A typical cold barrel group

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

Went to the range this morning, and below you have the result of the first five shots. Four almost touching (usually in a string), then the fifth opens up a fair bit. The only frustrating thing about the stringing is that you need days to sight in for that first cold bbl shot. It typically strings right and upward and the overall group opens up to about 3 to 4 inches (acceptable for the $305 I paid for the gun a couple years ago). I like shooting the gun, because it's really got a nice soft recoil, less even than my savage 10 heavy bbl.

 

Handloads consisting of federal brass, 43.5 gr of ramshot tac, CCI 200 primer, and 164.7 grain sierra hunting BTSP's. It does do just a bit better with the SMK's but overall these results are OK without the added cost for the SMK's. Likewise with the use of the federal brass, it bangs up the brass so quality stuff like hornady, lapua, etc isn't worth it.

 

Hopefully, if I do my part, it's good enough to fill the freezer...

[SOPMOD 254]

Went to the range this morning, and below you have the result of the first five shots. Four almost touching (usually in a string), then the fifth opens up a fair bit. The only frustrating thing about the stringing is that you need days to sight in for that first cold bbl shot. It typically strings right and upward and the overall group opens up to about 3 to 4 inches (acceptable for the $305 I paid for the gun a couple years ago). I like shooting the gun, because it's really got a nice soft recoil, less even than my savage 10 heavy bbl.

 

Handloads consisting of federal brass, 43.5 gr of ramshot tac, CCI 200 primer, and 164.7 grain sierra hunting BTSP's. It does do just a bit better with the SMK's but overall these results are OK without the added cost for the SMK's. Likewise with the use of the federal brass, it bangs up the brass so quality stuff like hornady, lapua, etc isn't worth it.

 

Hopefully, if I do my part, it's good enough to fill the freezer...

 

If you are getting a flyer as the barrel warms up it means you have stresses built up in the barrel and the heat causes the prestressed shaped to creep back.If you get it cryoed that should go away.

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

Thanks,

 

I wonder if the cryo treatment would really offer any benefit given the gas tube? It would be great to keep that first four or five shot grouping up, but it may not be possible given the extra stresses on the saiga that really don't have much to do with the barrel metallurgy.

 

Has anyone on the board had any success with the cryo treatment on their saiga? I've had it done to two bolt guns, and it did improve things with them (one of the two improved quite a bit).

[SOPMOD 254]

Thanks,

 

I wonder if the cryo treatment would really offer any benefit given the gas tube? It would be great to keep that first four or five shot grouping up, but it may not be possible given the extra stresses on the saiga that really don't have much to do with the barrel metallurgy.

 

Has anyone on the board had any success with the cryo treatment on their saiga? I've had it done to two bolt guns, and it did improve things with them (one of the two improved quite a bit).

 

Ok,here we go.The gas tube can impinge on the barrel but only the thickest part of the barrel which is quite rigid.If you custom fit an AK74 gas tube and swedge the orifice that goes over the gas block you can eliminate that variable to some extend but barrel whip on a barrel stressed out of true during manufacture is the biggest culprit.Pressing on parts can mess up barrel harmonics and bend barrels and their cure for a bent barrel on cheap,mass produced weapons is to BEND IT BACK creating memory.

 

Even dropping a bare barrel flat on concrete can accidentally increase accuracy because it releases stresses but the stresses added during assembly can only be relieved with heat or cold and too much heat is not advisable.

 

My first Saiga wen the way of the dodo because before I knew about barrel stresses I pressed out the barrel,turned it down and pressed it back together and what was an accurate rifle became a poor grouping rifle.It should have been more accurate because of the professional crown job but it wasn't.I dumped it at the gunshow for what I had in it and left the Saiga 308s alone until the FBMG mags came out.It would shoot right on the money the first couple of shots and then all over the place after that.

 

The grouping changing hot or cold is a matter of "barrel whip",the last few inches forward of the gas block are very likely to be the culprit and the cryo should relieve that BUT,the increased mass of the gas block and front sight and their stresses might require more than one trip to the cryo to be fully resolved.

 

A stock M16 or M14 can be fitted with a barrel tensioning sleeve(ala Gale McMillan RIP) the causes "barrel whip" to be cosistent and can turn a mediocre rifle into an exceptional rifle and this technique was used on the first generation M14 DMR rifles that used STOCK USGI chrome lined barrels!

 

Get your barrel whip consistent by eliminating stresses or tension the whippy part of the barrel forward of the gas block and the hot/cold wandering thing will cease.

 

I have Thought about adding the barrel tensioning sleeve to my own but it would require taking the barrel out yet again and truing the face of the gas block to be worth doing and for what I intend my Saiga 308 for that is overkill but you Saiganov guys might want to consider it.

 

A sleeve that slips over the skinny part of your barrel and buts up against the gas block's face surrounding the barrel that has a threaded section to match your muzzle threads so when you screw it on if tenions the forward part of the barrel like a guitar string and allows POI tuning as well as repeatable shooting hot or cold.

 

I should make one just for GPs for my buddy's Saiganov

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

I like the idea of a barrel tensioner, sort of a dan wesson saiga.