Ammo2Fm 1 Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Who sells these and how much? Are they a pain in the arse to install and are they made to be a direct fit to the saiga-12 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kresk 10,063 Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Halo Mfg. sells them here: http://www.halomfg.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=59&category=0 To install you just take off the lower handguard as well as the rear sight and they screw on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ammo2Fm 1 Posted November 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Who sells these and how much? Are they a pain in the arse to install and are they made to be a direct fit to the saiga-12 Found it thanks allot ! Ordered it today on the secret saiga charge card. I gotta watch for that UPS truck if my wife opens that up and sees the reciept I am sure to get my ass handed to me!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kresk 10,063 Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Be forewarned--you're going to have to do a lot of pounding on that dovetail front sight to get it off since it's pressed on at the factory, but it WILL eventually come off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
getitat 609 Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Stratton/Tritium I don't know why you would want to remove your rear dovetail sight....The Halo will fit perfectly over the top of it if you just narrow it down a touch off each side. I suppose you could perform the same dremmelling of the channel in the Halo as well, but it's a lot easier to access the sight on the gun. Even narrowed down, it's perfectly serviceable, if you ever needed it, or decided to sell the gun sans Halo, or whatever... Respectfully posted, Guido2 in Houston Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kresk 10,063 Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Stratton/TritiumI don't know why you would want to remove your rear dovetail sight....The Halo will fit perfectly over the top of it if you just narrow it down a touch off each side. I suppose you could perform the same dremmelling of the channel in the Halo as well, but it's a lot easier to access the sight on the gun. Even narrowed down, it's perfectly serviceable, if you ever needed it, or decided to sell the gun sans Halo, or whatever... Respectfully posted, Guido2 in Houston Just a matter of personal preference I guess. The sight can always be remounted should the necessity arise. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kahrak 2 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Not all of the Halos are direct fit. On mine the screw hole was far enough off that it will have to be modified in order to fit. Tony at Tromix discovered this and said its due to slight differences in the mounting of the gas block on different Saigas. Its not a big deal to fix, but just something to be aware of. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KySoldier 2 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Yeah, the guys at Halo told me about that when I bought it. Said I might have to dremel a little on the piece that fits alongside to make it fit. That I didn't have to do, I just got stuck with the rear sight not wanting to come off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ammo2Fm 1 Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I will proably just duct tape it on anyway no big deal I use duct tape on all my conversions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hoop762 0 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I just got stuck with the rear sight not wanting to come off. Just use a bigger hammer... when i replaced my factory with krebs sights, i beat on that rear sight for about an hour and went through 2 punches and 2 screw drivers. Just make sure you support the gas block properly and swing away. I ended up having to take a 4lb sledge hammer to it to get it off. Be persistant... I will proably just duct tape it on anyway no big deal I use duct tape on all my conversions. Hells yeah duct tape!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
getitat 609 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Stratton/Tritium I don't know why you would want to remove your rear dovetail sight....The Halo will fit perfectly over the top of it if you just narrow it down a touch off each side. I suppose you could perform the same dremmelling of the channel in the Halo as well, but it's a lot easier to access the sight on the gun. Even narrowed down, it's perfectly serviceable, if you ever needed it, or decided to sell the gun sans Halo, or whatever... Respectfully posted, Guido2 in Houston Just a matter of personal preference I guess. The sight can always be remounted should the necessity arise. Oh, I was under the impression that it was a "un-redoable" modification...I just didn't want people to think they had to permanently mod their S12 to get the Halo to fit. (Although I suppose dremmelling off a bit of rear sight is kinda permanent...<G>) Respectfully posted, Guido2 in Houston Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Azkamidaka 26 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I dont know guys.....all i used was a jewlers hammer and a screw driver. No lube, no sledge, the damn sight just popped off with 7 hits to it. I got lucky with the gas tube though, my Halo lines up nearly perfect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pointer 21 Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Heat it up a bit and see if that helps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cesiumsponge 0 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 I figured I'd reply to this thread a tad late since I just got mine installed. I ordered mine in anodized. The fit is great and very snug, and the finish is utilitarian. The parts are as-cast and there is no apparent machining work done on it. Most of the casting has fine pebbled texture. There are some rougher spots with end mill texture and several areas of casting flash (mainly on the side rails). Calipers show some slight variation in rail size (~10 thou) but its no biggie as most medium-to-high dollar rail-type accessories can be adjusted for individual rail fit. These don't affect functionality at all as the finish on a Saiga is about the same level. AR15 snobs might be nitpicky about it but they don't count. Considering the Saiga-12 is a relatively small market, I'm happy anyone produced a product at all. The only downside I can think of is cast items are always a tad heavier and don't have the refined look many of the machined AR15 rail systems have. There is plenty of room for someone to mill off extra material that isn't needed all over the place and clean up some of the lines. it can probably shave the weight down an easy 30%. Considering Halo Mfg is probably a smaller outfit, the additional machining costs probably weren't good for profit. The counterpoint to this is that the additional weight in the front area of the firearm will lessen recoil and muzzle flip. That said, I've attached several images of it. The anodized finish is a tad more pale compared to usual anodized finishes. However the flash makes it appear much lighter than it is. I've also got the 10 round AGP magazines on it and Tony's muzzle brake(break?). The rest of the mods are uninteresting