Willie D

Flip a coin/roll dice. All of those are roughly equivalent. I've shot all and never thought any particular brand was significantly better than another.

The 8x42 scopes are massive. That alone would keep me from putting one on an basic AK. Reticle wise: I actually think the German reticle is less busy (I've used other scopes with that type) but I like the idea of the bullet drop chevrons on the regular POSP (although I think only the 4x24 scopes are properly calibrated for x39).

I don't think it's unreasonable to want to be able to price items without sending an email. What are his prices like compared to the competition? I assume they are higher but you get the satifaction of knowing your credit card number isn't floating around the Eastern Bloc.

Didn't Tromix do G3 sight drums?

Yes, E-clips do the same thing. You can also just modify the retaining wire that comes stock with the Saiga. People seem to prefer the retaining plate because it's easier although I don't find the wire particularly tricky unless you also want to put the BHO back in. I ditched the BHO after conversion because I felt that it got in the way of the trigger and because it's not standard for an AK anyway. YMMV.

Matte finish. Something like this works well: http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-Stove-High-Spray-Paint/dp/B000B91036/ref=pd_sbs_ol_1

Saigas are the best buy for the money. You aren't buying a parts gun. But here's the dirty secret: all AKs pretty much run the same. Some stamped Romys will outshoot milled Bulgarians. Some Saigas are better shooters than Veprs, some are not. Unless you want to start talking about Galils or Valmets there is really no hard and fast performance scale.

I dunno, I think this falls under the "If this was a good idea, someone would have done it before" category. 5 rounds in exchange for the possibilty of the follower binding or otherwise malfunctioning? No thanks. re: The SKS Aside from the higher manufacturing cost (which is one reason why they fell out of favor but is not really relevant for the surplus buyer), the main disadvantages for the modern user are weight, trigger, and the fact you can't really "top off" when reloading. Even with its horrible trigger, my SKS could outshoot may Saiga, at least until the barrel

This is nudging towards picking up a POSP (especially since prices for Kobras and PK scopes just went up again). How much is Kalinka's shipping? Do they take Paypal? I'm really leery about sending my credit card numbers to ANY eastern european country...

I used blue. I did have one instance of the screw coming loose after cleaning with near boiling water (corrosive ammo cleanup).

Your final zeroing should be from how you intend to shoot (standing, whatever), but zeroing from the bench is fine because it removes (mostly) one variable to your shot placement. I myself wouldn't do most my zeroing from standing because fatigue is an issue for me before too long. Also, using mixed ammo almost certainly worsened your results. Different ammo shoots differently.

Get her a .223 A recoil pad might help but other than that there isn't any way to significantly mitigate recoil without adding weight (which defeats the purpose for small shooters). I ended up building my wife an AR which she loves.

Tapco stocks aren't too expensive and the quality is decent (not as good as a milspec CAR, IMO) I know a lot of people will disagree, but I can't stand the AR15 style buffer tube stock on any rifle that doesn't require a buffer tube. I'd rather have the more significant space savings of a true folder. Since I use 6 position type stocks at 2-3 notches out, 'folding' saves me an inch and a half. Big whoop.

Are you a large or small man? These are questions that are hard for others to answer. On my S12 and one of my AKs I use the ACE Med length stock, with the one inch recoil pad. I am 6"04". I could have went with the longer stock and still used the 1" pad, but I find that a slightly shorter length of pull is faster for the type of shooting I intend to do. im on 5,8 ... warsaw is shorter right? Warsaw is shorter. Maybe by 1.25" or so. I've got the NATO length but if I did it again I'd get Warsaw. The rifle was designed for the shorter length stock. As for flat or round bulle

Waranty wise: I do think it's a good idea to put 100 rounds or so thru the rifle before conversion so if anything major pops up, RAA will fix it. Price wise, I'd say for a bare minimum conversion $120 including shipping and hardware is probably a realistic number. $60-ish for the Grip+Stock $30 for the G2 (there isn't any compelling reason to put the BHO back in) $25 for a Dinzag bullet guide.