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Help for 1st time Saiga 12 buyer


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Im looking to pick up my first Saiga 12 before they are no longer available and obviously they are the best shotguns around. My question is i see some that are over $1k and some that are $600. What really is the difference? I was looking at the Saiga 12 that was $600 and is there anything i need to know before i pick one up. Im sorry for the dumb newbie questions, but i really can't seem to find the answers im looking for or what the differences actually are. Is there different models of the 12 or is there only one? I want it for mostly skeet and target shooting, but will be used as a home defense gun as well.

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you are in the right place to learn about the saiga 12. most of the new s12s are sporterized. the trigger is moved back and they have a gay stock on them. not hard to fix that. dont be disapointed if they dont run cheap ammo right out of the box. they need broke in with high brass and polishing. there are a fiew difrent models to choose from. long and short barrel.

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If the difference between the $600 and $1000 S12 is not obvious to you, then you will likely be happy with the $600 one. The top one started as $600 S12 and the bottom one started as a $500 S12.

 

post-22401-0-54536200-1330214548_thumb.jpgpost-22401-0-16678000-1330214575_thumb.jpg

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you are in the right place to learn about the saiga 12. most of the new s12s are sporterized. the trigger is moved back and they have a gay stock on them. not hard to fix that. dont be disapointed if they dont run cheap ammo right out of the box. they need broke in with high brass and polishing. there are a fiew difrent models to choose from. long and short barrel.

I agree with all of this except the "broke in with high brass" part. It is a waste of time and money. You achieve nearly the same thing by violently cycling the action by hand. Very few S12s are that close to running well on bulk birdshot after they are converted, but some will run bulk ammo straight out of the box with the factory mag. It all depends on where the OP wants to go with the weapon and what he expects from it. OP, let us know what your intentions are as far as converting or not, and whether or not you want to exclusively fire heavier loads (slugs and buckshot).

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I would add that most of them will run most cheap ammo out of the box. Of the two I own, one would eat anything straight from the factory and converted and the other was only picky with the very worst brand.

 

This forum makes the problem look worse than it is, because people only post when they have issues, or if they are an obsessive saiga 12 nut.

 

The fixes aren't hard for the few common real problems. The fixes are basically free as long as you have basic hand tools and time. (Gas work for instance requires only, hammer, punches for the pins, Soft metal block or punch to drive the block, a center punch if you are adding a port, $2 worth of tiny drill bits, a drill and about an hour per test and check) The only people I have heard get into trouble with this are maybe two guys who decided to drill huge holes because they were impatient, and a whole bunch of people who payed a ton to a gunsmith who is not a specialist. This group had to wait months pay over a hundred, and since the smith was just guessing, might still not have the right size and number of ports.

 

Another thing to consider is that when you are buying a pre-converted S12, many of the shops just bolted on the same kit you would do, and are charging an extra $200 for 45 minutes of the work. This might be worth it to the non-handy if they went through the system, welded axis holes, contoured the bolt, dealt with any gas issues, and provided a warranty for those aspects. However, if it is around $800-$900, you can bet they didn't do any of that stuff. Odds are they don't even know how. (If they aren't bragging about it,, they didn't do it) For the money, You would be better to pick your parts, do the home conversion and have Pauly or Cobra contour your bolt. You would be at least a hundred ahead and have a better running gun with the exact parts you want.

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It's like asking the difference between a GS and a GSX man, one performs decent but is pretty gay while the other is simply badass!

 

I'm going off of old memories there, I roll domestic power now, I guess we all grow up sooner or later (snap!)...

 

I'm just joshin' ya man, bustin' the n00b's balls a little everyone on this site who has a wealth of knowledge has already spoken so read up, I only have one thing to add. If I were you, not really knowing what to look for, I'd steer clear of the converted weapons unless you are buying from a vendor on this site, but we are here to help if you need it, you dirty ricer! J/k!

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Oh. I didn't catch the OP's name. There's a couple DSM tuners in my family. When they work they are like nothing else.

 

I would say that cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad. Most people who buy cheap folders or collapsible stocks regret it, or very cheap aluminum rails. But any chep solid stock is fine, and a couple of the cheap plastic forends are nicer to me than an expensive heavy quad rail. Before you buy a single part, scroll through the entire picture post thread and see if there is anything you want. May as well buy the parts once. Then before you buy say in a loud voice to yourself, " This is a shotgun! Will this piece make it suck on the swing? Would a bipod help me to hit some clay, or get the guy breaking into my house 40 feet away?" That will help you to sort out the features that merely look BA from the features that are BA. Oh, and then apply the anti-Skippy test: If anything makes you giggle uncontrollably with evil glee for more than a minute, just buy it anyway. Fun isn't necessarily the same as practical.

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Yes im on dsmtuners, not so much anymore since i bought a galant but i do plan to convert it to original configuration with pistol grip. Do they all take the same size shells? Id like one with a muzzle break on it and would like to eventually put a optic on it. Will mostly be a target and skeet shooting gun.