and pretty typical of Saiga conversions (I had a thread a year or two back when I first converted it) A rail system wouldn't be complete without mounted accessories so I put on an EOTech 552, a Surefire M93/ Larue/IR filter, and a vis/IR DBAL. No, I don't really use two holosights together but I robbed the rail stuff temporarily from my AR15 just for the sake of overdoing it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cscharlie 107 Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 (edited) I got into a little more work on the Halo that I installed. I removed some material from the lug pocket allowing the rail enough room to slide on all the way. The mounting hole didn't center due to the gas block being farther back on the barrel, but the hole in the rail was just large enough so the hole on the shotgun was not covered up by the rail. I used a sling swivel stud for a Mossberg 500 to mount it. I cut the top of the swivel stud off just above the hole and used the edge of a file to square the old hole up into what amounts to a huge a screw slot. The diameter of the head was a perfect fit so it would still sit counter sunk in the original recess for the mounting screw. It took more force than I expected to drive the dovetail into the reciever. I ended up using a 3# hammer padded with part of an old tire, as my rubber mallet just wouldn't do it. And last but not least, it lacked enough clearance to install the dust cover for the reciever. So I removed material from the underside of the Halo where it extends over the reciever until it had just enough room to install/remove. I cringe at the thought of grinding on a brand new $300.00 alum rail system. I think my butt hole was puckered through the whole process. Seems to have turned good though. It's sold as a rock. Now I need to take it out for a test drive so I can refinish it to match the shotgun. Edited December 3, 2006 by cscharlie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
getitat 609 Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 I got into a little more work on the Halo that I installed. I removed some material from the lug pocket allowing the rail enough room to slide on all the way. The mounting hole didn't center due to the gas block being farther back on the barrel, but the hole in the rail was just large enough so the hole on the shotgun was not covered up by the rail. I used a sling swivel stud for a Mossberg 500 to mount it. I cut the top of the swivel stud off just above the hole and used the edge of a file to square the old hole up into what amounts to a huge a screw slot. The diameter of the head was a perfect fit so it would still sit counter sunk in the original recess for the mounting screw. It took more force than I expected to drive the dovetail into the reciever. I ended up using a 3# hammer padded with part of an old tire, as my rubber mallet just wouldn't do it. And last but not least, it lacked enough clearance to install the dust cover for the reciever. So I removed material from the underside of the Halo where it extends over the reciever until it had just enough room to install/remove. I cringe at the thought of grinding on a brand new $300.00 alum rail system. I think my butt hole was puckered through the whole process. Seems to have turned good though. It's sold as a rock. Now I need to take it out for a test drive so I can refinish it to match the shotgun. CSCharlie: I noticed the same problem with my dust cover not fitting under the Halo very well. Eventually it will go in, but it's not nearly as simple as it used to be. Did you kind of bevel the overhanging lip on the Halo? That seems to be my problem, the trailing edge of the Halo won't let the dust cover move forward enough to seat in the little groovein the receiver. Respectfully posted, Guido2 in Houston Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cesiumsponge 0 Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Dust cover is tricky to get seated in as well on mine. You can get it...eventually. What used to take 5 seconds takes a minute or two now. I guess there isn't much one can do but mill or grind away here and there to improve the small functional and aesthetic bugs that creep up from continued usage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hartzpad 0 Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 I had the same problem replacing my dust cover with the halo installed but I found that it was actually the screw for the rear sight elevation that was sticking out under the rail and keeping the dust cover from clearing it. I unscrewed the sight screw a little and it allowed enough room to re-install the dust cover fairly easily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cscharlie 107 Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 (edited) On the Halo that I installed, the front of the cover just plain could not get enough height to engage the slot it fits in. I used some grinding stones that I believe were originaly for an old die grinder. I chucked them in a cordless drill and started at the rear bottom edge behind the screw for the rear site and worked forward and backward, as well as side to side. The screw over protruding was one of the culprits, so I left it in and ground it down as I went along. I ended up with a wide, shallow channel under the rear site block where the top of the dust cover makes contact. I went slow checking for fit often and removed just enough to install the cover. When I install the cover, I start with the bottom edge of the square hole (in the rear of the cover) even with the first, (top) horizontal groove in the piece that will protrude through the that hole. Next I push the cover foreward, against the return spring tension, until the front of the cover engages the slot that it fits in. Then, while resisting the spring tension, I push down on the top of the reciever cover at the rear with my hand. The square piece that protrudes through the cover holding it in place, pops through as the cover seats on the reciever. Takes me about 3-4 seconds to install the cover. Edited December 5, 2006 by cscharlie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Juggernaut 11,054 Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 If you buy direct from HALO they will install it for free if you pick up the shipping. they did a great job on mine! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KySoldier 2 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 (edited) If you buy direct from HALO they will install it for free if you pick up the shipping.they did a great job on mine! Well crap. I got mine from them at a gunshow months ago and I'm still trying to get the rear sight off to install the damn thing. Edited December 8, 2006 by KySoldier Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cscharlie 107 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 I ended up using a 4 1/2" hand held grinder with a cut off wheel on it. After I removed the top portion with the notch, I began a relief cut across the remainding part of the old site. It wasn't until I was almost completly through all the way across that I was able to squish it with a pair of vise grips and and slide it out. I wanted to save the original, but decided it wasn't worth scarring up the shotgun in the proccess when I could replace the site with a different one later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.