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Pictures and review of my Red jacket 8.5" saiga 12


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Well guys. I told you I would give you more pictures of my RJF short barreled saiga 12. I applogize for the not so stellar pictures but I don't have a dedicated picture table setup like some guys and can't take it outside due to not wanting to scare the neighbors.

 

This shotgun originally started as a model 109 with threaded muzzle. Before I had even fired the gun I went and partially converted it (922r but not NFA), I moved the fcg forward and used the tapco g2 trigger setup. I ordered the tromix trigger guard and weld on back plate. I had buddy of mine tig the rear stock plate on and also close up any extra non needed holes, I hand filed it till it was what I wanted ( use to work in an autobody shop for two years thru college so I've learned a few things ), I also threw on there the tapco saw grip and a gunfixr plug on the front along with a tromix shark brake as that was the thing to have a while back. The rear stock was the machined aluminum stock that MAA was selling and only recently since I received my sbs back did I install the pushbutton folding block that I bought from CSS as I had not seen that style block produced for a year or two since ACE Ltd had ceased production.

 

So as time went by I had the itch to short barrel it and I had looked into a tromix conversion but the wait period on it was what detered me from going to them so I went to the next one that everyone was recommending, will from RJF. So after debating between 8.5 or 10" barrel conversion will told me that he would make sure the 8.5 would run perfect and that the package I chose was pretty much the full package of what could be done to it for what I needed.

 

It should be noted that the galil style charging handle has not been done to it yet due to me asking for it to be rushed thru to try to get it back in time for a super secret video shoot with a certain YouTube personality that we all love and adore here in the gun community, so asking for a rush job, with a week timeline, a week before Christmas, it is my fault and not theirs.

 

Me working in the gun industry heavily , and being slightly OCD when it comes to fit and finish of any guns that come thru my hands also while having probably bought, sold, traded over 300 guns in my personal collection over the years. I can say that they have taken the time and made sure everything was done correctly before it left the shop. RJF even had to delay a day for shipping my gun because they didn't like how the paint job came out and redid it.

 

Upon picking up the gun it feels neutral in it's balance of muzzle vs buttstock weight. It doesn't wear your arms trying to hold it for shooting. after clearing the gun chamber and pulling the trigger I can tell that they went and smoothed out the tapco trigger components and even took out some of the pre trigger creep while maintaining a perfectly safe fcg.

 

The MOJO Muzzle brake on this gun is just impressive. It's built like a brick shithouse and looks like it will do it's job very well. I've included pictures of it along with tromix's shark brake so that you can see the size comparison. I think I can safely say that the MOJO Brake is what the tromix brake should of been. That they took the design and elaborated on it even further. RJF also did a nice subtle job of branding their items with their logo, big enough to see but not an annoyance to the eye, as you can see on the muzzle brake and on the bottom of my receiver and when I get it back the vertical charging handle.

 

The Chaos rail system that they have for this gun is apparently only avail thru RJF for these builds. It is also a well built item on the gun. The top rail is hinged ala Krink style and is held in the rear by the top cover/recoil spring assembly. You can see more in the pictured below of what I'm talking about and to clarify the top rail is seperate from the top cover that comes with the gun. When you fold up the top rail to remove the cover you see that they have not taken any shortcuts on the underside and made sure it was finished on the underside. There is barely any lateral movement and only vertical movement, with just enough tension at the joint to allow the top cover to stay in place when lifted up ( IE the m'fr doesn't flop around when opened). The rail seems to be a clamp together design and is held to the rifle in a few places. As far as moment on the rail for trying to rotational twist it I would say maybe a 1/8 inch as this is an ak platform and there is not a barrel nut design like the ar15. F/R and L/R moment is non existent due to a good mounting system. The HK style drum sight that they put on top is nicely machined and the rear barrel sight rotates without bind and engages each position with a click akin to rotating the mode dial on a DSLR camera.

 

As far as RJF machine work/ gunsmith work, despite what the Sons of Guns show depicts. They have taken their time and done things correctly and did not bubba the stuff. They shortened the barrel and rethreaded the end and even did the correct shoulder on the front of the barrel (instead of just a chop and thread that you might do in your garage) inside my barrel they did the diamond pattern of gas ports as it properly should be. Mentioned before they did work over/smooth the fcg that I had in there along with smoothing the bolt on the gun ( assuming needing to make a smoother transition due to the shorter gas system and having it operate smoothly with no hangups), I also did the slow bolt release from back to front and did not feel any spots that the bolt would hangup on while cycling.

 

I have shot the gun a few times and it's a fun gun and the brake is very effective. In the next few weeks I'm going to let a Corpsman friend of mine borrow it and put it thru the paces while he trains before he has to leave the country for a short term assignment. I should be able to bring my camera then and get some video and see what the gun can do with a drum full of grab bag ammo.

 

Sorry for being so in depth but I figure it was good enough for most of you guys and would answer most any question you have about it since I haven't seen many of these guns out there yet.

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Must be a mound of Tapco hammers behind Red Jacket. I have never seen a RJ Saiga with one laugh.png Looks great I have been thinking hard about another SBS saiga, got a Tromix 10 inch and need a RJ 8 inch now. I will say I have grown to hate all the sharp brakes for jacking up my car seats blink.png

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  • 4 months later...

finally got the bolt to them to get the RJF charging handle, this is their new slotted handle, they can probably elaborate for why its slotted but if i had to guess its for reciprocating weight reasons

 

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