'08 quality ??

[Kymasabe 1]

I had an '06 7.62 buried in my safe for a long time, finally dragged it out and did the conversion. Loved the gun but was approached by a buyer and sold it. I thought, no biggie, I'll buy a new one and do it again but...I'm really disappointed with the quality of the brand-new, in the box '08 gun that I just got. The markings on the right side of the receiver look like their engraved, not rolled, and the engraving is really rough. The other thing I noticed is that the front sight isn't pinned in place anymore. I've had canted sights in the past, push out the pins, straighten, drill and repin. But, no more. The pin holes aren't drilled, there are no pins in the front sight, it has two dimples on the side of it and it appears that the sight is crimped in place. How the hell do you remove it now without tearing up the side of the barrel? I wonder what other shortcuts Saiga is taking in the production of our beloved rifles?

I think I'm going to start looking for a nice used Saiga instead.

[kresk 10,063]

Face it, the Russians have never been known for their elegant or complicated firearms. Granted it's a shame if the quality has diminished as of late, but remember who you are ultimately dealing with.

[nine-seven 0]

I've got a few shady features on my '08 as well, but it is only an AK after all... the ultimate caveman rifle.

 

I've heard you can sometimes press the fsb right off, but if that doesn't work, you have to drill the dimples SLIGHTLY. That's what i had to do to get mine off, and then press it off. It was a very tight fit. I had to press the new one back on. I misjudged the thickness of the dimples on the fsb, and drilled way too deep (into the barrel a little bit). But luckily the new fsb covered it, so no big deal...

 

My gas block is fixed the same way. Would definitely have preferred pins, but oh well.

[DEshooter 1]

Same for my 08...all markings everywhere on exterior of the rifle still have the black finish over them and look factory impressed?.... except on the left side of the receiver near the front where the word SAIGA and under it is 7.62x39 are...maybe machine scrolled or probably stamped...Inside the markings, with a magnifying glass, you can see the black finish but here and there is the glint of metal showing along the top edges...and they are rough...not finished. Not that I care...just throwing it out for info. What I do care a little about is the same front sight issue mentioned earlier. Very slight off center cant and looks like as described earlier...pins, but how to push them thru?...like a crimp. And again, I really don't care....don't use it....my BP02 took 20days to get here from Belarus(from GoodOptics)...and for now, I have the Bushnell Trophy MP 32mm red dot on it. With the correct eye relief and proper cheek weld (skeleton stock with flip up cheek rest); both eyes open...I see nothing but the reticle I choose...no tube or knobs ...even swinging quickly laterally or vertically. I havent't been to the range yet to put rounds thru it with the optic mounted....so I can't say yet how it will hold up or re-zero after detaching the mount. But I have taken it out in several light conditions....dusk, dawn, dark, noon....and I am happy with the reticle choices and impressed with the low/no light sight I see. We shall see how it performs under fire....soon I hope. And I just want to mention thanks to all that post good info on this site....I learned some and hope to continue to learn more. And yes...when things ease up financially...getting another and doing a conversion looks like it would be fun & interesting....but I kinda like how this one fits now! Maybe a 20" barrel 308 set up Dragunov style...whoopie.....

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

Same for my 08...all markings everywhere on exterior of the rifle still have the black finish over them and look factory impressed?.... except on the left side of the receiver near the front where the word SAIGA and under it is 7.62x39 are...maybe machine scrolled or probably stamped...Inside the markings, with a magnifying glass, you can see the black finish but here and there is the glint of metal showing along the top edges...and they are rough...not finished. Not that I care...just throwing it out for info. What I do care a little about is the same front sight issue mentioned earlier. Very slight off center cant and looks like as described earlier...pins, but how to push them thru?...like a crimp. And again, I really don't care....don't use it....my BP02 took 20days to get here from Belarus(from GoodOptics)...and for now, I have the Bushnell Trophy MP 32mm red dot on it. With the correct eye relief and proper cheek weld (skeleton stock with flip up cheek rest); both eyes open...I see nothing but the reticle I choose...no tube or knobs ...even swinging quickly laterally or vertically. I havent't been to the range yet to put rounds thru it with the optic mounted....so I can't say yet how it will hold up or re-zero after detaching the mount. But I have taken it out in several light conditions....dusk, dawn, dark, noon....and I am happy with the reticle choices and impressed with the low/no light sight I see. We shall see how it performs under fire....soon I hope. And I just want to mention thanks to all that post good info on this site....I learned some and hope to continue to learn more. And yes...when things ease up financially...getting another and doing a conversion looks like it would be fun & interesting....but I kinda like how this one fits now! Maybe a 20" barrel 308 set up Dragunov style...whoopie.....

 

Mines 08 also and so far a lot of minor issues that are frustrating the heck out of me. Would explain a lot. Kel-tec is having simular issues as are a few others. Production has outstripped QC.