, >10-round mags and a pistol grip were all things that are considered, "non-sporting." JG

zfields, Have you looked into the "Monster Man Grip"? I believe it keeps you from needing the mag lock. Using it would allow you to move the FCG forward, yet not need the mag lock. I see on their site that the AK version is no longer being produced, but there are AR PG adapters out there that might allow you to use the AR version. This would allow you to do the conversion now and change out the PG when you get to Texas... Just thinking... JG ETA: Also, check out calguns.net. Lots of great info for those trying to make mods in CA.

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What do you intend to do with the rifle? If hunting is in the mix, go with the 3-9x40, if just target, go with the other. JG

Your best bet is probably going to be the Ultimak setup - picatinny rail on a gas tube and a tri-rail handguard. I use the gas tube / rail piece and it is solid as can be. They can be used independently and the gas tube / rail (upper HG) needs no modification to work, I'm not sure about the lower. From the site, it appears to not use the standard lower HG retention. JG

Actually, those come as part of the gas tube. You would need to replace the gas tube with a standard AK-74 one and grind it to fit. Dinzag sells ones already modified as do others I'm sure. Using the true AK-74 lower handguard retainer requires pressing off the Front Sight Block and Gas Block. There are tutorials in the Tech section. Again, Dinzag makes one (pricey) and there are tutorials out there for modifying the real one using a bolt instead of the lever. Good luck and welcome to the addiction! JG

If you want to see .22 cal (5.45x39) bullet holes @ 400 yds, get a spotting scope. The magnification need to see those holes at that distance (25 or greater power) would make target acquisition nearly impossible from anything other that a bipod. This is all about applied geometry - the greater your magnification, the less movement on your end needed to make a movement at the target. I have read many articles about inexperienced hunters out on expensive guided hunts that missed their trophy shot due to their inability to simply find the target in their scope. I have a friend that has a 12-24x50

Looking for a 1000M rear sight to add to my rifle (7.62x39). I have an 800M to trade if anyone is interested. John Gillaspy

My understanding is that the Saiga uses a "universal" side rail that can use both the SVD mount (goes on from the front) or the AK mount (goes on from the rear). You might want to try an SVD-style mount although it may alter the eye relief a little. JG

If you use a quad rail handguard this will work, and give you a fairly long sight radius. The issue quickly becomes how high the sight line is above the bore center axis. I had tried this with the UTG quad rail and the original DPHarms Beryl rail. If they would have had the integrated peep sight back then, I'd have never changed my setup, but I got frustrated trying to get a workable peep sight setup. It pains more than my wallet to spend $150.00 or more for a peep sight when I only spent $263.00 for the rifle. . . JG

I couldn't bring myself to go back Sunday. I was hoping someone would chime in here that they had picked it up - oh well. . . I hope that more will be available soon as I REALLY want one of them! JG

I can't believe it has been 4 months since we started this thread and we still don't have an optics forum or subforum. In the past if we've requested a new forum - BAM - it's done. What's up folks? JG

I was wandering through the Saxet Gun Show in San Antonio, TX today bemoaning the high prices and I found this gem. Offered by PDQ something-or-other was what appeared to be an unfired, but no box, 5.45x39 16.5" barreled Saiga for $298.00. I was floored, since if you can find one now they tend to be substantially more expensive that this. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds, or I would have walked out with it. So, I thought what better place to share the wealth than here. Their (PDQ's) booth is on the right-hand side of the building, near the entrance, about half way down the isle to the

Well, here it is; my latest acquisition and the rifle I with which i intend to spend most of my time during the Appleseed weekend's activities. Nothing special at this point, other than the 3 x swivel studs I added to it. I'll free-float the barrel sometime in the next few weeks. I haven't even cleaned it yet, although I did adjust the guide rods! I'll pick up several more magazines locally before I go as well. I may yet pillar bed the receiver, but with the synthetic stock I'm not sure it will do much good. Thoughts? JG

From what I can measure on the target, 1/4 turn = 3 MOA or 3/4 in @ 25 m. at least I know now. . . JG

Hey Al, Thanks! I'm trying to find the original over at the GunsNet forum, but I'm not having any luck. I want to make sire I get the dimensions correct (not compressed or skewed) so any measurements / changes I make to my rifle will be repeatable on down the road. . . At 25 yrds 1 MOA = 1/4", right? if that is the case, by the printout I have 1/4 turn is about 4 MOA?!?!? that just doesn't seem right. JG

Man, that is some expensive stuff!!! Looks great, but then add a MOLOT mount and I've spent 3 x what the rifle cost and it won't shoot past 450m. I think I'm going to have to build my own aperture sight and bolt it to the dust cover. . . At least I can control costs a little better. JG