Rifle Dynamics Saiga 12 Review

[physicsnerd 139]

Introduction:

 

Recently I've had a chance to take my newly restored by Rifle Dynamics Saiga 12 to the range and run a decent amount of ammo through it. I thought that I would take a moment to share my gun with you and talk about the process since there is not a lot of feedback on this forum about Jim Fuller's company.

 

First I will go straight to the bling so that you can skip a lot of the details if you're not interested. Then I'll mention the parts added by either Jim or myself. Next I'll give a range report after two outings along with overall impressions of the build quality and function. Finally I'll talk about the process itself and my dealings with Jim, Karen and A.J. of Rifle Dynamics. This is chronologically backwards but one of the things I've picked up in grad school is that in science you get all your experiments and data in order then when you write the paper you write it such that you give the impression you knew what was going on the whole time.

 

Caution, this is pretty long!

 

Pictures:

 

Here are some pictures of the unadulterated awesome that is a Rifle Dynamics Saiga 12.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parts:

 

K-Var Warsaw length buttstock

 

Tromix DIY trigger guard

 

MD Arms Molot style pistol grips made for the DIY guard

 

Tapco G2 FCG

 

Tromix bolt on extended charging handle

 

Chaos tri rail

 

CAA SVG

 

Chaos Warthog brake

 

Gunfixr adjustable gas regulator (not pictured)

 

XS Big Dot tritium front sight

 

Daniel Defense rail covers

 

Range Report:

 

When I first got the S12 back in June I took it to an indoor range to do some function checking. I had a Winchester Super X value pack of 2.75" slugs and made the mistake of taking my Remington Sport Load value pack. I knew that Jim test fires the guns with Federal Bulk but thought I could get away with the Remington as it would be cleaner. The slugs ran like a champ on factory regulator setting 1 but it was a frustrating experience with the Remington loads even using setting 2. It is surprising how shells with the same nominal values (1.125 oz shot at 1200 fps) could vary enough to not cycle. The next morning I went back with a Federal bulk pack and ran through all 100 rounds without a single stoppage. This included going through 2 different SGM 8s, a SGM 12, a SGM 2, an Izhmash 2, 5 and 8, and a MD 20. I did notice, however, that it was shooting about a foot low at 12 yards. I'll talk more on that in a bit.

 

This past weekend a friend and I went to the range with a bunch of new shooters. I took 100 rounds of the Centurion 1.125 oz slugs at 1400 fps and 150 rounds of Federal birdshot. One hundred of those were the bulk pack and 50 were the game loads (the ones that are cheaper than the bulk pack). By this time I had swapped out the factory regulator for the Gunfixr plug that I had purchased back when I was using the gun in stock configuration, as I wanted a finer adjustment capability on the gas flow. Much to my delight the game loads cycled just as well as the bulk pack! The Centurion slugs also cycled like a champ though both loads needed to be set on 3 in order to get them to cycle. I was a bit surprised that the slugs needed setting 3 but this goes back to my comments earlier about being surprised by how much difference various loads can have despite being nominally the same.

 

During this second range trip the only stoppages I had occurred in my very last magazine (the Izhmash 8 rounder) and were two in number while shooting Federal bulk pack. My suspicion is that this was a consequence of the unbelievably dirty quality of the Centurion slugs! There were lead spots on the table! The gun itself was filthy in the receiver and gas block after 100 rounds of the slugs and the birdshot. I have no doubt that it would run without stoppages far longer using only birdshot or other higher quality loads. My first range trip with the Remington birdshot, Winchester slugs and Federal bulk pack ran fine even at the end and that was 215 rounds and it was far less dirty than it was this time. Whether or not I will continue to use the Centurion slugs in the future is a subjective economic calculation I have yet to finish.

 

The Ordering Process and Customer Service:

 

Early in 2010 though still lurking on the forum, I had become convinced that I wanted to restore my shotgun into its originally intended form. With my current situation in life I wanted a professional to do it.

 

What drew me to Rifle Dynamics was Jim's flexibility in terms of what work you wanted done. It also helped that he was a forum sponsor as that allayed fears of buying iffy quality work. The prices listed on the website cover specified labor and refinishing with parts cost as cheap or as expensive as you desire. This was exactly for what I was looking. As an example I wanted a K-Var buttstock but an MD Arms pistol grip not straight up K-Var or Tapco furniture.

 

I shipped my Saiga to Jim in mid-April 2010 and worked out a work order over the phone in late May. I had a basic rear end conversion which was to have the FCG moved forward and old holes welded up. A Tromix DIY guard was used and when the MD Arms pistol grips became available I shipped it to him. This was all very conventional and the one truly custom feature I wanted was to have a replacement front sight added to replace the factory bead that had been sheared off in a freak golf cart accident.

