Nimrod 0 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Just learned of Saiga. I have never held one...but hope to soon. I'm lookin for an auto in .223 or 7.62 that is accurate (hopefully more accurate than an SKS and a Ruger Mini). I also don't want to spend a ton of $$ on it. AR's are too much. (Saving up for nice 1911) 1. Why should I buy a Saiga? Should I consider something else? 2. How much $$ does it take to convert a 7.62 to accept regular AK mags? 3. Are there any other MUST HAVE modifications to do? If so, what and how much? Sights? 4. How is the accuracy? Better than Ruger Mini and SKS? 5. I'm leaning toward .223 just because I'm nervous that 7.62 may not be around forever. Any thoughts on that? I already know the ballistic differences. The cost appears to be about $15 per 1000. 6. What is the optimal barrel length for ballistics? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RangerM9 1 Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 Just learned of Saiga. I have never held one...but hope to soon. I'm lookin for an auto in .223 or 7.62 that is accurate (hopefully more accurate than an SKS and a Ruger Mini). I also don't want to spend a ton of $$ on it. AR's are too much. (Saving up for nice 1911) 1. Why should I buy a Saiga? Should I consider something else? 2. How much $$ does it take to convert a 7.62 to accept regular AK mags? 3. Are there any other MUST HAVE modifications to do? If so, what and how much? Sights? 4. How is the accuracy? Better than Ruger Mini and SKS? 5. I'm leaning toward .223 just because I'm nervous that 7.62 may not be around forever. Any thoughts on that? I already know the ballistic differences. The cost appears to be about $15 per 1000. 6. What is the optimal barrel length for ballistics? I'll let the conversion experts address those costs, but in order to use the high cap mags legally you have to also get into 922r compliance (federal reg) which wil require swapping some parts, easieest way to do this is to pistol grip conversion and trigger group change to USA parts. why get a saiga....best .223 for the money....just my opinion... DON'T WORRY ABOUT 7.62 going away in your life nor your great grandchildren's..... 20 inch is probably a bit better than the 16.... hope that helps... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rangerruck 0 Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 for under 500 buks, the answer is saiga, or keltec. as for bbl lenths , to get the most out of ballistics, you would need about a 30 in plus bbl. since that is not practical, anything from 16 to 22 inches will have nominal differences between them. this goes for all calibres, 22 rimfire on up. keltec has many parts that are interchangable with the ar's and it is very light, with a built in bipod, and they use ar mags. saigas are cheaper, dont have any spare parts right now, and you will probably never see hi cap mags that are factory. that being said i like the saiga better right now. it is also about 150 bucks cheaper. i have heard that the long bbls on ak style rifles get a lot of "whip" in them if you shoot them and get them even a little hot. there is some slow motion video of this on the net. i dont know if this holds true with the saiga, but you will not get this effect so much in a 16 in bbl for sure. simple physics. i have experience with a 308 that i really liked to heat up, testing out diff ammo, and the groups never went vert on me. that was with a 16 in bbl. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dinzag 31 Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Why buy? They're cool! Many accessories & parts out there. Standard PG conversion will run you +/-$100 in parts. (PG, Stock, FCG, hardware, etc...) If you can meet the U.S. parts count with the above, cost for high capacity mags is nominal. You need to add bullet guide to gun or mag and then shave the catch area on the gun or mag. I'd recommend mod the gun so you can rock in any AK mag. If you have a 6-32 tap & drill and a chunk of 3/4" black pipe - it's free. Other must have mods? The front handguard conversions are nice! Accuracy - 7.62 probably similiar to SKS & mini-30. .223 probably similiar to mini-14/AR. My Mini-14 shot 2-3" groups where my S-223 is 1" to 1 1/2". I've heard the opposite as well. For accuracy, go with the .223 round. For one, the S-223 barrel is larger on the o.d. and smaller bore on the i.d.. (Mo' metal) 7.62 will never go away. Barrel length? probably won't notice much difference between the two. I prefer 16's myself. Physics say 20-22" is better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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