Reliability Mods vs. "Break In" vs. "Quick Fixes"

[Paulyski 2,227]

A customer just told me today that after GlassBolt his S-12, that won't even fit the .07" of the 3 port gauges that I include (I include a .08" & .09" too) in his 3 unobstructed port S-12 will now cycle light birdshot without port work.

 

Pauly's fuckin' stoked!

[racolqui 19]

I broke a rib last week so haven't had a chance to run mine through the paces as I had planed before making any changes. I did remove the gas plug and it has three holes that seem to be angled toward the rear, about the size of a 1/8 drill bit, and not covered by the gas block. I fired one Remmington 7/8 ounce #6 birdshot 1390 fps ( can;t really shoot much here or a LEO will show up unhappy) it ejected and reloaded fine on setting one. My question now is could it possiably be over gassed and should I change to the V-plug I already purchased? I would like some adviced from you more experianced guys.

Has the weapon been modified? (ports)

 

Not yet, I wanted to try it with all types of shells to see what it did strictly factory. I was just concerned that since it fired the cheap low brass so easily on setting one it could be over gassed with High brass. It will have to wait a week or two now until my rib heals some. I am dying to run some shells through it but the recoil would hurt like hell right now.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Palidin

[zenman223 460]

Get an adjustable gas plug and over gassing is a non-issue. Could be overgassed, but a better gas plug will solve that. You should be thankful your gun cycles so well, most are not as fortunate.

[pony_express1973 183]

I had trouble with mine I got a low brass reliability kit from CSS and with the change of puck and plug went to shot 5 stand with it yesterday with no problems at all ran like a champ so I saved mony by not having it polished and port work done like some people would suggest you do first

[AFobia 1]

Well Im in the midst of my vodka special, 3,2,1,5

[racolqui 19]

I broke a rib last week so haven't had a chance to run mine through the paces as I had planed before making any changes. I did remove the gas plug and it has three holes that seem to be angled toward the rear, about the size of a 1/8 drill bit, and not covered by the gas block. I fired one Remmington 7/8 ounce #6 birdshot 1390 fps ( can;t really shoot much here or a LEO will show up unhappy) it ejected and reloaded fine on setting one. My question now is could it possiably be over gassed and should I change to the V-plug I already purchased? I would like some adviced from you more experianced guys.

Has the weapon been modified? (ports)

 

None yet and don't really want to. I like the orginal set up. Even the trigger feels smooth with no creep and a crisp clean break.

[Vermiform 26]

After conversion, mine would not cycle low brass reliably. I read extensively on it here and decided to enlarge the gas ports, even bought some new bits to do it. About 8 hours before I was about to start, someone here in the forums sent me a PM and talked me into running some higher power loads through her and loosen her up. It worked like a charm. 300 rounds later and no FTEs. I still got an MD Arms V-plug. As with ANY saiga though, YMMV.............

[gunfun 3,931]

um, I am not an expert on par with the pros here, but I, like many others, don't have the cash to throw $100 or more at a pro to fix something that is working fine.

I am sure that a professional reprofile is great and all, but I trust my saiga, and would rather put my cash toward ammo at this point.

 

I think the order for an NIB saiga is to see if it works first..

 

step 1) Don't convert (yet). Resist the urge to change any parts untill you know if it works. Run a few high brass. Buy some ammo that should be marginal. I say 1 box of federal bulk, and one box of winchester.

 

If it runs the federal, you might be ok to stop there. If it won't, let the importer fix it.

 

If it won't run the winchester, and you want it to, you know that it is pretty close. Now you can start to think about whether to fix gas or friction.

 

step 2) after doing your warranty/no warranty decision, everyone should do a simple home polish. I am not talking about a full reprofile. I am talking about taking a wire brush and some sand paper and slicking up the rails and, removing any burrs... and feeling by hand cycle for any sticky points.

 

If your gun works well, this is a logical stop point for many users.

 

If not, you need to assess gas ports, and whether there are major friction problems.

 

I think the lists above by CSS and other pros are pretty good.

 

For me I would love Pauly's service, and am almost comfortable enough to do something similar myself. I just don't need it.

 

I have 2 saiga's:

One ran everything out of the box. It is rock'n lock. I don't need to mess with anything, but a reprofile would be nice.

 

The other ran everything up to federal bulk out of the box. It has 4 ports with one slightly obstructed. Adding a KA puck was enough to make it run the winchester 100% instead of whatever it was before. I think it would be unnessessary to tear the gun apart and risk permanent damage by drilling or Dmodding my block.

 

Reprofile would be nice, but is not needed. I have a magwell on there, and it is something I want anyway. Ease of feeding is not a problem at all. It currently eats everything I want to feed it except B&P slugs. If I start having too much money, either I will do some re-profiling myself or I will send it to Pauly, or another competent pro. I want this guy to be like a race gun, so it may be worth while to have the gun fine tuned. That is a want, not a need.

 

Both got the light treatment in #2 above and I think everyone should do that. Not everyone needs to turn a $300 to $600 good shotgun into a $1000 gun to meet his needs.

[rnemhrd 165]

I just got my S12 to run well today. My gun was a mess. Gas block to far forward,(had to make a shim so the gas tube wouldn't rattle forward and back). Wouldn't cycle low brass for nothing. Tried the CSS puck, V-plug polished, re profiled the hammer, and bolt. Looked at a lot of pics of bolts done profesionally and shaped it like those. I wanted it to run on anything. I ended up adding a 4th port and getting 2 1911 springs. A 18.5 and 20.5 progressive spring.Figured one was in the ball park. With the polish and reprofiling a 18.5lbs spring it has to be on setting 5 on the v-plug to run low brass with no issues from the shoulder of hip. It runs 95% on setting 4 will not even open the bolt all the way on setting 1.I figure this to be correct for low brass. On setting 1 runs slugs great,and isn't slamming the bolt in to the rear trunion. This worked for me. I fucked up. I had a 2011 gun in my hand and didn't want the plastic thread guard on the end WTF. I should have returned the gun for warranty work but who knows who is doing it anymore. I did get to know my gun well and managed not to mess it up thanks to the info on this forum.

[Nailbomb 10,221]

Killing poll.

[Sohei 10]

The poll is no longer visible. I remember checking it out a long time ago when I was still just lurking and had not bothered to register yet. Since the posts refer to option numbers that I can't see anymore it is hard to tell what the consensus is about the order in which to try reliability improvement methods. I can see some posts by knowledgeable members with good advice so I may just go with their suggestions. I was just wondering if I may be missing a step since I can't see the poll options and the popular opinion appears to have changed over time.

[lbsrdi 1,078]

I believe the general consensus is that instead of 'break-in' with powerful loads you should start by reprofiling/polishing and checking your ports. That was the gist of the poll results as I remember them.

[Sohei 10]

Thank you.