Wishoot 1 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Just took delivery of my new Saiga two days ago. I have not had a chance to shoot it yet, so last night I thought I would try to familiarize myself with field-stripping it. Everything was OK until I got to the gas tube. I lifted the lever on the side and tried everything I could to get the gas tube out. I tried moving the lever to different positions. Nothing. I tried tapping on the forearm. Nothing. It would not move, It didn't even come loose. (Yes. I removed the bolt carrier assembly) How in the *&*&&%%^#^^% do I get this thing off? Do I need to remove the forearm first? Is it even necessary to remove the gas tube at all? Sorry for the rant. Thank you for your help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bean.223 365 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) Just took delivery of my new Saiga two days ago. I have not had a chance to shoot it yet, so last night I thought I would try to familiarize myself with field-stripping it. Everything was OK until I got to the gas tube. I lifted the lever on the side and tried everything I could to get the gas tube out. I tried moving the lever to different positions. Nothing. I tried tapping on the forearm. Nothing. It would not move, It didn't even come loose. (Yes. I removed the bolt carrier assembly) How in the *&*&&%%^#^^% do I get this thing off? Do I need to remove the forearm first? Is it even necessary to remove the gas tube at all? Sorry for the rant. Thank you for your help. AK platform= loose tolerances. You may have to play the release lever back and fourth a bit to find the sweet spot,AAND you may have to take a screwdriver to it and pry it off, dont worry about hurting it give it hell!! Edited April 9, 2011 by Bean.223 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wishoot 1 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Just took delivery of my new Saiga two days ago. I have not had a chance to shoot it yet, so last night I thought I would try to familiarize myself with field-stripping it. Everything was OK until I got to the gas tube. I lifted the lever on the side and tried everything I could to get the gas tube out. I tried moving the lever to different positions. Nothing. I tried tapping on the forearm. Nothing. It would not move, It didn't even come loose. (Yes. I removed the bolt carrier assembly) How in the *&*&&%%^#^^% do I get this thing off? Do I need to remove the forearm first? Is it even necessary to remove the gas tube at all? Sorry for the rant. Thank you for your help. AK platform= loose tolerances. You may have to play the release lever back and fourth a bit to find the sweet spot,AAND you may have to take a screwdriver to it and pry it off, dont worry about hurting it give it hell!! I can't even figure out where the head of the screwdriver should go to pry open the cover. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mullet Man 2,114 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) Pry from between the barrel and gas tube. Usually once it gets removed a few times, it starts to get easier. EDIT; Like Bean said above, you also have to line up the lever correctly for it to pop out. Prying on it while its misaligned, could possibly crush/dent the gas tube. Edited April 9, 2011 by Mullet Man Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Have you removed the bolt carrier? Many times I've forgotten that... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joesmoe 14 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Get a bigger hammer lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GregM1 241 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) Edited April 9, 2011 by GregM1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bean.223 365 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) Yeah, see what I mean by loose tolerances, my .223's lever has to actually be a bit lower to come loose, even then I gotta use a screwdriver. Edited April 9, 2011 by Bean.223 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rx slim 6 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Just keep hittin' it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wishoot 1 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I ended up taking the forearm off then giving it a little tap with a small mallet. Came right off. Now I' trying to get the &%%$^ dust cover back on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wishoot 1 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Got the dust cover back on with a hearty whack. Good gravy! This gun sure seems to like punishment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bean.223 365 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Got the dust cover back on with a hearty whack. Good gravy! This gun sure seems to like punishment. LOL yep, I had a dustcover like that, took all the shit and vinegary I had to get it back on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Battosaii 99 Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 i dont know if its all saigas but my Arsenal SGL21 is super right everywhere. now i can get the gas gube out with my hands but only after playing with it for a long time and still the lever to release the gas tube i still cannot move with my hands i have to use one of the slots in the cleaning kit for leverage Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shades_of_grey 1,092 Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 (edited) i dont know if its all saigas but my Arsenal SGL21 is super right everywhere. now i can get the gas gube out with my hands but only after playing with it for a long time and still the lever to release the gas tube i still cannot move with my hands i have to use one of the slots in the cleaning kit for leverage Better that locking lever is a bit tight than a bit loose. Loose locking levers really annoy me, and could be rotated up accidentally. Anyway, it looks like the OP's found a way to remove his rifle's gas tube already, but I'd like to share my favorite method to remove an extra tight fitting tube; rotate the locking lever up until you have a flat plane, (no obstruction to the tube moving up), then loop a zip tie down between the tube and the barrel. Pull steadily up on that tie and the tube will pop off, without damaging any of your rifle's parts, even cosmetically. Edited April 12, 2011 by post-apocalyptic 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wishoot 1 Posted April 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 i dont know if its all saigas but my Arsenal SGL21 is super right everywhere. now i can get the gas gube out with my hands but only after playing with it for a long time and still the lever to release the gas tube i still cannot move with my hands i have to use one of the slots in the cleaning kit for leverage Anyway, it looks like the OP's found a way to remove his rifle's gas tube already, but I'd like to share my favorite method to remove an extra tight fitting tube; rotate the locking lever up until you have a flat plane, (no obstruction to the tube moving up), then loop a zip tie down between the tube and the barrel. Pull steadily up on that tie and the tube will pop off, without damaging any of your rifle's parts, even cosmetically. This is a great idea and I'm going to use this method next time. Thank you ALL for your great advise! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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