Jump to content

Quality difference between early EAA imports and current?


Recommended Posts

I picked up 2 early EAA import Saigas recently,1 in .223 and 1 .308. The fit and finish on these look nicer to me than the new Saigas which I see being offered on dealers tables at gun/funshows. While new to Saigas I have been collecting and shooting military type rifles since 1958.....Got my first semi auto rifle around 1960 or so (G-43)

followed by SVT40 about a year later. My first AK type was a Finnish Valmet M62S in the early 1970s....First AKM stamped reciever type was a Steyr imported MAADI in the

early to mid 1980s. A fair number of other pre 1989 ban AK types followed: Clayco, Polytec, Norinco, Hungarian, American Arms Yugos, etc. owned at the same time. As largely a collector I tend to leave things as original as possible for the most part.....I do like to think than I have an eye for fit/finish and overall workmanship on a firearm by now.....

And these European American Armory imports do look better finished to me.....Any thoughts on this?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I recently aquired an 03 EAA .223 import. I had to remove the front sight group because it was so far canted to the left that it couldn't be brought to zero. It is one of the "heavy" 16.5" barrel imports...barrel OD is ~.620" till the FSG, where it is milled down to ~.596". I've only put a couple hundred rnds thru it...so far not a single problem. Seems very similar to my 08 RAA x39.

Link to post
Share on other sites

My 06 RAA w 20" barrel also is the larger .620" diameter and is turned to a .591" at the FSB. The finish did leave something to be desired. Within the first month, the charging handle was bare from use.

 

Do the EAA imports have the receiver cuts under the factory FCG?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Like every other firearms manufacturer lately they rush quality to get higher production. Even the M1A is suffering from this nasty attitude.

 

 

It is a bit pathetic that quality has dropped so much in the rush for pure production. I have been told by a guy affiliated with Mossberg that they have virtually ceased production of spare parts in the rush to build complete shotguns - and still. until recently, they were way behind on their orders for complete guns. My buddy who does 870 conversions told me that each week he sends back a box of parts to Remington, because they are defective. He has to do more detail work, filing and polishing to get the actions to work the way he wants; they simply are not putting in the attention to detail at the factory.

 

This trend is disturbing because while the manufacturer puts out a lower quality product, their parts, too, are lower quality and less readily available. A catch 22 situation. The solution is good old American ingenuity. Small businesses making higher quality parts. Unfortunately, we, as consumers, end up feeling compelled to buy "better" parts for a higher price, to replace something which should work and for which he have already paid once. :(

 

 

WJ

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a saiga .223 20" which was made in '06. It has the thicker barrel which I find a lot more desireable , the newer barrels just look too thin. the .223 did have a slightly canted gas block, but it doesn't really affect function and is not very noticeable. The gun does look more polished, pins in the gas block and front sight block rather than those cheapo dimples to hold them in place. The paint on both new and old saigas are a little unimpressive, good enough but far from ideal. Bought a recent 5.45 import and have some quality issues with it.

 

Overall these guns were an absolute steal when they were first imported they were being sold for 169$. We are still pretty much getting that 169$ Saiga, we are just paying a whole lot more for it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Chatbox

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×
×
  • Create New...