 

The gun was ready to be shipped back to me in June 2011. Though this is a long time I want to note that communication between me and Jim or his company through A.J. was excellent. Even though they were having trouble giving precise dates for when it would be done, I never felt that anything fishy was going on. This is a direct result of Jim's willingness to answer his phone and talk to his customers and his approachability. My build was far from the most involved or expensive but I never felt like a small fry when talking to him. Jim really cares about the builds that leave his facility even if you're a chubby nerd like myself!

 

Let's come back to the experience of the first range trip with the gun shooting low. I did some known distance image analysis and realized that the replacement front sight was a bit over 0.2" taller than the rear sight blade that leads to a 1.3 degree diverging line of sight from that of the barrel. Though it had been pinned in the rear there was not a pin in the front so it was a bit loose on the gas block. After sending some pictures and explaining the situation to Jim he was distressed to see this. He asked that I ship the gun back to him on their dime and would make sure to make it right.

 

The gun was shipped back to him in mid-July and the repairs took about four weeks. To fix the rear sight problem he ended up fabricating a new rear sight. The XS Big Dot sight was installed on a steel boot that was placed over top of the small ridge on the gas block. This boot was welded and blended onto the gas block and the XS sight reinstalled. I appreciated his dedication in making sure that the gun was zeroed. I haven't had a chance to do much "target" shooting with it using slugs but as far as I could tell on Saturday it was shooting where I was aiming!

 

Conclusions:

 

Anyone considering a Saiga restoration would do well to consider Rifle Dynamics for the work. Though it took awhile, I felt that it was a real bargain. Even at the new price of $400 for labor and refinishing this is a great deal considering the welding, blending, refinishing, test firing with Federal bulk pack (which he told me was chosen because it is so popular) and all around commitment to detail. In the pictures, you'll see the color coded "F" and "S" which was done by RD and not me.

 

The finish seems to be a lot tougher than the factory finish. I have a few wear marks on the gas block from removing my tri rail (the little vertical vented panels were making contact as I slid the rail past) but I truthfully have little to compare it to! A friend of mine set the barrel onto a rusty steel rail at the range to no ill effects which was a relief as I don't abuse my guns and do my best to try and keep them in good condition.

 

Overall the fit and finish on my Saiga are great. There is NO movement in the DIY guard or the pistol grip, which are not welded in place to allow you the option of swapping them out later if you so desire. The trigger is substantially better than the factory one. He uses a retaining plate for the pins instead of a shepherd's crook spring for ease of maintenance and removes the factory BHO as a default option unless you specify not to. I was not aware of this until I got my gun back in June but it doesn't bother me as it looks cleaner and removes a possible failure point. I am pretty certain I will add a BHO option with the Krebs lever in the near future. I wanted to give a heads up on that in case you want it left in!

 

Finally, I am really excited about my Saiga 12 and am excited to see what magic he has done on my Saiga 7.62x39 that is getting a substantial rework done back to AK specifications. Soon the Brothers Saiga will be united!

 

Please feel free to ask questions on things that I have inevitably forgot to cover.

[Fallschirmjager667 729]

that's a really good looking gun you've got there, if it were mine i'd use the factory handguard with a small rail bolted on, or the russian railed handguard, but still looks great

[mrwilmoth 0]

Haha its always funny seeing feet photos, lol. I always have to crop my photos! sweet looking shotgun!

[Fapp3R 4]

sweet, good deal man seeing theses type of posts makes me anxious as hell for me to get mine S-12

[Bridis 319]

 

FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

[abyssdncr 4]

This was all very conventional and the one truly custom feature I wanted was to have a replacement front sight added to replace the factory bead that had been sheared off in a freak golf cart accident.

 

Excellent writeup, post, & pics...but I want to hear more about this...what was your S12 doing on a golf cart? This sounds like a sport I could really get into!

[physicsnerd 139]

This was all very conventional and the one truly custom feature I wanted was to have a replacement front sight added to replace the factory bead that had been sheared off in a freak golf cart accident.

 

Excellent writeup, post, & pics...but I want to hear more about this...what was your S12 doing on a golf cart? This sounds like a sport I could really get into!

 

HAHA. I figured someone would be curious! I was shooting clays with my wife's brother and father. He had rented a golf cart for the course and there were shotgun racks on them. The velcro straps were pretty muddy and it fell off. I should be specific, it fell off twice. The second time took off the front bead. But looking at it now you'd never know it took a spill off a cart onto asphalt!