fritzthemoose 3 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I did read through lots of posts here and there are some post that say that there are 2 port Saigas that are on purpose like that and that the ports are bigger then and there are posts that say that 2 ports are not enough. I have a new Saiga and not many rounds out yet. However, i do have the FTE problem with some loads while others work fine. Mine is a 2 port Saiga and the 2 ports are nice to see and look pretty neat. Just wondering if this might be a problem or not Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's your gun. You're the one shooting it. You tell us if it's having problems or not. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Webmeister 3 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I have 2 ports in my 19" barrel and it reliably cycles low brass after my "tune up". I plan to add a third port at some point because it has still problems with low brass if fired from the hip. Most of my problems went away after cleaning/polishing the rails, bolt, and hammer. As said above, you will be the judge on if the weapon works the way you want it to. Lots of good info in the stickies on how to work out the kinks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fritzthemoose 3 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's your gun. You're the one shooting it. You tell us if it's having problems or not. for me the question is if 2 ports are OK in some cases then I just have to break it in more polish something or do something else However, if it is etablished that 2 ports are not enough then I dont have to go down that route but just go out and get more holes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G O B 3,516 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Shoot it a bunch. Shoot it some more. Then you know what you have. I like to season a gun before using power tools to work on important parts. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FiReBReTHa 11 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 2 port here with unsatisfied results. going to have to add a third or enlargen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sunnybean 939 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 What is the length of your barrel? Two ports are normal on a 24" barrel. If you are tuning a 19" barrel, you will probably need to start modifying... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FiReBReTHa 11 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 What is the length of your barrel? Two ports are normal on a 24" barrel. If you are tuning a 19" barrel, you will probably need to start modifying... si senor. 19" barrel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Have those of you who say you have 2 ports on a 19" S12 ever taken the gas block off? I'm wondering if you are just unable to see the third port. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Webmeister 3 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 I took mine off, and yes - only two ports. One was not entirely clear when I got it (new) which is why I took it off as soon as I discovered how. I really don't have any problem with FTE unless it's low brass shot from the hip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FiReBReTHa 11 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Have those of you who say you have 2 ports on a 19" S12 ever taken the gas block off? I'm wondering if you are just unable to see the third port. flashlight in the barrel and clear view to the ports and confirm same access in the piston chamber. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sunnybean 939 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Have those of you who say you have 2 ports on a 19" S12 ever taken the gas block off? I'm wondering if you are just unable to see the third port. Yes, I have had three two port 19" guns... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JamesM 3 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 I have a two port 19". Cycles quality low brass fine with factory puc, Pauly's bolt work, and V-Plug wide open. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) Have those of you who say you have 2 ports on a 19" S12 ever taken the gas block off? I'm wondering if you are just unable to see the third port. Yes, I have had three two port 19" guns... What year were they and what size were the ports? Just curious. Out of all that I have owned, only my 24" models had two ports. Edited February 26, 2012 by evlblkwpnz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sunnybean 939 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Have those of you who say you have 2 ports on a 19" S12 ever taken the gas block off? I'm wondering if you are just unable to see the third port. Yes, I have had three two port 19" guns... What year were they and what size were the ports? Just curious. Out of all that I have owned, only my 24" models had two ports. 2008. I don't recall what size they were...they're all fixed now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have a two port 19". Cycles quality low brass fine with factory puc, Pauly's bolt work, and V-Plug wide open. What size are the ports? What mags and ammo are you using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JamesM 3 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have a two port 19". Cycles quality low brass fine with factory puc, Pauly's bolt work, and V-Plug wide open. What size are the ports? What mags and ammo are you using? I stand corrected. It is a three port gun (one is not visible but unobstructed). Surefire mags, pretty much any ammo cycles fine. I get failures to feed with Winchester Universal (soft hulls). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HankTheTank 0 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Just starting my search on the same topic. I bought an S12 used, now third hand with the 19" barrel. The previous owner claims the original owner shot it about a hundred+ rounds so I assume it was broken in. The second owner claimed he had trouble getting it to cycle with some of the low brass stuff so he bought the V-plug and it looks like a weaker recoil spring. He also claimed he hadn't had a chance to shoot it since the installing the plug. I took it out day 1 with some Remington Slugs and it didn't cycle at all on any setting with the V-plug. I did some homework, cleaned the gas tube (and ports), oiled up the receiver, and went back to the range. It cycled heavy slugs on middle settings and barely cycled the Remington on the highest setting. I changed out the recoil spring and it started to cycle some cheaper Winchester but I had stove pipes the first and last shells of a 5 round mag. Out of curiosity, I decided to take off the gas tube to see what was what... sure enough, only 2 gas ports. I assume, because its a used firearm, sending it in for warranty service/repair is out of the question (maybe I am wrong). So I am looking at possibly either enlarging the existing ports (depending on their size) or drilling a third. I haven't measured them yet but I am hoping the former is a viable option as I have some doubts on my mechanical ability and in-house tools to drill an off angle hole into the barrel. Judging from the condition of the gas plug before a good cleaning, it appears the previous owner did in fact shoot it. I assume he continued to have trouble with it, gave up and decided to sell it without being completely honest with me so I might be overreacting. Obviously I am still new to the S12 so if I am way off base with my line of thinking, feel free to call me out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The_Caged_Bird 474 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 HankTheTank, you don't happen to be a border guard who owns an SRT-10 Ram truck are you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HankTheTank 0 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Nope, engineer with an MDX! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eganx 4 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I bought my S12 last year, a 2011 gun, 19" barrel with two ports. If I remember correctly the ports measured .076 or thereabouts. Before I even shot the gun I presses the gas block off and added a third port @ .082 dia. Took it out and shot it, it would cycle everything from the shoulder but had failures firing from the hip or if held loosely. I polished the bolt carrier, bolt and profiled the hammer. Shoots everything all the time now. The gas system is still seeing less gas than most and the gun works flawlessly, I believe most folks go with three ports at 3/32 though. If you are having FTE problems you need more gas or you need to free up some friction.......... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Webmeister 3 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I bought my S12 last year, a 2011 gun, 19" barrel with two ports. If I remember correctly the ports measured .076 or thereabouts. Before I even shot the gun I presses the gas block off and added a third port @ .082 dia. Took it out and shot it, it would cycle everything from the shoulder but had failures firing from the hip or if held loosely. I polished the bolt carrier, bolt and profiled the hammer. Shoots everything all the time now. The gas system is still seeing less gas than most and the gun works flawlessly, I believe most folks go with three ports at 3/32 though. If you are having FTE problems you need more gas or you need to free up some friction.......... 2011 2-port for me as well. I haven't messed with the ports yet, but did clean up the internals. Cycled low brass from the shoulder 100% of the time, but FTE from the hip. Most likely it was on the edge until I pushed it over by adding a Titan rail - FTE from the shoulder about 35-40% now. I'll be adding a third port, testing, and go from there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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