TonyRumore 1,332 Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 I took the day off today, and my girlfriend and I took some automatic weapons to the range for some well deserved fun. I also brought a couple of Saiga 12" guns and the 18" SAS-12. I was able to tune the gas ports on the Saiga's to allow them to run low base 1 oz and 1-1/8oz walmart shells. I had quite a few customers request that the 12" guns be able to run reduced recoil and low base shells, so I decided to re-employ the standard gas regulator on the shortys. With the regulator wide open, they will run low base shells, and spun over to the #1 position, will cut down the gas for the higher powered shells. In testing, the guns ran like champs with everything I fed through them. The SAS-12 was another story. There was a multitude of ejection and extraction jams with 1oz Winchester ammo as well as Wolf slugs, but with Federal 1-1/8 oz shells, the thing ran like a champ. I ran three rounds of Skeet (75 shots) and it didn't miss a beat. Recoil was very soft and the gun shouldered and pointed very well for me. This could be why some guys have said the SAS-12 is a POS and others like it. If I didn't have that Federal ammo with me, I would not be too happy with it right now. This could also be attributable to me cutting the barrel from 23" to 18", but I never fired the gun right out of the box, so I can't tell you. All in all, it was a great day, and the .502 Thunder Sabre M1 Carbine also ran without a hitch. It's time for a beer.................... Tony Rumore Tromix Corp Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Caspian 32 Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Tony, How hard do you think it will be to open up the SAS-12 gas port? I don't have one (yet) so i can't tear it apart. Let us know how you tweek the SAS to get her working. later caspian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
krom32117 0 Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Thanks for the range report on the Tromix SBS. I bet it was a blast to play with. I picked up two pretty orange and brown boxes still sealed in plastic today and as soon as I figure my finacial status for the month, I'll be giving you a call and shipping them your way. Damn I can't wait. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyRumore 1,332 Posted January 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 The SAS-12 has a very conventional gas system. Very similar to a Remington 1100. In order to open up the gas ports, there is a window cut in the gas piston housing that is attached to the barrel. Your drill simply goes through the housing window and engages the barrel inside. There are two ports side by side, both accessed through the one central window opening in the gas piston housing. I don't recall the exact dimension with the 23" barrel, but I believe it was about .120" or so. After cuttting the barrel to 18", I opened both ports to .144". I also noted that the extractor spring was very weak. I believe this is probably the source of the ejection problems with the other ammo. With a stronger extractor spring in place, the gun may prove more reliable with alternate ammo. I will make up a new extractor spring tomorrow and test it again the next time I hit the range. My gut feeling is that the SAS-12 can be made extremely reliable with a bit of tweaking since I don't see any serious flaws in the mechanical design thus far. The mechanical design, manufacturing, and assembly certainly surpasses a $110 firearm. It is quite possible that the extractor spring is the only fly in the ointment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bvamp 604 Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 I will say one thing for the saiga12, I had some old rusted and corroded slugs that I KNOW most shotguns would absolutely hate, and without even attempting to clean them, i ran them through mine without a single problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyRumore 1,332 Posted January 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I just got done testing the SAS-12 again with my heavy extractor spring in place. The thing ran perfectly with the same shells that would not eject with the factory extractor spring. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Nice fix. Sounds like you just came up with another good product. You DA Man!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chris410 0 Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Will you be offering a tromix sas 12? In legal barrel length? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyRumore 1,332 Posted January 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I will probably offer some Tromix SAS-12's with 4rd mags and 18" barrels down the road. I have a rear trunion block made up to mount a folding stock and pistol grip, but I have not worked out the U.S. parts count yet. It should not be an issue, but it does take time. Since the magazine is steel, building an extension on the bottom should not be too difficult either. Availability is going to be an issue with the SAS-12, since Century does not have any stock, and they do not know if they will ever import any more of them. If you can pick one up for under $200, you might want to grab it and stash it away for a rainy day. I will probably put the SAS-12 on the back burner until I get these 23ea Saiga's that I have in stock, out the damn door. Customer comitments go in front of R&D projects. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BattleRifleG3 16 Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 When employment becomes a reality, I'd seriously consider an NFA lengh SAS with the Tromix seal of reliability approval. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
headshot 52 Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Reviving this to see if you ever worked out the parts count. Is there any compatability with remington 1100 parts? Any experience with the Omega SPS-12? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyRumore 1,332 Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 No. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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