Bolt locking and clay pigeons

[dry_gulcher 0]

Hi everyone, a couple quick questions:

I've got one of those 22" saiga-12's with the woodtech finish from CDNN (if it makes any difference) and noticed that if you ease the charging handle forward, instead of letting the spring slam it foward and closed, it closes most of the way, but not all the way, and the bolt doesn't rotate far enough to lock in. When you pull the trigger, the hammer hitting the bolt carrier is enough force to lock it down (i know, it's a bad thing to dry fire a gun), but i was just curious - what would happen if i tried it with a shell in it, would it lock before the shell went off? are most saigas this way?

Second, I just signed up for a gun club with trap and skeet shooting, and was wondering how to use a saiga out there - until now, i've only used mine on varmints and the like. I've got the cheaper sight, the rear U-notch and the front dot attached to the gas tube. Do you have to hold above or below the target, or right on it to hit?

thanks in advance!

[IndyArms 10,186]

I have the 22" with the rib on it...

 

I would say aim JUST UNDER the bird... rear twin nubs same height at the front bead, with the bird just above that....

 

I have used mine for competition trap shooting, and I must say I did pretty well.

 

First time out with it, I shot a 46. Not perfect, and not as good as I am with the mossberg and a XXXfull turkey choke... but decent...

 

The only thing is... I got a lot of snide looks from the regular trap shooters...they are kinda snooty to anything "different" and that isnt a break action trap gun.

 

Also... in the close proximity your spent casing will probably be bouncing off the guy to your right at the next station, till you hit station 5.

 

Needless to say... They will prolly not be too keen on a casing bouncing off their shotgun, or their body... again... snootyness...

 

Where I have shot competition trap, its one shell loaded JUST BEFORE you call for a bird... its not difficult to single load the S-12... just not very smooth... and yeah, ya have to kinda EASE the bolt carrier forward to a LOCKED position...

 

So if the folks you shoot with arent too snooty, and dont mind an "evil-looking, black, assault-rifle styled autoloader" then you should do fine, and with a little practice, I think it will shoot trap EXCEPTIONALLY WELL!

 

they are very accurate once ya get the hang of where to put your barrel in relation to the birds...

 

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

"woodtech finish"?

Is it camo?

[jimmbswu 0]

probably not "camo". My S-12 is also from CDNN with orange plastic that has some black/brown streaks. That's probably what he was talking about.

[kmoore 3]

Couple of points ....

 

Ditto on the snootiness comments. Even a reglar gas gun (like a 1187 or a 391) is considered to be inferior/beginners gun. This crowd is definitely a wood/blued group.

 

Most skeet/trap/sporting clay request an open chamber until your turn to shoot. over unders are broken open, and semi's are locked open. If you don't have a BHO, you may need to talk with mgmt about using a chamber flag of some sort.

 

Trap is a game of distance, skeet is a game of close movement (trap birds move ~directly away, skeet more left/right movement) Trap ~40 yds, Skeet 15.

 

So unless you have adjustable choke, your shotty is probably set up better for one game or the other. Most saigas are pretty tightly choked and would best serve you on the trap range. You typically break trap on the rise. so you want to shoot a bit high. But you'll need to test your shotty as I don't think any two of them shoot to the same (YMMV). Skeet will require any where from no lead to a ~3 foot lead from the center stages.

 

Lastly, I'm not an accomplished trap or skeet(my favorite) shooter. One thing I can tell you is I've yet to shoot with another shotgun shooter who wasn't willing to give advice. Lots of it are good, but I doubt any of them will approve of your shotty! (see first comment :/)

 

But I'll say this, it's a fun time! It was my favorite hobby/sport till I got into "tactical" pistol shooting.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Thanks kmoore, very informative. I'm just getting into shotgun sports. I've always been a rifle dude. Hell untill I got my Saiga 410 the only shotgun I had was the H&R single shot 20 guage my dad bought me 32 years ago when I was 8.

Edited July 11, 2005 by Cobra 76 two

[dry_gulcher 0]

sweet! thanks guys! I think i'll probably try the trap first - my gun's a fixed full choke. I like how quick and easy the Saiga comes to bear on targets, for me at least. A couple of times i've used it while on my uncle's ranch in Montana, spotlighting from the pickup truck. I enjoyed how well it handled, and I often got off the first (and usually last) shot before my friends could get their semi .22's up (yes, all that's legal out there). I was disappointed though - after getting 4 jackrabbits and a little cottontail, I packed up and hopped in the cab so my friends could have some fun, and about a minute after that a badger decided to run across the road in front of us - and i missed all the fun .

 

Hopefully the range won't be too bad - I don't really want to compete, i think i'll just do some practice rounds, at least at first anyway, and I'll probably be shunned, but I won't be alone - the last time I was there, they harassed a poor older man into leaving because the muzzle break on his .308 CETME was too loud.

 

And no, the "woodtech" is definitely not camo. or wood. "orange plastic" is a good description. When i ordered my gun, I'd seen the picture on the Izhmash site with real wood, and had thought that's what it was:

but no - It ended up just being a synthetic stock painted to sort of resemble wood.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Interesting. I haven't seen one of those. You mean kind of like those faux wood Daisy pellet gun stocks huh. Could you post or send me a pic? I'm collecting pics of Saigas in all their different configurations and options. Please let me knmow if you don't want those anymore after you upgrade.