Newbie Comments and Review, 1st time shooting the S12

[tover26 18]

Hi,

 

I picked up my Saiga 12 (stock with 18" barrel, no mods except those noted) after the waiting period and took it out last night to the range. While waiting for the clearing period, I picked up 2 10 round mags, Gunfixer's Improved Gas Plug, and MD 20 drum. I've also ordered a Cobra red dot but haven't recieved it yet off the ebay merchant's site. I've also been lurking a lot on this forum, reading about the different topics, learning as much as I can, and enjoying the opportunity to learn from everyone else.

 

30 shells fired. I shot 30 rounds of HV Remington slugs using the 5 round factory mag without a problem on settings -1 and 1 on the choke. I can't imagine having to adjust this with the stock choke. My only comments to Gasfixer... can you put the # markings on the side of the choke so you can see and adjust the setting? Using colored paint would help with visibility too. No FTEs, everything worked great. It was fun to have people from the range coming by to see what was making all the noise.

 

2 of 5 shells fired. I tried to load up the MD20 drum with same ammo, but only had the patience to fight the drum spring and get 8 shells in. Anyone have any advice on getting this to loosen up... I'm also curious, for those that have it, how many are actually able to get 20 shells into it? There's definitely and "ooooo.... neat" factor to the drum, but after the first 2 shots, I had 3 FTEs and then the drum fell out. I'm confident I just need to tweak the mag locking area so it's a better aligned fit and then it should be fine. Since I was there to shoot, I unloaded it and made a mental note to get that alignment working better. BTW, the MD Arms video for this was very helpful.

 

4 of 6 shells fired. I tried to load up the Surefire 10 round mag and got about 6 shells in before spring tension convinced me to just go ahead and see how it did. First 4 shots were fine and then I had 1 FTE and then 1 mischambering. Like the drum, I set this aside and moved on.

 

19 of 20 shells fired. Next, I ran 20 rounds of low recoil slugs. Moving the choke to 3, things went just fine with only 2 FTEs.

 

My wife also shot 2 low recoil slugs. She has a Mossberg 500 with the Knoxx recoil reducing stock. She likened the Saiga to being kicked in the chest.

 

 

So, there you have it. About 70 shells fired, a few FTEs with understandable reasons and mischambering. I had a bit of an accuracy issue at 75 ft, which I blame on the stock sights. I'm looking forward to adding the following mods:

- Cobra Red Dot

- Forend Laser

- KA muzzle door breacher

- KA gas tappet

- Saiga 12's extended sight... if and when they put it back on their site for sale

- Tri Rail on Forend... will probably add a pistol grip on the forend

- Saiga 12 replacement parts kit, if the guy ever emails me back

 

When I was done, I opened the gun up and was impressed with how little carbon build up there was anywhere. I'm inclined to attribute this to Gunfixer's Plug.

I'd also guess that you pros get used to keeping mental track of how many shells you've shot versus how many are loaded in the magazine, but I'd love a magazine or a mod that essentially replicated a mischambering after the last shell ejects so that the action holds open.

 

Thanks for all the good advice and tips to date.

Edited May 9, 2009 by EricinMaryland

[tover26 18]

Shot 2nd time today. My shoulder is still a bit bruised, but it was too fun to resist. Ran 50 more shells through, about half were 3" magnums. Not a single FTE. Gun performed flawlessly. Now I just need to figure out how to not have trigger pull put all my shots to the right of my aim and get myself performing flawlessly.

 

New forend, Surefire Tri-rail, made things aim much more smoothly. A guy came up to me on the range and commented that the Saiga sounds like a cannon and what the hell kind of gun is that?! I have to admit that the attention is one of the cooler aspects of the Saiga that I'm really enjoying.

[mwessel 0]

Welcome to the best shotgun forum in the world! Give the drum some workouts (load/unload...looad/unload) it should loosen up for you. Mine did. Getting 20 no problem in there without causing pain and suffering to the fingers. I tell ya this, it unloads a helluva lot faster then it loads...if you know what I mean!!

Get some pics out there when your done.

[mollysman420 19]

FEED THE ADDICTION!!!! Polish up the FCG a little it will reduce the trigger pull quite nociabally

[hobbyshooter 59]

Congrats, sounds like it's working in well.

 

I have one question: What setting did you shoot the 3" mag rounds on? You mentioned changing it to 3 for the low recoil slugs, I just want to point out that you don't want to shoot 3" magnums on setting 3. You want the lowest number that will cycle.

 

I'd like to make 2 points now:

 

What you were referring to as the choke is not a choke. A choke is a barrel attachment that necks down to constrict the shot pattern tighter. The gun fixer adjuster is a gas system cam. Also known as the gas knob.

 

You should read through the 922R law section here. Any capacity magazine over 5 is illegal in an "imported" shotgun. You have to remove 4 restricted parts. Your forearm is one of them so you should be good but it's a good idea to research it (there is a sub-forum here specifically about 922R) and familiarize yourself with the law.

 

Enjoy.

Edited May 13, 2009 by hobbyshooter

[tover26 18]

Thanks for the remarks. I'm still working on the lingo.

 

The higher power and velocity stuff I'm shooting at -1 or +1, normal slugs and shot at 2, and lower recoil stuff at 3. I think I've got that right on the gas cam. It'd be nice to have the markings on the side of the cam so you didn't have to practically look down the barrel to see the engraved markings.

 

MD Arms is replacing the drum and I commend their customer service.

 

I've attempted to mount a flashlingt on the forend... but it falls off with recoil. Too bad accessories don't count to 922 compliance, huh? I'm sure a laser would too... though I think someone pointed out the fallacy of lasers on shotguns. I like the laser as I believe it'll help me correct my aim and the idea of a target (in HD scenario) knowing I'm pointing in their direction is also appealing.

 

Later, I'm going to add a muzzle brake and gas tappet. I kind of like the factory stock but will probably replace that with a collapsible one at some point. At that point I believe I'll be on the edge of compliance. I've got a Russian Cobra red-dot on order and will post a pic after I get that mounted.

Edited May 13, 2009 by EricinMaryland