LuthorBillis 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 I just a new Saiga, now what do I do? What's the best ammo to buy? Should I shoot it some before thinking about any customizations? Do I need to customize? If I do customize, who best to do it? I know it sounds like a lot of stupid questions, but wouldn't it be stupid to just go at it blindly. I've been shooting handguns for years and would like to get into rifles. I heard the Saiga would be a good way to go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NedPepper 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Hiya and welcome aboard! I would get out there and shoot it! I can't think of any really good reason to change how it comes out of the box. I think most of us have done conversions for purely cosmetic reasons. I changed mine cause it is winter and I like to tinker with my rifles..and probably alittle bit due to I hate NOT being being able to have the original cuz it looks scary and is deemed more dangerous than a Henry rifle!? I shoot the non-reloadable Wolf hollow points. They are 1.80 locally and they work fine. If you feel like you want to change the look of your later you can do it yourself. All the info is provided here by this wonderful group of shooters and Shiek has gone above and beyond the call..by posting a beautiful set of instructions and text on his site. Good Luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
duffman 1 Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 First of all, shoot it. Then, shoot it some more. But, most importantly, shoot it. Wolf is good AK ammo, cheap and plentiful. As far as "improvements" are concerned, that's up to you, there will be plenty of time for those later. Besides, you'll haveto save up for those. Enjoy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black92LX 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 just shoot it. that's what i do with mine. i like silver bear it's nice and cheap from www.aimsurplus.com they are located close to my house so it's easy. as for customizing. i didn't do any of the conversion stuff. right now i just have a variable magnification sciope. eventually i will get a Weaver mount and put a red dot or some AR style optic on it. it's great fun you will love it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aka108 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Think you will enjoy you new piece. Shoot anything that is labeled 7.62X39. The Russian ammo is least expensive. I like the Barnaul soft points. Cheetah is a little more expensive but cleaner. I like the Saiga as it comes from the box. What's nicer than a wolf is sheep's clothes? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevem 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 I love mine.I put a scope on it and a bipod that's way too heavy.It's great for bench shooting though.I'll never do an AK look alike conversion, I like the gay hunting stock. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LuthorBillis 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot it. Got it! Thanks for all the replies. As for the gay hunting stock, it does feel a little flimsy, but from what I've read here, it's a sturdy weapon. I guess I just need to shoot it and check the sights. Mahap, I'll add a scope. Wolf in sheep's clothing. I LIKE that! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black92LX 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 it just seems hollow to me. go to the hardware store and buy some of that expanable foam in a can and spray it in there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ak01q 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 I buy my ammo from Dan's sports. He carries Barnaul and I like it better than Wolf because I have a little less cleaning to do and it is a little more accurate IMHO. Also Dan's price includes shipping (east of the Miss.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kwicko 8 Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 Wow... Good to know I'm not the *only* newbie to the Saiga. I actually got mine for Christmas LAST year, and I have to say I'm not really "into" guns. My dad is, and he dropped this one on me. This past Christmas (a year AFTER I'd gotten the Saiga, and had yet to shoot it!), he told me to bring it with me, since he'd just joined the local gun club. He's ex-military (US Army, 20 years, Viet Nam vet), so I was pretty much raised around guns, and while I enjoyed shooting pistols, I just never seemed to "catch the fever". Well, I took the gun with me when I went home for Christmas, and we went to the range. Honestly, I didn't expect much out of it, being what I thought was a "cheapie" AK knockoff. I was pleasantly surprised. Once we got the sights adjusted a bit, we were hitting coke bottles pretty regularly at 100 yards on open sights. Boom - I was hooked. I haven't made any big changes to the Saiga, but I've picked up a couple extra mags, a scope and mount, and a couple hundred rounds of Wolf ammo. Hell, with the price of the ammo being what it is, it's cheaper than going to a bar to watch the game. And if it lots of time at the range makes me a better shot, that's a