Red Star 38 Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 was torn between the 223 and the 5.45, but the 5.45 is winning out. I have a few questions though... 1) magazines I've been reading around the forums, and it seems that both the tapco and promag magazines will work with the rifle. is installing a bullet guide absolutely necessary for either of them to function right out the gate? also, what modifications (if any) will need to be made to either the mags or the rifle to get them cranking? 2) cleaning since the diameter of the round is slightly smaller than a .22, i assume that cleaning it with .22 rods and brushes will work well. Since i will be getting a whole truck load of the surp ammo, cleaning should be the same for any corrosive ammo. 3) conversion are there any 5.45 specific quirks to watch out for? i think that the workings in the receiver would be the same for all saiga rifles... thanks for the help guys Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 was torn between the 223 and the 5.45, but the 5.45 is winning out. I have a few questions though... 1) magazines I've been reading around the forums, and it seems that both the tapco and promag magazines will work with the rifle. is installing a bullet guide absolutely necessary for either of them to function right out the gate? also, what modifications (if any) will need to be made to either the mags or the rifle to get them cranking? You will need a bullet guide. Avoid ProMag. Tapco, too, is substandard compared to surplus mags or new Circle 10 mags, but better than ProMag. 2) cleaning since the diameter of the round is slightly smaller than a .22, i assume that cleaning it with .22 rods and brushes will work well. Since i will be getting a whole truck load of the surp ammo, cleaning should be the same for any corrosive ammo. .22 cleaning supplies will work fine. 3) conversion are there any 5.45 specific quirks to watch out for? i think that the workings in the receiver would be the same for all saiga rifles... thanks for the help guys None really. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Red Star 38 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 thanks for the quick answers sir! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigj480 203 Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Yep,I have to agree with Jim, you want to be able to use surplus mags. They are cheap and better. Be sure to keep 922r in mind. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Red Star 38 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 will do I think the only mods you need to make on the surp mags is file a little of the magazine catch, right? or do they fit right in there? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NM0 586 Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 You don't file mag catch on the 5.45's. They fit fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Red Star 38 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 awesome! thanks again guys! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fallschirmjager667 729 Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 also test it first without the bullet guide, some don't need one Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kyvtx1300 5 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Tested mine Saturday, all the US TAPCO mags worked as well as the original mag, no bullet guide. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jweezyadig 1 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I am happy to tell you that east german bakelite mags, bulgarian circle 10 rpk mags and I'm sure just about every other ak-74 style mag does. They all feed the beast just fine with no bullets guide in mine EXCEPT for the last round as many others will tell you just doesn't have enough spring force on it due to the lack of another round trying to push its way to the very top of the magazine.(Because the follower only goes up so far in the magazine) But the mag catch on my IZ240 is so tight that it is a pain to remove the magazines so I wold still recommend taking a little material off(or replacing the mag catch with an AK's). I just figured all this out yesterday as I am new to saigas period. Hope this helped -Jon Also it comes with the cleaning supplies! One of the great things about Saigas/AK's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wagdog 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Also it comes with the cleaning supplies! One of the great things about Saigas/AK's. I've read numerous threads (here and other forums) about a cleaning regimen for corrosive ammo. I own Mosins and I've shot a lot of corrosive ammo. Fortunately I live in a relatively dry climate but I still clean up as soon as I get home from shooting. Is the Saiga happy with hot water, patches, solvent (like Hoppes #9), and then some CLP? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NM0 586 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) You will be fine. I do a couple hot waters with some sprayed soapy water in between. Clean like normal (I use Gunzilla). I've only pushed around 1K through my 5.45 with the Ultimak on it. Took it off recently and everything was nice and clean. I'm in a high desert too and really don't think there would be serious issues if the rifle wasn't cleaned it right away. Edited January 9, 2012 by NM0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wagdog 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 You will be fine. I do a couple hot waters with some sprayed soapy water in between. Clean like normal (I use Gunzilla). I've only pushed around 1K through my 5.45 with the Ultimak on it. Took it off recently and everything was nice and clean. I'm in a high desert too and really don't think there would be a serious issues if the rifle wasn't cleaned it right away. What do you use to dry out the water? Dry patches? I'm trying to develop a regimen that I can get into the habit of following after shooting any corrosive ammo with my mosins and (soon to get here I hope!) saiga 5.45. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NM0 586 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I blast it like crazy with compressed air and clean like normal with gunzilla on patches after. It's supposed to displace water etc. Also like using bore snake too. Honestly I read so much stuff about guns rusting before getting home I was curious. The desert is different though. If anything did happen it would be minor and take forever to form. I have lived in extremely wet environments before and don't want to imagine what could grow in a short amount of time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wagdog 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Cool thanks for the info. I've never used Gunzilla but it looks like a decent product and I want to give it a whirl now (especially since it mentions cleaning corrosive stuff). You are right about living in the desert. I brought out an old ruger .25-06 when I moved from East Texas to Utah and it had some bad surface rust on the underside of the barrel. I didn't have time to take care of it properly (and I was being lazy) so I cleaned it as best I could and put some CLP on it. About a year or more later, I remembered about the dang rust problem and got it out of storage. I knew it would be a pile of red dirt by then but nothing (visible to my eye) had changed. I know some hate the low to no humidity but it doesn't bother me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NM0 586 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I like the cleaner. If you leave it on the saiga paint job long enough it will strip it to the park. When I first got it I used way too much all the time. It is amazing to see how much crude comes out of a clean gun, especially a stainless that shows the black gunk well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) You will be fine. I do a couple hot waters with some sprayed soapy water in between. Clean like normal (I use Gunzilla). I've only pushed around 1K through my 5.45 with the Ultimak on it. Took it off recently and everything was nice and clean. I'm in a high desert too and really don't think there would be a serious issues if the rifle wasn't cleaned it right away. What do you use to dry out the water? Dry patches? I'm trying to develop a regimen that I can get into the habit of following after shooting any corrosive ammo with my mosins and (soon to get here I hope!) saiga 5.45. If you use boiling or very hot water, you generally don't need to dry it out, because it will dry almost immediately on it's own accord. (Just shake it out a bit). Then I will send cleaning patches down the barrel to re-wet. I leave the gas system bone dry. I no longer send hot water indiscriminately over the whole front of the rifle, but use a couple of different funnels to send water where I want. Keeps me from having to oil up everywhere or worrying about water getting somewhere and remaining there. Edited January 10, 2012 by Jim Digriz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wagdog 0 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 I am happy to tell you that east german bakelite mags, bulgarian circle 10 rpk mags and I'm sure just about every other ak-74 style mag does. They all feed the beast just fine with no bullets guide in mine EXCEPT for the last round as many others will tell you just doesn't have enough spring force on it due to the lack of another round trying to push its way to the very top of the magazine.(Because the follower only goes up so far in the magazine) But the mag catch on my IZ240 is so tight that it is a pain to remove the magazines so I wold still recommend taking a little material off(or replacing the mag catch with an AK's). I just figured all this out yesterday as I am new to saigas period. Hope this helped -Jon Also it comes with the cleaning supplies! One of the great things about Saigas/AK's. This might belong in a separate thread but do yall have any favorite online dealers for surplus mags? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wagdog 0 Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'll take that as a no. :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
joshman 4 Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I just shot mine without a bullet guide and it functioned great until the last round of my tapco 30 round magazine. All three of them jammed on the last round only. The standard mag works flawless. A bullet guide costs less than 20 bucks with everything you may need. I am terrible at machine type work and I found the conversion to be pretty easy, aside from my stupid mistakes. I was mainly using a 6.99 dremil set (with coupon) from harbor frieght. Give it a try, you wont ruin your gun if you are a little careful! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.