eastonmaxxpro 1 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Hey guys, wanted to introduce myself as I'm sure I'll be poking around here a lot. Been looking for a Saiga 12 for sometime now, but could never pull the trigger. Finally saw the new deals at $499 online and called my local FFL to ask him if he would do a transfer. He said he actually had one he just got new in box from his distributor for around $550. Went over and took a quick look at it, saw that it had the scope mount so it must be a "pre ban" (haha) and had my credit card out ready to purchase before I myself could even realize. Signed all the paperwork and after a little talking took it home for $575 with taxes and fees. Well little did I know when I actually looked at all the stampings on it I just purchased a New in box Saiga 12 imported by EAA and made in 2001 with an Oct of 2001 customs date. New in Box from a decade ago, haha, I guess his distributor found this one at the back of some long ago forgotten closet. Now that I've got my decade new Saiga I hope to customize it to my liking and have an awesome time doing it. Great posts and topics on this site, keep up the good work! -Easton 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lbsrdi 1,078 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Congrats and have fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RED333 1,025 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 10 yrs old, WOW. Congrats and welcome Shoot the hell out of it, have fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Does it have a bolt hold open lever on it? Welcome aboard. These weapons are very rewarding when you get them running well. It may soon be your favorite. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The_Caged_Bird 474 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Wow, nice find but I want to warn you, some of the earlier S-12s were a bit finicky, some weren't, so don't get totally pissed if it won't run birdshot, we'll help if need be. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eastonmaxxpro 1 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) Does it have a bolt hold open lever on it? No it does not. (At least not that I noticed?? Only thing I noticed on there was the safety) The magazine was in the sealed plastic bag with the cleaning supplies so I didn't even notice when I was quickly messing with it at the store. I've been reading that you can add the bolt hold open to these older ones? Do you guys think it would be worth it to try and add when I'm attempting the conversion to pistol grip or should I leave it BHO-less? Wow, nice find but I want to warn you, some of the earlier S-12s were a bit finicky, some weren't, so don't get totally pissed if it won't run birdshot, we'll help if need be. Thanks Caged. I'll probably be taking you up on that help offer. Gotta take her out and see what she will fire. Edited December 29, 2011 by eastonmaxxpro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G O B 3,516 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I added the BHO that Makc used to sell to my S-12, an older one that came in without one. This was so I could shoot trap (had to do that at least once) and use local shooting ranges that require an open bolt when the range is cold. A yellow flag would do the same and I used to use one, but was forever loosing the damned thing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The_Caged_Bird 474 Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I just use the modded safety lever as a BHO. CSS has them pretty cheap right now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tunnelrat 10 Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Hello, I am also a new Saiga 12 owner...got mine as an early Christmas present on Gunbroker for $575 plus $25 shipping and $20 transfer to my FFL. This is a new Sept 2011 model that has the BHO alreay installed. I've been looking at these for some time now, and decided to finally take the plunge. I've already started the conversion myself. I ordered an Ace 9.5" stock, receiver block, push button side folder adapter, Molot style grip and the CSS trigger guard from CSS. I like the CSS receiver block because it utilizes the holes created by drilling out the two long rivets, and the top hole in the existing rear trunion...no plastic plugs or welding to worry about. It bolted right in (gotta cut the tang off though) and I was able to bolt the stock on to it no problem. The CSS trigger guard bolted right on, but the Molot grip required a little filing for it to mesh with the trigger guard, no big deal. I've built a few AK's in the past, so I had some extra AK FCG parts that I chose to use instead of buying some. I used the factory ones as a guide for grinding...gotta round that top point off of the trigger, and take a little off of the side of the hammer pivot point that is against the BHO lever. After a few trial fittings everything works great (cycling by hand) Touched up everything with some cold blue, and I loaded the 5 round mag and manually cycled each round, and noticed a few failures to feed...upon closer inspection, the slot in the chamber for the extractor seems to be really rough and has a few sharp edges, and a shell was occasionally catching on one of the edges and gouging it enough to where it would hang up about 1/3 way into the chamber. I'm sure polishing this area will help improve the chambering. Extraction is flawless...so far this is where I am at with my conversion. Once I finish the polishing I would like to fire the weapon with the factory gas plug first and see how it performs with the 4 gas ports, and go from there. Also planning on maybe some kind of a railed forearm with a forward grip and also plan on cutting and rethreading the barrel for some kind of choke or muzzle brake. Found a die on Ebay for $22.80 and it's on the way now. May press the barrel out and do it on a lathe or order the thread aligning tool from CSS and do it manually. Anyway, just joined this site, and look forward to sharing - thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eastonmaxxpro 1 Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Liking the look of your shotty tunnelrat. In my mind thats exactly what I had invisioned when I bought my Saiga. Simple, no nonsense, black beauty. I'm now debating between getting wood furniture or keep it evil black. The wood furniture I've seen on here looks gorgeous. I wish Rusmilitary still had their furniture sets in stocks. I LOVE the look of their vented wood forearm. I'm liking the idea of not having to cut the tang, but I still want a folder If I got evil black, so I was thinking either getting one of the cheap tapco side folders(least desirable option) or the polish beryl side folder(nice since its a left folder). It's my understanding those two don't need the tang to be cut? Ahhh, need money to pay for all of this fun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tunnelrat 10 Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Thanks man, I personally like the all black look myself, but you're right the wood furniture does look sweet....hey that means you have to get another one - then you can have one of each! You're right on not having to cut the tang on the two folders you mentioned, but the Polish may need mods to the mounting block in order to slide it in the receiver...I know that it'll slide into an AK receiver but not sure about a Saiga 12 one. Tapco will slide right in. I would really like to have the Izhmash folding stock with a cheek weld...saw one on Gunbroker but he wanted $540 for it...shit I can buy another shotgun for that much! Yeah I've got about $250 in mine so far, including the threading die for the barrel. Still looking at getting some more mags and a couple of drums too, and other stuff...ahhh you're right more money to spend! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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