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is it possible to just replace the trigger and the disconnector on the saiga and keep the stock hammer, if so thats two us parts out of four needed.

 

next question is can i put a US made follower (for an ak) into a saiga mag and where can i bye one? thats 3 parts.

 

and can i replace the gas piston with a US made one for the ak?

 

if yes to all then i can have a hunter saiga with hi cap mags because i have 10 foreign made parts. please let the answer be yes to all of them. :clover:

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that would be right but keep in mind a us made follower needs to be in every mag you can lock into that gun.....

 

the stock saiga trigger isn't like a normal ak trigger.....so you could do this....gas piston,hammer, follower, floorplates

Edited by jon elia
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where can i buy us made followers and floor plates and will they fit the saiga mag? i am really thinking about just using us made mags but not sure i can waste the saiga mag. have any of you put in a us gas piston and if so how hard is it?

Edited by platekiller
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the followers from my us mags are too snug to be used in the saiga mags, and the floorplates are also different.

 

on an interesting side note, the spring for a 10 round saiga mag is a good 5 inches longer than the spring for the 20 round AK mag.

 

replacing the gas piston isn't too hard, but you'll need a good drill bit to do it.

 

the factory piston is peened in place, you have to drill out the peened area, then unscrew the piston. put in the new piston, and either weld it in or drill through it and pin it in then weld over the pin, then repaint the carrier.

 

i used the latter method. another member here used a hammer to deform the exposed threads (in the hole you drilled you can see the threads) by bending them over so the piston wouldn't unscrew itself.

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I would like to add that I tryed to keep the trigger in the standard location and replace the required number of inported parts. I bought mag followers and floorplates, a buttstock and gas piston.

 

The buttstock did not fit tight enough and had to be massively modified to fit at all. The floorplates would not fit at all because the Saiga Mags have a much thicker lip at the bottom. Grinding or sanding this lip to match the thickness of an AK mag would compromise the structural integrity of the mag, so I did not do it. The followers fit with much sanding and refitting and more sanding. After that they would still bind inside the mag body, so I tossed them out. The gas piston was a tiny bit longer than the Saiga piston, but seems to work ok. It took me about three hours to drill out the divits, replace the piston and repin it.

 

Overall, I had about $150 invested in not converting my Saiga and still was just not happy with the results. I decided to strip the rifle down to bare bones and make the full conversion Shiek style. It cost about half as much. I did it on a Saturday evening drinking beer and watching tv on the living room floor. About $70 worth of parts and alot of personal touches went into the finished product. I was able to polish the fire control group and reinstall the bolt hold open device. In half the time, with half the cost and half the frustration, I finally ended up with a rifle that was both functional and comfortable and accurate, with that agressive style and is now totally legal for high capacity magazines. I am even considering installing the bullet guide because of the wonderful availability of inexpensive magazine options.

 

I can only hope that my struggles and eventual triumph will help others to avoid costly rebuilds and mishap fabrication. Whatever you chose to do to your Saiga, make sure that it is functional and comfortable for you. Stay legal and safe.

 

Fun shooting!

post-1374-1113186195_thumb.jpg

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