New Saiga-12 owner needs help

[Mechanical 0]

I just bought a Saiga-12 and every third shell or even every other shell I fire from it doesn't eject properly and jams the gun. I tried setting the gas regulator to both the 1 and 2 position and it seems to me that the 1 position jams on every other shell and the 2 position jams on every third shell. I slid the bolt back and forth, it doesn't catch on anything and seems to slide fine. Right now I am using Winchester 7 1/2 bird shot to test it with, could it be the ammunition?

 

Also, I have not been able to take off the gas regulator because the screw that looks like it holds it on is very tight and I am worried about stripping it. I do hear a soft clink in the gas regulator or near it when I tilt my Saiga back and forth, as if something is loose in it. Is that normal?

 

This is very frustraiting to me as I am somewhat ignorant, being new to owning a gun. Everywhere I have read that the Kalashnikov design is supposed to be the most superior design as far as reliability goes, and mine woln't even cycle correctly!

 

Thanks for any help,

Mech

[The_Vigilante 14]

Did you buy it locally? If yes, take it back to the dealer! If no, call the dealer and let him know what's going on. Good luck

[HillBilly2 9]

The clink you are hearing is normal, no problems there. These guns do need breaking in. First thing I would get some different loads and try. Get something with 1 1/4 oz shot and try them. What kind of jam are you seeing, FTF, FTE? Which mag are you using? These guns do not run reliably with some of the bargain 1 oz loads.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

+1 You need to shoot some heavy loads through it first to "loosen it up". That clunk sound you hear in there is the gas piston sliding back and forth like it's supposed to do. When you stop hearing that is when you need to clean it. To rmove the gas regulator you have to push that little spring loaded pin in and hold it so the notched regulator can unscrew without it locking it in place. Didn't you get an owner's manual with it?

[nagelmaker 0]

i bet your gas regulator is loose. read your manual then tighten your reg and push the pin to turn it back to 1 or 2.

[Bonesaw 1]

its the ammo. Go to a sporting goods store and buy some good heavy buckshot or some slugs. Run about 50-100 of these heavy loads through it to break the gun in and it will be good to go.

[Mechanical 0]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

I didn't buy it locally, I bought it online.

 

"What kind of jam are you seeing, FTF, FTE?"

I don't know what these abbreviations mean. The casings usually get caught in the metal sticking out from the barrel opening inside the gun. Sometimes they don't eject at all, they just sit in the barrel. I am using the bargain 1 1/8 oz shot though, I'll have to try something else. I am currently using the 5rd mag that came with the gun (the original manufacturers mag), though I want to get a couple 10rd mags.

 

Thanks for telling me how to remove the gas regulator Cobra, it was in my manual. I must have just missed it or misunderstood it when I was reading it. The regulator was very loose, I must have done that when fiddling around with the settings. I didn't realize at the time that it was screwed in. I have tightened it back up now.

 

I looked at the 3" buckshot (Is that what you meant by heavy buckshot?) and slugs at my local Walmart and they are both very expensive for me, like $8-10 for a box of 5. Is there an easier/cheaper way of breaking it in?

 

Also, any additional tips for a newbie? Anything I should/shouldn't do as far as maintanence goes? Right now I am wiping all of the inside well with a paper towel and then applying a thin layer of gun oil to the internals.

 

Mech

Edited April 26, 2008 by Mechanical

[Leo.Kermes 1]

Are you local to tallahassee, FL. You can stop by my factory and I can check for any issues.

to break in just use 3 1/4 drams shells or 3 3/4 drams .

[Mechanical 0]

Are you local to tallahassee, FL. You can stop by my factory and I can check for any issues.

to break in just use 3 1/4 drams shells or 3 3/4 drams .

 

Thanks for the offer, but I am in southern FL which would be quite a drive to get up there. Are there some common problem areas I can check?

 

Is the drams this DR. EQ. on my box of shells? In that case what I was firing was 3 drams.

 

Why are all the firearm measurements so archaic? I was reading what 'gauge' means and apparently my shotgun being 12 gauge means that 12 lead spheres the same diameter as the inner bore equals one pound. Thats crazy!

 

Sorry for all the newbie questions. Theres just a lot of jargon here that I am not used to. Coming from a science background and working with a measurements in grams for example, it is quite different to go to drams and grains as a measurement.

 

I was reading some of the other posts here on jamming problems (Which I probably should have done first), and I read that shuttling the bolt back and forth several hundred times helps break it in. I tried that and it definatly seems to slide easier now. Hopefully this and tightening the gas regulator and cleaning the gas chamber and piston will help (They were both quite dirty). I'll look for some more powerful shells for next time I go to the range.

 

Mech

[oldandslow 3]

Miami? Key West?

 

 

 

 

Are you local to tallahassee, FL. You can stop by my factory and I can check for any issues.

to break in just use 3 1/4 drams shells or 3 3/4 drams .

 

Thanks for the offer, but I am in southern FL which would be quite a drive to get up there. Are there some common problem areas I can check?

 

Is the drams this DR. EQ. on my box of shells? In that case what I was firing was 3 drams.

 

Why are all the firearm measurements so archaic? I was reading what 'gauge' means and apparently my shotgun being 12 gauge means that 12 lead spheres the same diameter as the inner bore equals one pound. Thats crazy!

 

Sorry for all the newbie questions. Theres just a lot of jargon here that I am not used to. Coming from a science background and working with a measurements in grams for example, it is quite different to go to drams and grains as a measurement.

