CROM 3 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I finished my the conversion of my 24" S12 on Thursday and will be taking it out today. This is the first time I will have shot this gun. I have an Md-arms booster puck and auto plug, but was going to leave those off until I test fire. Any suggestions/tips for my first time out? I am a little anxious about shooting it given I had the whole thing apart and put it back together. I guess if it chambers the round it worked. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mscottrogers 56 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 use alot of heavy loads and lube it up to help it cycle. It usuallly takes about 200 to 500 rounds to get these things broken in. Have fun. and try not to bite your ears with that grin your gonna have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 The benefits of "break in" are negligible, at best. Save your money and hand cycle it for about 15 minutes. It will do about the same thing.... very little. There is no substitute for metalworking and gunsmithing when it comes to making these things run well off of low brass ammo. Prepare for disappointment if you believe you can beat your weapon into submission with high brass ammo. There would be no such thing as a "Saigasmith" if it were that simple. Reprofile, polish , and port. Those are the magical secrets to happiness. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
grima 15 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 The benefits of "break in" are negligible, at best. Save your money and hand cycle it for about 15 minutes. It will do about the same thing.... very little. There is no substitute for metalworking and gunsmithing when it comes to making these things run well off of low brass ammo. Prepare for disappointment if you believe you can beat your weapon into submission with high brass ammo. There would be no such thing as a "Saigasmith" if it were that simple. Reprofile, polish , and port. Those are the magical secrets to happiness. I use a 24inch barrel, from factory no mods to ports, cycles any 2 3/4 28g clay round 7 1/2 shot. 3 ports in the barrel, factory puck and setting 1 on factory plug. the longer barrel, more time for the gas to do its job, also use a mod choke this also helps alot. I guess size does matter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 The benefits of "break in" are negligible, at best. Save your money and hand cycle it for about 15 minutes. It will do about the same thing.... very little. There is no substitute for metalworking and gunsmithing when it comes to making these things run well off of low brass ammo. Prepare for disappointment if you believe you can beat your weapon into submission with high brass ammo. There would be no such thing as a "Saigasmith" if it were that simple. Reprofile, polish , and port. Those are the magical secrets to happiness. I use a 24inch barrel, from factory no mods to ports, cycles any 2 3/4 28g clay round 7 1/2 shot. 3 ports in the barrel, factory puck and setting 1 on factory plug. the longer barrel, more time for the gas to do its job, also use a mod choke this also helps alot. I guess size does matter I have owned 2- 18", 2- 19", and 2- 24" Saiga12s. All of them needed work to run well with low brass and an MD-20. Some more than others, of course. Longer dwell time does give a slight edge to the longer barreled guns, but is not a guarantee to run, by any means. Number of ports matters too. My 24" S12s came with 2 @ .080" and you stayed that your's came with 3. YMMV, just trying to save the OP some money and disappointment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lbsrdi 1,078 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I was just thinking that the label "vodka special" may be an embarrassment to the Russians. This may have convinced them to focus more on QC. Hopefully the new guns being imported will have less problems. I'm not saying they will fire American low brass out the box, but maybe will have less factory defects. Maybe just wishfull thinking. Hopefully the OP has a good first experience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
montec 164 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I have a 19" and it fires all low and high brass and I have yet to do any mods or conversion. I will say I just ran a cleaning rod down the barrel and the gas port and the gas puck was dirty and I have maybe 200rds thru it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
grima 15 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 The benefits of "break in" are negligible, at best. Save your money and hand cycle it for about 15 minutes. It will do about the same thing.... very little. There is no substitute for metalworking and gunsmithing when it comes to making these things run well off of low brass ammo. Prepare for disappointment if you believe you can beat your weapon into submission with high brass ammo. There would be no such thing as a "Saigasmith" if it were that simple. Reprofile, polish , and port. Those are the magical secrets to happiness. I use a 24inch barrel, from factory no mods to ports, cycles any 2 3/4 28g clay round 7 1/2 shot. 3 ports in the barrel, factory puck and setting 1 on factory plug. the longer barrel, more time for the gas to do its job, also use a mod choke this also helps alot. I guess size does matter I have owned 2- 18", 2- 19", and 2- 24" Saiga12s. All of them needed work to run well with low brass and an MD-20. Some more than others, of course. Longer dwell time does give a slight edge to the longer barreled guns, but is not a guarantee to run, by any means. Number of ports matters too. My 24" S12s came with 2 @ .080" and you stayed that your's came with 3. YMMV, just trying to save the OP some money and disappointment. YMMV whats that? I hope the mans saiga works fine. UK saigas come with pistol grip, no sporting style (no converting).Out of the box after 5 rds it ran 28g, 7 1/2 shot with a mod choke no problem. If you only got 2 ports thats nothing to do with me, as for what size my ports are? sorry i'm not that anal. If i shoot my S.A.T 8 with a full choke it will cycle 24g loads, change to a mod choke it will FTE. change to 28g loads it runs fine. CHOKE does make a differance and barrel lengh. if it didn't why are there different powders for pistols (fast burn) rifles (slower burn). Shot shells are made, power for what shot is used, not SBS or 32in barrels. Thats why you have to open the ports with shorter barrels. A longer barrel doesn't increase the speed of the shot, as all the powder is burnt at around 18in of the barrel but back pressure helps cycling the saiga. You have a lot s12's ask who you got them from why they only have 2 ports and you have to spend your time and cash making them work??