cj cake 1 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) I just purchased a new Saiga 12 w/19" barrel. The first thing I noticed after getting it home was that the sights seemed to be a little off. The rear sight is tilted with the right side a little lower than the left. Then as I sight above the gas tube down the barrel, the barrel appears to be canted to the right quite a bit. I told myself that I must be imagining this. But I looked again and there is a distict alignment issue with the barrel. Is this a common thing with the Saiga 12? I am at work, but when I get home I will try to post pictures. Is it possible that this is an illusion caused by the gas tube being miss aligned and it appears to be the barrel? Any input on this would be appreciated. Edited March 9, 2009 by cj cake Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuffetDestroyer 969 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) I just purchased a new Saiga 12 w/19" barrel. The first thing I noticed after getting it home was that the sights seemed to be a little off. The rear sight is tilted with the right side a little lower than the left. Then as I sight above the gas tube down the barrel, the barrel appears to be canted to the right quite a bit. I told myself that I must be imagining this. But I looked again and there is a distict alignment issue with the barrel. Is this a common thing with the Saiga 12? I am at work, but when I get home I will try to post pictures. Is it possible that this is an illusion caused by the gas tube being miss aligned and it appears to be the barrel? Any input on this would be appreciated. I had a 24" Saiga 12 that was severely canted too. Before I shortened the barrel, I just put on a russian front sight to line up the rear sights to stay on target. To fix it, you will have to knock the pins out of the gas block after unscrewing the gas plug and removing the handguards. Then you need to loosen the gas block (towards the muzzle). You will take it down far enough to separate it so you can move it freely on the barrel (which is of a slightly smaller diameter. Then realign the gas tube with the sights and hold it place while you tap the gas block back in place (towards the buttstock). Then tighten it back up snug, making sure your gas ports are visible in the barrel port in the gas block (visible from where the gas plug was screwed out) when you are finished. The pins should still fit in place as they are pretty bendable. I thought it would be much harder than it was, but if you have a thick brass punch for the gas block, it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. I had to add a fourth gas port and open the others up to get reliable cycling after I shortened the barrel so I took the gas block off several times and realigned it. The gas ports are at an angle, so if you decide you need to do this, make sure you drill accordingly. And get some carpet and towels to protect the muzzle on the ground if you aren't using a vice. There should be a pic thread walking you through taking off the gas block in the tech section... check Cobra's sticky if your search results are overwhelming. According to Tony Rumore, some gas blocks are harder than others, but mine came off with a few good hits on the brass punch. The gas block was dinged slightly with the impact of the punch, but it was covered by the handguards so nobody can see! Edited March 10, 2009 by BuffetDestroyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 You may even be able to just rotate the GB in place once the pins are out. In fact, I think I've heard Tony mention just straitening it up with the pins in place, as they don't really do much but keep it from moving towards the muzzle. I would at least use some good penetrating oil first. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cj cake 1 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 So it is most likley the gas block after all and not the barrel that is mis aligned? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 So it is most likley the gas block after all and not the barrel that is mis aligned? Yes definitely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RangerM9 1 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 So can the front sight on a 7.62 be similarly adjusted, just pipe wrench that puppy over a bit?....... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cj cake 1 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I checked and verified it was the gas block. It is a slight mis-alignment and did not affect the operation of the gun. I took it out shooting last night and it shot well. Hit every clay I shot at! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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