 

I was reading some of the other posts here on jamming problems (Which I probably should have done first), and I read that shuttling the bolt back and forth several hundred times helps break it in. I tried that and it definatly seems to slide easier now. Hopefully this and tightening the gas regulator and cleaning the gas chamber and piston will help (They were both quite dirty). I'll look for some more powerful shells for next time I go to the range.

 

Mech

[Mechanical 0]

Fort Myers. Its along the Caloosahatchee river.

[Fogaban 0]

"What kind of jam are you seeing, FTF, FTE?"

I don't know what these abbreviations mean.

Mech

FTF = Fail To Fire

FTE = Fail To Eject

 

When I first started reading this forum, I ran into the same problem of trying to figure out the "code" used here.

 

Here's a few others:

BHO = Bolt Hold Open

LRBHO = Last Round Bolt Hold Open

FCG = Fire Control Group

SBS = Short Barrel Shotgun

[Superhawk138 202]

"What kind of jam are you seeing, FTF, FTE?"

I don't know what these abbreviations mean.

Mech

FTF = Fail To Fire

FTE = Fail To Eject

 

When I first started reading this forum, I ran into the same problem of trying to figure out the "code" used here.

 

Here's a few others:

BHO = Bolt Hold Open

LRBHO = Last Round Bolt Hold Open

FCG = Fire Control Group

SBS = Short Barrel Shotgun

A few more

FSB = Front Sight Base

RSB = Rear Sight Base

GB = Gas Block/or GunBroker depends how its used in sentence

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

At one time mccumber1916 was talking about putting together some kind of reference list to help with that....What ever happened to him anyway?

[hangemhigh2000 0]

its the ammo. Go to a sporting goods store and buy some good heavy buckshot or some slugs. Run about 50-100 of these heavy loads through it to break the gun in and it will be good to go.

 

I Just bought a New Saiga 12 to and it didn't recycle either till I read this. I have to use 2 3/4" shells and yup it's good to go. Also I'm new a left handed member, just joined today cause of your help. Thanks again.

[corbin 621]

Welcome to the Saiga Brotherhood! LOL! We'll show you the secret handshake later.

 

I'm a bit of a noob too, since I've only owned my Saiga for a little over a month now. I've been reading this forum for around a year however. So I'm a slightly more educated noob. I suppose my Saiga is about done being broken in, having fired over 100 buckshot rounds, 200 cheap Wall Mart rounds and about 50 heavy waterfowl steel shot rounds, plus 15 or 20 slugs. It really makes a difference.

 

You probably don't need to oil up the gas puck area. That will attract a bunch of crud and turn into a mess. I made that mistake. Also, try to keep the stock up against your shoulder when firing the lighter rounds, especially at first. Shooting from the hip is fun, but to help give the action something to recoil against and cycle properly, it likes to be fired from the shoulder when you're breaking it in. Granted, lightweight rounds aren't really made for breaking the gun in.

 

Hand cycling the action helps a little. I sat in front of the TV and did that for a couple hours when I first got mine. I've since polished up the carrier and hammer like they mention in this thread. I haven't done the feed ramp mod yet however.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Corbin

 

P.S. As was mentioned (I think), the Winchester Wall Mart value pack ammo is the worse cycling ammo I've ever dealt with. The plastic is soft and often the front of the shell has a slight ring like bulge around it from when they crimped the end. This section hangs up on the barrel extension and causes all kinds of problems. The Federal value pack is better, but to really break the shotgun in, use something a bit heavier and you should be OK.

Edited March 9, 2009 by Corbin

[loki0629 55]

I'm using Remington Target Loads to break mine in. I get the 100 pack special and blow through at least half a pack at each outing. It will take longer but it's cheaper and it cycles through my S-12 like a champ. I've probably gone through about 400 rounds of that stuff. Maybe I'm done the break-in period but I'll just keep doing mag dumps "just to be sure" .

 

Don't forget to set your gas regulator back to 1 after using the low brass stuff!

[hangemhigh2000 0]

its the ammo. Go to a sporting goods store and buy some good heavy buckshot or some slugs. Run about 50-100 of these heavy loads through it to break the gun in and it will be good to go.

[hangemhigh2000 0]

I just bought a Saiga-12 and every third shell or even every other shell I fire from it doesn't eject properly and jams the gun. I tried setting the gas regulator to both the 1 and 2 position and it seems to me that the 1 position jams on every other shell and the 2 position jams on every third shell. I slid the bolt back and forth, it doesn't catch on anything and seems to slide fine. Right now I am using Winchester 7 1/2 bird shot to test it with, could it be the ammunition?

 

Also, I have not been able to take off the gas regulator because the screw that looks like it holds it on is very tight and I am worried about stripping it. I do hear a soft clink in the gas regulator or near it when I tilt my Saiga back and forth, as if something is loose in it. Is that normal?

 

This is very frustraiting to me as I am somewhat ignorant, being new to owning a gun. Everywhere I have read that the Kalashnikov design is supposed to be the most superior design as far as reliability goes, and mine woln't even cycle correctly!

 

Thanks for any help,

Mech

[hangemhigh2000 0]

I just bought my Saiga-12 about a month now. It won't cycle, the shells jam in the gun. Even bought the AA ammo and the Gasfixer plug and both new compliance pistons. I switch everything around and try different things and still nothing.

 

I don't think I will get much from this fourm either, just cause I haven't, right?

Edited April 9, 2009 by hangemhigh2000