Warranty Repair vs. Convert to Fix My Saiga 12?

[Todzilla 0]

[wired 27]

Pretty much a piece of shit isnt it. Thats why mines in the back yard somewhere.

[Klassy Kalashnikov 1,393]

IMO, get it working first, then convert. There are tons of variables with these guns, and conversion adds more. Once you convert, if it still is not working, it will be even more confusing to fix as you'll have all the old issues, plus all the potential new issues. May as well take advantage of the warranty, and have Cadiz make it right if they can.

[The_Caged_Bird 474]

I second that, send it in, get it fixed, then, when you get it back, convert that bad boy (after testing it) and remove the BHO.

 

After that I'd recommend notching the safety lever so that you can use it as a BHO...

[sapper1371usmc 107]

just take the bho out.

[Paulyski 2,227]

Send it in to cadiz to get fixed & his automatic Last Round BHO installed, then convert!

[Todzilla 0]

Thanks for all the replies. Oddly enough I didn't think as many people would be for the warranty repair. Well, guess that's why I decided to ask!

 

After talking to a few others outside the forums I think it may be that one side of my trigger/hammer spring is not entirely where it needs to be. I'll give that a try while I'm waiting to hear back from Cadiz. Now the question is: did that little tiny notch I put in the factory BHO void everything? In worse case I can go with Paulyski's idea and pay Cadiz to install their last round BHO if the warranty is voided anyway. I'm not too big on taking out the BHO all together because at some of the public ranges they make you keep your chamber open, but true, I could just notch the safety lever to do that.

 

And hell, even Wired's comment is welcome as I want to get a feel of Saiga owners out there that are happy/unhappy with their purchase. If it gets working again, I'll be in the "positive" group once again. The "Zombie Killa" as it's know around these parts is definitely the fan favorite with all the people I go shooting with. The last two outings have been hell though, as it's broken midway, and right at the beginning, of each outing. Which of course is making it less of a fan favorite. They have to make due with the AR15s for fun.

[sapper1371usmc 107]

Wired's comment is directed at the bho lever itself, not the gun. Alot of folks around here remove the bho lever. Its nice when it works as it speeds up reloads a bit, but is a potential failure point. Many folks experience the problems that you are having, with either the spring slipping off or the lever slipping up past the rail.

 

I doubt you notching the lever voided any warranty. It is highly unlikely it is the lever itself that is the problem, but more so that the spring needs bent to keep pressure against the lever or the factory hammer leg has been ground too much and allows too much wiggle room, allowing the lever to slip past the rails.

 

If you just take it out, you can add a washer that is the same thickness as the lever and place it between the hammer and receiver.

[Todzilla 0]

I it is solely the BHO giving me grief, then why woulod I be having the following issue?:

 

First round, ejects shell casing, reloads next round, but DOESN'T lock the hammer back. So what I have to do is pull the charging handle all the way back, it ejects the "3^rd" good round, locks the hammer back, and then I can fire. Rinse and repeat. It basically made my Saiga a "pump action" shotgun with the side effect of having to eject a unfired round each time.

 

My guess is I might have bent the hammer/trigger spring and it's not laying in there just right. Any thoughts?

[TheHunterOfSkulls 230]

It's possible that you bent one of the springs too much, I remember someone else from here having similar problems a while back, but I'd have to say your best bet is still going to be warranty repair. I lucked out having mine still work perfect after converting but my lack of patience really could have screwed me if it didn't. Get it serviced while you can, then do the fun work.

[Todzilla 0]

It's possible that you bent one of the springs too much, I remember someone else from here having similar problems a while back, but I'd have to say your best bet is still going to be warranty repair. I lucked out having mine still work perfect after converting but my lack of patience really could have screwed me if it didn't. Get it serviced while you can, then do the fun work.

Well I broke down the Saiga 12 again today and took out the hammer and associated hardware, cleaned them, adjusted and put it all back together. I checked the "action" manually, and it appears to be working, but I won't know until I test fire it again.

 

Either way I hope to hear back from Cadiz this week and I'll make the choice depending on what they say.

[TheHunterOfSkulls 230]

Well I broke down the Saiga 12 again today and took out the hammer and associated hardware, cleaned them, adjusted and put it all back together. I checked the "action" manually, and it appears to be working, but I won't know until I test fire it again.

 

Either way I hope to hear back from Cadiz this week and I'll make the choice depending on what they say.

 

Good call on both. Cadiz folks will take care of it for you no problem if you need it.

[Todzilla 0]

Hey all, I just wanted to give everyone an update on this post:

 

So as to be expected the folks at Cadiz got back to me pretty quick. Unfortunately my issue was pretty odd so they said the best bet would be to send it in for service. The good news is they said I didn't have to put any of the stock items back on (well, anything that WASN'T related to the issue) so I could leave the stock, fore-grip, etc. Also they mentioned in their long history of doing the warranty repair for the Saiga, they only had probably two customers that were rejected for service. So the out looked good, however I wanted to take one more try at the shotgun before I sent it in.

 

I popped it in the vise and completely removed the entire trigger package and BHO. I straightened out the BHO spring, and completely cleaned the trigger area. I put it all together and headed out to the desert for a test firing.

 

Great news! I cycled 132 rounds with 0 failures! The breakdown was as follows:

 

(All Remington Brand)

 

• 12 rounds: 000 Magnum BK
• 30 rounds: 00 BK
• 45 rounds: 7.5 bird-shot
• 40 rounds: Slugs
• 5 rounds: High Velocity Slugs

Here are two videos of my niece and me testing it out:

 

 

The only negative I can find out of all this is I have really no clue what fixed it. I guess just completely breaking it down and putting it back together did the trick. It could have been the hammer spring being out of alignment. But like I said, I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary. I'm going to shoot off and email right now to Cadiz letting them know that I'm not sending it in at this time unless it breaks in the near future.

 

Anyhow, thanks everyone for the suggestions. I can't wait to put a lot more ammo through this thing. Hopefully it holds up.

[waltham_41 52]

My fix for the BHO lever was to take a pair of needle nose pliers and put a crook in the end of the spring that holds the BHO in place at the end where it holds the BHO.

 

Have not had a problem with it since.