macaholic 5 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) I puchased my second Saiga-12 this week from a friends gunshop. I ran about three boxes of low brass on #2 setting and I had one FTE at the very beginning of the first box. I ran two boxes of 1oz 8 shot, and one box of 1 1/8 7 1/2 shot. The gun seemed to run better and better as it began throwing the brass about three to five feet from the ejection port. I have heard from some folks that these guns require some break in period. I would like to hear some personal experience, any feed back would be appreaciated. Edited February 5, 2011 by macaholic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bc5000 26 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 When I bought my new Saiga, the first thing I did was ran about 100 rds of 00 Buck through it with some authority. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Both of my guns had a break in period, and I got one used. The first one was tempermental for the first hundred rounds or so, but after I got through that its been a unstoppable beast. Only some winchester loads give it a hickup, and usualy then its only due to mag issues(soft hulls bulge). The used one had to get some high brass run through her to strip off the duracoat on the inside of the reciever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) Right on with ur new purchase! Mine needed to be broken in but ever since it been great. Had to Polish everything after my conversion but thats about it. Is ur gun a 3port ,4,2? Mines a 3 with 2 ports partially covered. Only thing it doesn't run is win. Cheap stuff. Temporarily fixed that with a lighter recoil spring. Shot every thing else fine from day one though. Edited February 5, 2011 by redfish28 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
btr 15 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Not bad. Per my smith, they prefer 1 and 1/8 oz birdshot weight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macaholic 5 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) Right on with ur new purchase! Mine needed to be broken in but ever since it been great. Had to Polish everything after my conversion but thats about it. Is ur gun a 3port ,4,2? Mines a 3 with 2 ports partially covered. Only thing it doesn't run is win. Cheap stuff. Temporarily fixed that with a lighter recoil spring. Shot every thing else fine from day one though. It's a three port just like my other one. It's also one of the H09 series which is supposed to be in the new batch that had the port hole problem corrected. I got that bit of info from Vickey at CGW the day I bought it. Because my first Saiga-12 was a Vodka special that went in for warrantee, and I wanted to know if I would have to repeat that morbid opera with this one. Anyway, I hope this one is doing what it's supposed to, because I plan to run it in tomarros subgun match. Like I said though, it seemed to run better as each mag went through it. The very first mag I ran was lobbing the empties just over the side of the reciever. But by the second box of shells, the empties were flying three to five feet away from the ejection port. I only ran three boxes, so that's not realy enough roundage to make a final determination on reliability. However, I am hopefull because my other Saiga-12 would not get one mag through without catching multiple empties, untill I sent it under warratee to Tom at CGW. Thanks for the reply. Edited February 5, 2011 by macaholic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macaholic 5 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) Not bad. Per my smith, they prefer 1 and 1/8 oz birdshot weight. Yeah, that's what Tom at CGW said, but after he sent my other Saiga-12 back from warrantee, it ran 1oz low brass no problem. I have a friend who has a bone dry Saiga-12 that runs 1oz bird shot as well. The only reason it's an issue, is that none of the Wall Marts in my area carry the bulk packs of 1 1/8 loads, they only carry the Remington 1oz loads. So I have to be able to shoot whats readily available. Anyway, so long as it will shoot the 1oz bird shot, I'll be very happy. Edited February 5, 2011 by macaholic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macaholic 5 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Sinse I last posted on this thread, I've done a complete conversion on this gun, and it runs like a scolded hound dog. The only problem I've encountered, and I knew I would, was the welding of the holes on the sides of the reciever. For the most part, it appears as though I did a solid job on the welds, in the sense that they are solid and penetrated completely. However, I can see a slight hairline half moon on a couple of them. I tested them with liquid to see if it would seep through and the other side stayed dry, so it looks as though the welds filled the holes all the way. I plan to use Dura fill to cover any minor imperfections on this area of the reciever before I refinish in Duracoat. Anyway , the gun runs and looks fantastic! Edited February 26, 2011 by macaholic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.