good thing, even if I don't hunt. Better to have the ability and weaponry and not need it, than to need it and not have it, right? Get out and shoot, and shoot some more. I think you'll like your new Saiga. I know I love mine! I'm not sure how my wife feels about it, since now I'm spending too much time looking for cool accesories, cheap ammo, and other folks to chat with about it and go shooting with. Mostly, she's okay with it, since it's a helluva lot cheaper than my other hobby - building and racing cars. Not bad when it all goes right, but expensive when it goes wrong! Thanks everyone for the great site and the great info. I've been "lurking" for a while now, trying to get more info and not post the usual "newbie" questions, and I just wanted to chime in with my support for a cool site and a cool rifle. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stingrayia 0 Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Yeah I'm waiting right now to get through the NICS check for my 7.62. I have been delayed twice. Pretty disappointing to have to wait a week to get a straight answer but I'm sure I have an FBI file for security clearances. I picked up some Wolf ammo any way at the Gander Mtn. The guy at the register sold me 200 rounds for 50 cents. I had picked up a topo book for Iowa and he went to put in the 5% discount for 10 boxes and apparently came up with a total of 50 cents. I didn't notice until later when I checked the receipt. I'm hoping that's a sign for good things to come. I know even if I do get declined it will be for some stop sign ticket I got on my bicycle when I was 16 and protested it by not paying until my license was revoked. Booogey booogey boogey the bad man shouldn't have a firearm! Oh well at least someone is out enjoying their Saiga instead of waiting to get approved by the "instant" check system. In the meantime I guess I'll just be stuck having to ride the Beemer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LuthorBillis 0 Posted March 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 stingrayia I've got a CCP. Instant background checks don't apply to me. What are the CC laws in Iowa? If you're not sure, check out http://www.packing.org/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drachomen 0 Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 (edited) Hey all, new Saiga owner here. I just purchased it today for my new plinking gun (the ammo's quite a bit cheaper than the 7.62x54 my bolt-action Czech rifle uses, and if I'm going to get back into competitive shooting I need something I can waste a lot of ammo with) and I'm interested in a few things I've learned in this forum. 1) The dealer at my usual gun store told me that all I had to do was file a 30rd AK magazines catch a little and it would work fine. Well, I bought 2 of those 30rd clips to go with the 10rd Saiga clip it came with, filed them down, and they at least fit perfectly in it. I have no idea how they'll feed or anything since I haven't actually fired it yet (really looking forward to it though ). so: (a) is there anything else I need to do to the magazine for it to work like it should, or is it fine the way it is? and (b ) are there any legal repercussions I should be on the lookout for? 2) If I wanted to buy a few mods for it, ie: a different stock (not like an AK, but something with more padding maybe), scope, etc., where should I look for it? Thanks all, I'm looking forward to shredding a few hundred targets Edited March 11, 2004 by Drachomen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pietro75 0 Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Shiek has a great site check it out . Thanks to this site I was able to make my romanian magazines work. Legal Saiga conversion Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevem 0 Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 (edited) The 30 round mags will fit the saiga but will not load.The regular AKs have a feed ramp that guides the bullet into the chamber that the Saigas lack.If you hold your AK mag and your Saiga mag together and look at the top front you will see that the Saiga Mag is higher to guide the round into the chamber.Alot of guys build a feed ramp that fits into the rifle(like the AKs) to be able to use high capacity mags.The other thing you CAN do that is ILLEGAL is to build up a feed ramp on the AK mag with a weld.It works flawlessly but is illegal.You aren't supposed to alter the mags. I'm not sure about putting a high cap mag on a stock Saiga, you may need the 5 US made part thing to do it legally.Like pietro75 siad, shiekyerbootie knows all the ins and outs of the legal Saiga conversion. Edited March 15, 2004 by stevem Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevem 0 Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Has anyone else ever noticed that Zappa fans are usually REALLY friggin smart people? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigfoot Wallace 0 Posted March 16, 2004 Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 Without a pistol grip I believe you only need 4 U.S. parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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