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) YMMV = your mileage may vary (your experience may differ from mine) Edited July 30, 2011 by evlblkwpnz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CROM 3 Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Ok. So I ran the auto plug and booster puck on the virgin run. On every load I had FTF and FTE. I pulled the autoplug and went back to factory plug. After messing around with the factory plug and setting it on 2, I ran about 150 rounds of low brass with an FTF every 10 rounds or so. MD20 worked great too. Overall I was initially disappointed but now I am quite happy. z Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yooper14.5 84 Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Ok. So I ran the auto plug and booster puck on the virgin run. On every load I had FTF and FTE. I pulled the autoplug and went back to factory plug. After messing around with the factory plug and setting it on 2, I ran about 150 rounds of low brass with an FTF every 10 rounds or so. MD20 worked great too. Overall I was initially disappointed but now I am quite happy. z Put the booster back in and try again with it. It will increase your cycling power. Sounds like you didn't adjust the autoplug. But still, try the booster without the autoplug. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CROM 3 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Sorry for the confusion. I left the MD Arms booster puck in the whole time. I had the Auto plug in first. I tried adjusting it, per the instructions and the FTE got worse the the more I adjusted it clockwise. Tried to tune it the other way as well, with same result. Right now I have stock 2 point adjustable plug on setting 2 and the MD Arms puck. I am cycling low brass like a champ. I never plan to run high brass buck or slugs. I did shoot some 2 3/4" slugs and good lord the thing kicks. I ran 12 and 20 rounds of low brass target shot through the MD 20 and only had 1 FTF. On my factory and 10 round mag I get an FTF on the second round once ever second or third mag. I think if I had gotten the time to send Pauly my bolt I would have zero cycling issue. Hence, the more I shot the smoother everything cycled. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CROM 3 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) All in all I am very happy. It's a blast to shoot and is the most unique thing out on the range. Shooting off 5 rounds in about 1 second is a rush. That's all my shoulder could take at a time. One thing, the KVAR NATO stock is brutal on your shoulder. I should post a pic of my shoulder, it's a mess. Who sells a stock that has some decent padding? Edited August 1, 2011 by CROM Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Sorry for the confusion. I left the MD Arms booster puck in the whole time. I had the Auto plug in first. I tried adjusting it, per the instructions and the FTE got worse the the more I adjusted it clockwise. Tried to tune it the other way as well, with same result. Right now I have stock 2 point adjustable plug on setting 2 and the MD Arms puck. I am cycling low brass like a champ. I never plan to run high brass buck or slugs. I did shoot some 2 3/4" slugs and good lord the thing kicks. I ran 12 and 20 rounds of low brass target shot through the MD 20 and only had 1 FTF. On my factory and 10 round mag I get an FTF on the second round once ever second or third mag. I think if I had gotten the time to send Pauly my bolt I would have zero cycling issue. Hence, the more I shot the smoother everything cycled. Sounds like you have a winner. Post some video.... I like watching other guys spend money Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CROM 3 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) Unfortunately no video. This was a guys weekend in upstate MD. There is a great public range there. Unfortunately, my shooting options here in Northern, Virginia are pretty limited. I can go to a few places and run slugs, but 200 slugs would break my shoulder. Bull run has a skeet/trap range so I will try there too. This is a lot cheaper hobby than cars, and just as fun. Edited August 1, 2011 by CROM Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Unfortunately no video. This was a guys weekend in upstate MD. There is a great public range there. Unfortunately, my shooting options here in Northern, Virginia are pretty limited. I can go to a few places and run slugs, but 200 slugs would break my shoulder. Bull run has a skeet/trap range so I will try there too. This is a lot cheaper hobby than cars, and just as fun. 200 slugs would break my wallet Saiga 12s seem to be a bit more fun than any other weapon though. there is just something about firing 12ga as fast as you can pull the trigger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FL Thunder Stick 21 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 OP, is your gun an H08 serial #....or later? The "08" refers to the year it was made. Thanks, FTS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CROM 3 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 I'll check next time I'm out where I keep it. I got it this spring from Buds, so I'm guessing it's newer. This is a 2 port 24" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waltham_41 52 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 IMO if you got the factory 2 setting gas plug to work, the autoplug should be able to be adjusted to work. It is a simple design and its just a matter of adjusting it to properly vent the gas system. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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