I heard they might stop importing them and or the way the government is going they will try and get rid if them which i never hope actually comes true

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Actually, they just passed a bill that allows the importation of foreign shotguns WITH pistol grips...

 

Trust me, the Saiga is FAR from being banned or declared destructive devices. I was sooooooo hoping for them to become DD's so that I could basically have an SBS for free...

 

Oh well, the Saiga-12/20/410 is here to stay for quite a while!

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Yes im on dsmtuners, not so much anymore since i bought a galant but i do plan to convert it to original configuration with pistol grip. Do they all take the same size shells? Id like one with a muzzle break on it and would like to eventually put a optic on it. Will mostly be a target and skeet shooting gun.

I heard they might stop importing them and or the way the government is going they will try and get rid if them which i never hope actually comes true

I was going to make this new s12 a skeet gun but i had a hell of a time finding one with a 24in barrel that wasn't really overpriced. So i'll just keep using my old ithaca, she never lets me down wink.png . But i ended up getting a 19in from classic arms for 550. Shipped in about a week and they were really pleasant to deal with. That was the cheapest i have seen them.

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i think classic arms sells converted ones. however, i always advise others to do the "return to normal" job themselves. check out CSS. they have conversion kits. CSS also has videos on you tube. I purchased my S 12 from Atlantic Arms. 90% of my parts are from CSS. All customizations are my own work, including bolt and hammer re-profile, and polish on the rails, bolt, and carrier.

 

Saiga12.jpgsiaga12drum.jpg

Edited by DANE AXE
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Cost depends on what you want and how much work you are willing to do yourself. Check out Mississippi Auto Arms too.

 

Asuming you are willing to do the work:

 

Price of gun START With current count of 15 parts (now that they count the Bolt Carrier Extension):

15

___________________________________

-3 FCG +$30 (you modify Tapco G2)

-1 KVAR Warsaw Blem +$25

-1 MD Flash hider +$30 @ MAA

-0 Add a pistol grip MD USA $12

-1 Tapco Tappet $8 (substitute booster for $20 if your gun is right on the edge i.e. 95% reliable with low brass.)

-0 Retaining plate $7-12

-0 Re use factory trigger guard.$0

-0 PG nut $6

------------------------------------------------------

10 Imported parts 922® compliant

 

fasteners either screws or rivets ~$2

Duplicolor Low Gloss Engine Black (Perfect match touch up) $7

 

Done 10 parts: Cost of sporter saiga + $137+ whatever shipping cost.

Edited by GunFun
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Thanks for this info guys, exactly the info i needed to start off. I know im the newbie and we get the hecklings for a bit haha which its cool, its kinda like a welcome to the forum thing. We do it to all newbies on the galantvr4.org forum as well, but its all in good fun. With everything being said ill convert it myself, im pretty handy so im sure i can handle it. Once i get one and see how it fuctions with what ammo, ill go from there to upgrading it.

 

You said you can upgrade the gas system for free, what actually do you do it? I would like to be able to shoot all types of shells, cheap and expensive and light and heavy loads. Hopefully it never happens, but if SHTF ever, id like my gun to be able to shoot whatever ammo i can find

Edited by boostedawd91
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good.

 

Make sure it runs right with the full spectrum of ammo you want to shoot before you convert. This leaves you the option of letting the gas work be a warranty fix if needed. Alternatively you could reasonably decide to do the gas work, etc yourself. The main posts in this thread give you the decision tree and process for that if needed.

 

If gas work not needed or it can cycle something like 98 of a Remington bulk pack on setting #2. Just convert.

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ok ill do that. This is my first shotgun so im not really up on shotgun shells, so ill have to look around to see what the cheapest ammo is compared to the good ammo for testing to see what it will handle

Use the federal bulk pack from walmart. Its a good baseline ammo to test your s12 with

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I said Remington because it is a bit weaker than federal. If it runs Remington, it will work with federal for sure, but not necessarily the other way around.

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The gun was built for use with heavier loads so high brass generally cycles much better. Use 2 3/4 to test how it cycles. It may run fine or you could have multiple stove pipes or FTEs. If it doesn't cycle shells you'll want to open up your ports. But shoot the hell outta it and let us know!

Edited by renegade331
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Well i just got my saiga today and i think im quite lucky. Im at the range and trying a bunch of different ammo. Started by shooting probably 10-15 rounds of slugs and then switched to the federal walmart low brass bulk target load. It shoots the cheap target load perfectly on both settings 1&2 with no failure to eject so far. I love this gun!!

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Well i just got my saiga today and i think im quite lucky. Im at the range and trying a bunch of different ammo. Started by shooting probably 10-15 rounds of slugs and then switched to the federal walmart low brass bulk target load. It shoots the cheap target load perfectly on both settings 1&2 with no failure to eject so far. I love this gun!!

 

BOTH SETTINGS???? NOT GOOD!

 

 

 

Just kiddin' man, it sounds like you are pretty lucky!

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