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.410 Saiga of '09 Production Failing to Feed


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Bought a new .410 Saiga, and was very excited. Imagine my dismay when I went to fire it for the first time, and found failures to feed! The first shells I tried to fire were my friend's hand loaded 2 1/2" tri-ball loads (three .395 round balls). The rounds looked like they were fed up at too high of an angle to be properly aligned with the barrel, the bolt would then mash the rounds hard and deform them slightly.

 

So I figured my problems must have been my friend's reloaded ammunition, even though he loads high quality shells. I decided that I had to test it with factory rounds to be sure. I bought some 2 1/2" tri-ball loads from Noble Sport (three .400 round balls at 1,200 fps) and was able to test these out earlier today. I had the exact same failure to feed problem as with my friend's hand loads.

 

I am not sure what the deal is, but I am very upset and dissapointed so far. Maybe it's the magazine, but I am using the factory 4 round magazine. Could the magazine be one of the 3" only magazines? The gun was produced in 2009 with it being test fired in from the factory in 05/09 so I doubt the gun itself is one of the earlier 3" only versions.

 

Any info or help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

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It's probably the 2 1/2" Shells. I have a .410 I bought new last year (unsure of production date) and it was clearly marked 76mm (equals 3") on the Gun and Mag. So far this Gun is unfired and still in the box, but when I bought it, I had the Dealer try to cycle the 2 1/2" Shells he was trying to sell me through it and they would not work. You will find on other post and from the long time users that there was a 2 1/2" Mag, that is hard to find, that is supposed to cycle the 2 1/2" Shells. Look at the sticky in the .410 section Different Shell Sizes.

 

I have another '01 converted .410 that I have been using the 3" Shells in (I do not have a 2 1/2" Mag). I find that with the Bolt held open, if I am not careful, the front edge of the Shell catches on the feed lip of the Barrel when I am inserting the Mag. I would like to try a 2 1/2" Mag (maybe a loaner) and see if it will work in either of my Guns.

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Mine is late Dec 08 production and it is very finiciky with 2 1/2" anything. I actually have the best luck, in that I have never had any problems at all, with 3" Winchester super X that I buy here at Walmart(as much as I hate walmart). I did run through some of the 2 1/2" 3 ball buckshot that was at walmart, also winchester, that seemed to cycle fine but at almost a $1.50 a round I didn't fire many.

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I should try to be more clear. :angel:

 

 

Unless you have a 2 1/2" Mag for your Saiga .410, the 2 1/2" Shells will not properly feed. See Different Shell Sizes.

 

70mm equals 2 1/2". The 2 1/2" Mags are labeled 410 X 70.

 

 

 

76mm equals 3". The factory Mags I have are all clearly labeled 410 X 76.

 

The Surefire 15 round Mags I have are very specifically for 3" Shells only.

 

The unfired Saiga .410 I bought last year is clearly marked 76mm. My converted Saiga .410 is clearly marked 3".

 

Unless I have a 2 1/2" Mag to try, I am not going to even attempt the 2 1/2" Shells.

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Where can one obtain 2 1/2" mags?

 

They have them listed here, but the link is dead and you can't put it in the shopping cart. Maybe call them.

 

http://www.armsofamerica.com/magazines/saigamags.html

 

Hard to find, unless someone else out there has a source.

 

 

So no 15 round 2 1/2" mags? Well, there goes my hopes for the gun, and commonality with my judge....sigh.

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Hard to find, unless someone else out there has a source.

 

I am going to amend the "Hard to find" statement. I was poking around the "Russian American Armory Company" (RAAC) site and they show the 2 1/2 Mags. Try the distributor link or maybe call them directly to purchase.

 

http://www.raacfirearms.com/accessories.htm

 

It looks like the factory 10 round Mags for the .410 are not available though.

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Hard to find, unless someone else out there has a source.

 

I am going to amend the "Hard to find" statement. I was poking around the "Russian American Armory Company" (RAAC) site and they show the 2 1/2 Mags. Try the distributor link or maybe call them directly to purchase.

 

http://www.raacfirea...accessories.htm

 

It looks like the factory 10 round Mags for the .410 are not available though.

 

Pretty tough to get your hands on the factory 10's. They are also 3" only from what I remember. I haven't been able to use 2.5" shells in my gun though. It's a 3" only from the old school. I've often thought of trying to see what it would take to get it to work with 2.5" though. The 3" is so damned expensive. The gas system would need some work though. Mine is a real old one with a completely different type of piston and plug. Then there's the mag issue. If I had a 2.5" mag here to work with I could probably do something.

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Pretty tough to get your hands on the factory 10's. They are also 3" only from what I remember. I haven't been able to use 2.5" shells in my gun though. It's a 3" only from the old school. I've often thought of trying to see what it would take to get it to work with 2.5" though. The 3" is so damned expensive. The gas system would need some work though. Mine is a real old one with a completely different type of piston and plug. Then there's the mag issue. If I had a 2.5" mag here to work with I could probably do something.

 

I managed one factory 10 rounder when I bought the converted one I have. The guy I bought it from threw in a bunch of stuff including an extra factory 4 rounder and a some Surefire 15 rounders. All my factory Mags are marked "410 X 76".

 

Cobra, I thought you would of had some of the 2 1/2" Mags. :super: One of the head scratchers I had for you when you take a look at my gun is related to the 2 1/2" Mags. I will talk to you about it later.

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I have a 2001 production model and use the 3" 4 round magazine that came with the gun, 3" 10 round russmil mags, and 2 1/2" 4 round mags that I bought from Arms of America, they all work fine. The 2 1/2" were bought for compatibility with the Taurus Judge. The ten round mags were modified slightly because of a stack up problem with Silver Bear 2 3/4" shells. I had to shorten the legs on the follower. There are several older posts about shell & magazine capability.

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Don't give up so easy. I bought a couple of 4 round, 2 1/2" magazines last year at http://www.armsofamerica.com/magazines/saigamags.html

Tik, You're right, the links don't work, though others on the site do. Maybe a call on Monday. In the mean time, 3" shells.

 

I made the call to Arms of America. They do not have the 2 1/2" Mags in stock and do not know when they will get them. They are waiting on the Russians and said to keep trying back. Oh ya, and they know the link is bad on the web site.

 

I'll just stick with my 3" Mags anyway.

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Hey all,

Over the summer I found a website that had 2 1/2 mags in, I'll try and hunt it down again. In the mean time... I'm thinking of swapping out the stock plastic hand guard for either wood or composite that look more like an actual AK. Does anyone know how to go about doing that? Any help appreciated.

 

 

Thanks

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