hartzpad 0 Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Before After With the help of a fellow board member Adam 7373, I started my Saiga conversion yesterday. As you may have noticed, there is no trigger right now, that's because I'm only half way done with the conversion and I now need to install all the fire control parts and internals, paint it in certain areas and make a feed ramp. I just mocked it up to see what the finished product will look like. It's really a fun project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
edman99 0 Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Hello hartzpad: That looks really great. Is that a Galil pistol grip? Are you going to add a muzzle brake? If so, which one? I'm ordering my Saiga today so I won't be very far behind you! Keep us posted. Ed P.S. Don't you love those original Saiga mags? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hartzpad 0 Posted January 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Ya, it's a Galil pistol grip from ACE, it feels very nice in my hand. I don't plan on adding a muzzle brake, but if I do in the future, I will used a bored out AK74 brake and I will cut the barrel 2" and move the Sight Post back near the gas tube. The mag in the picture isn't a Saiga magazine, it's a Polish synthetic 30 round mag on sale at Aimsurplus for $9.99 a piece, looks great with the Saiga finish and the Galil grip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black92LX 0 Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 looks real good man. i have decided against converting mine. i'll just leave it be and buy an actual AK down the road a little. i love the feel of the gun the way it is and wouldn't want to mess with that. i think these are just awesome guns. look great in my opinion even without the PG. though i do have to say i really like that stock you have on there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KySoldier 2 Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Hartzpad, so soon you will have a fully functional AK? Why not just buy one of the many AK copies and avoid the extra effort and legal issues. You can do alot to a stock AK without much difficulty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hartzpad 0 Posted January 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 (edited) The reason I didn't just buy a Romanian SAR1 or other AK clone is quality. The Saigas are brand new build in the actual AK factory in Izhmash. I've shot many Romanian AK's and the quality is just not there IMO. They many times have canted sight blocks, trigger slap and shotty finishes on both the receiver and the wooden furniture. After I'm done with the conversion I will have spent about the same as a SAR-1 and I will have a brand new, high quality AK. If I bought the SAR, I'd have to spend money to buy U.S. black furniture among other things. I know that this is the best rifle for me. What legal issues are you talking about? Every AK must have no more than 10 imported parts, so they're all the same. I had to add my 5 parts to do the conversion. Is that what you are referring to. Edited January 29, 2004 by hartzpad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KySoldier 2 Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Yeah, I was talking about the parts. You're right about quality, from what I've seen Saigas perform much better than normal AKs. I wonder how the US made AKs would stand up? Oh yeah, your Saiga does look great, I just wouldn't have the time right now to modify one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adam7373 0 Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Nice pictures. The conversion goes A LOT faster once you've done a couple. Hartzpad's gun even had the PG hole already cut, which saves some effort. If not for the fact that I couldn't find any more cutting disks for the dremel, I bet we would have had the entire thing ready for paint in 2 hours. Now I am itchin' to get another one! Maybe the half-case of 7.62x39 ammo in the basement is good enough justification for another Saiga... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hartzpad 0 Posted January 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 You know it more than enough justification. And thanks again for helping me get started, hopefully I'll have time next week to finish her up. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KySoldier 2 Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Well its good to hear that someone else sees a Dremel tool as a necessity as much as me...I love those things. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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