Hi , Just got a 16" Saiga .223

[Confederate rifleman 0]

Picked her up today and a quick range trip showed I made the right choice. Using Winchester M-193 and some Hansen ( TZZ 93 Nato) M885 loads , she printed 3 shot 50 yard groups ranging fron 5/8" to a max of 1 1/8 inch. So much for AK accuracy problems. The quality of fit and finish is far better than I expected and the trigger pull is very nice.Reminds me of a decent 2 stage military bolt trigger.Her front sight adjusted with no problem and FFE was 100%. Unfortunately she beats brass pretty badly, but not to the point that its unusable. Empties are deposited 20 ft foward and right and in a nice pile so recovery is easy. I find the " sporter" buttstock very comfortable, but wish it was of the same quality as the forend. Anyone making better aftermarket buttstocks yet? I put alot of thought into this purchase although the timetable was accelerated due to the impending disasterous election results.I figured better get one while I still can. Are the factory mags , or equivelent still available and even if so are there better mags out there? Sticking with 10 rounders ( 20 max) is fine for me.Dont want to bipod on the mag when shooting low prone. Lastly , what if any, advantages are there to converting to the traditional AK pistol grip and fcu configuration? Love the sight so far. Thanks for your help. Deo Vindice

[dasu 1]

Picked her up today and a quick range trip showed I made the right choice. Using Winchester M-193 and some Hansen ( TZZ 93 Nato) M885 loads , she printed 3 shot 50 yard groups ranging fron 5/8" to a max of 1 1/8 inch. So much for AK accuracy problems. The quality of fit and finish is far better than I expected and the trigger pull is very nice.Reminds me of a decent 2 stage military bolt trigger.Her front sight adjusted with no problem and FFE was 100%. Unfortunately she beats brass pretty badly, but not to the point that its unusable. Empties are deposited 20 ft foward and right and in a nice pile so recovery is easy. I find the " sporter" buttstock very comfortable, but wish it was of the same quality as the forend. Anyone making better aftermarket buttstocks yet? I put alot of thought into this purchase although the timetable was accelerated due to the impending disasterous election results.I figured better get one while I still can. Are the factory mags , or equivelent still available and even if so are there better mags out there? Sticking with 10 rounders ( 20 max) is fine for me.Dont want to bipod on the mag when shooting low prone. Lastly , what if any, advantages are there to converting to the traditional AK pistol grip and fcu configuration? Love the sight so far. Thanks for your help. Deo Vindice

 

 

nice. most saigas ive seen seem to throw brass in two locations.

 

i have to say that if you are going to scope it the factory stock is pretty decent compared to the standard AK stocks. i got one of battlerifleG3s stocks for for my dad and with a scope its perfect. i think he has got quite a backlog though. the factory forend is weak. beware shooting it off the bench with a fixed rest - if the sling swivel catches on the rest it will rip the stock right off.

[Snuffy Smith 0]

The quality of fit and finish is far better than I expected and the trigger pull is very nice.Reminds me of a decent 2 stage military bolt trigger.Her front sight adjusted with no problem and FFE was 100%. Unfortunately she beats brass pretty badly, but not to the point that its unusable.

 

Evening Confederate Rifleman,

 

I agree with you that the fit and overall construction of the carbine is excellent. It far exceeded my expectations. However, I did not like the rear sight, so I replace it with a mojo peep sight, which works well. I am able to shoot a 1/4 inch group at 25 yards, but I've only been able to hold about a 1- 11/2 inch group at 50 yards. At 100 yards with iron sights, I can keep a 5 shot group within a three inch circle. When I get optics on this beast, it'll really do some shootin'. I'm blind in one eye and can't see outta the other, so a scope will greatly improve my shooting at 100 yards or beyond. Soon I'll be buying a valmet ejection buffer to protect the brass because I reload all my ammo.

 

http://www.robertrtg.com/valmetbuffer.html

 

I like this weapon so much that I'll probably buy a 308, too.

[Squib 0]

I'm glad you like your new rifle Confederate Rifleman - I have a 223 as well as a 308. I just converted my 308 - but have not as yet done the 223. I'd love to keep my 223 Saiga stock - but I got some of the metal ( non-US made ) surefire mags and, well..you know the whole 922r thing. One can, if he likes the stock FCG and monte carlo stock configuration, just buy the newer Poly Surefire mags which are 3 parts and a US made gas piston (which is one part) - that will get you down to 10 parts you'll need to be able to use 15-20 round mags.