Bigger, thicker, harder - Saiga M Series

[jmc235 1]

The DPH adapter did not fit... The angle was different and fitting looked like an exercise in futility... Words can not express my disappointment... I guess I will try the Choate Draganuv and hope it fits...

[fbodyreefer 0]

After adding a few parts:

 

 

 

I need to get a drum and should have a dece support rifle. What's interesting is when I had the forearm off, the barrel is only thick for maybe 10", then is turned down a little for another 6" or so, then turned down again for the last few inches.

 

Still got a lot of work to do. Bullet guide, Minwax oil finish on the stocks, new FSB, RPK rear sight, scope, etc. I think most of its gonna wait for winter.

 

Mostholycerebus,

 

I gave mine the minwax treatment with six coats of their tung oil and it came out very nice. Although stock and the handguard came out a bit different in color

Edited June 21, 2012 by MeanGene

[donald 0]

They are cool guns as long as you don't want to convert.

 

really no need IMO, I've never handled a more comfortable stock. Forward FCG too. All you really need to do is replace a few internals and use US mags, GTG. Gets heavy when holding for awhile, but that's what bipods are for.

 

I may grab a 16" later for fun, but if I want a lightweight CQB Ninja gun I have an ar15.

 

The only reason would be to clean up the trigger, but I'm with you- leave it as is.

 

I would do what you want to it

[bikermutt07 10]

Have fun with your new rifle. Enjoy it, feed it Tapco, stain it, shoot it, and for God's sake let you wife club somebody with it.

[mostholycerebus 415]

 

Mostholycerebus,

 

I gave mine the minwax treatment with six coats of their tung oil and it came out very nice. Although stock and the handguard came out a bit different in color.

 

That looks great! I'm going back and forth if I want the minwax tung finish, which is nice and dark, or 'antique' aka linseed, which is supposed to be harder and more durable.

 

Did you remove any of the original finish, or just apply the tung finish over the original finish?

[fbodyreefer 0]

I used 200 grit on the hand guard and sanded the finish down and #0000 steel wool on the stock and then used mineral spirits to clean it all up. I think if I had to do it again I would have gone right over the original finish, but unfortunately I was firing it on a rainy day and the water screwed up my original finish so I was forced to do some sanding.

[mostholycerebus 415]

I FINALLY got this out to the range, and had a great time! My dad and cousin came with and we brought a few toys:

 

Remington 1187

Remington 870 20ga

Remington 870 12ga

Springfield Armory M1A (not match)

Chinese SKS

Some Bolt 30-06

Ruger .22R 10-shot

Saiga M-Series!

 

After firing the first few, the Saiga felt like a pussy cat! I like the .308 round, but I would not want to fire it all day. Or carry the M1A all day. We quit after about 3 hours because they were getting beat up by the shottys and .308s, i felt like going another few hundred rounds! The weight and recoil pad really soaked up the shock. I used the bipod about half the time, and it made a big difference on recoil and accuracy.

 

It was not terribly accurate, but neither am I. The front sight was slightly off and made us all fire a bit to the right, but of course there was no easy way to adjust on the shooting bench. We forgot to bring a big hammer. Do they make an aftermarket FSB with windage adjustment? My dad got 5-6" 10-shot groups at 50 meters, mine were maybe 12", either would have done the job. This was cheap, 5 year old chinese surplus. My dad got one hole on 5 shots with his bolt 30-06, so i suspect that may be the best i can expect on this ammo. SKS jammed on the first shot, case expanded and got stuck GOOD in the chamber, so couldn't compare the two.

 

Im gonna look out for some good commercial ammo next time, just so I know how well it can really do.

 

First couple of rounds the trigger would not reset. Then it smoothed out, but i coul still feel a 'bump' as the trigger moved back forward. When my dad took over he had the issue with the trigger again for a few rounds. Im sure either use or some polishing will fix it good. Trigger had a clean break. This is the original, factory Izmash trigger, it comes in the forward position from the factory.

 

Thumbhole stock was incredibly comfortable. I cant imagine any reason to switch from this to pistol grip unless you wanted to drop weight, in which case the thicker receiver is a bad starting point anyway.

 

In short: I love this gun, love this round, and love this particular model. If the VEPR is anything like this, get one now while you can get them on sale. We got back this afternoon and 15 min later my dad ordered a 20" VEPR from Centerfire, he liked it that much.

Edited September 24, 2012 by mostholycerebus

[thebuns1 4,323]

Glad you enjoyed it. Im going to be looking for an M series after the Vepr 12 gets here. Are you going to run any optics on this beast? With some good ammo and decent optics, I think she might suprise you.

 

I have to agree with you on the thumbhole stock. It is very comfortable, and offers me a bit longer pull over my other AK's warsaw stocks. Im still contemplating swapping out my trigger in my Vepr 5.45. Im going to wait and see what I can get from it when I have it off a rest before I decide to though.

 

Thanks for the update Cerebus.

[mostholycerebus 415]

I edited in, but these were 10-shot groups, whole mags. Once he gets his VEPR we are gonna order two bullet guides and pistons for Tapco mags. I have a few 30-rounders, but im thinking I will prefer 20-round mags.

 

Yeah, after today, it would have been much more fun with optics. I wear glasses and my eyes even corrected arent great, but with the bipod and a scope, I think this will be an accurate plinker out to 100 yards on surplus, 150-200 on commercial or reloads. We have a reloader, mainly for pistol rounds, but I may grab the dies for the 7.62x39.

 

I think next years build will be a lightweight scout-style.

[Byzantine 0]

Bought this same gun a little while ago, and I really like it. Looks gorgeous, very comfy, not a bad shooter either. When I finally got it to a nice range with benches and sandbags I was reliable hitting a 6" circle at 100 yds, using just irons. I put a 4-12 redfield revenge scope on it, using a Kalinka low pro BP-02 mount. This mount is perfect as it sits directly over the center of the receiver, and is quite low, yet not so low that I can't remove the rear part of the rifle for cleaning. Using cheap TulAmmo, from a bench, I'm getting 4" groups at 100 yds. Pretty happy.

 

Only two complaints. First, I found the trigger pretty mushy. There's a good amount of take up before there's any real resistance in the trigger pull, and after that it seems there's a 5mm range of trigger pull where there's no discernable break. The gun will just fire somewhere around there. Makes consistent shooting a pain in the ass sometimes. Two, even with the large wood screw in the stock fully tightened, the stock still "wobbles" up and down inside the receiver. When I'm holding the rifle this will sometimes cause shooting hand to rotate the entire stock down about 3/4 of a centimeter. I can deal with it but I hate the feel.

 

Any ideas on dealing with these two issues? Will a new FCG from Tapco be superior/crisper? Or do I need to get a nicer FCG? And how do I keep that stock from moving. As far as I can tell there is only one point of connection with the receiver and it's not getting any tighter. Thanks, and good shooting.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Byzantine

[mostholycerebus 415]

Just got back from the range after adding the bullet guide, and had a blast! We went out with:

 

Saiga M-Series 22"

Vepr 7.62x39 20"

Vepr 7.62x54 20"

Remington 870

 

This time we brought my recently purchased front sight tool and my dads Lead Sled DFT. We dialed in all three rifles at 50 yards using Golden Tiger FMJBT ammo.

 

Comparing my M-Series to the Vepr, there were a few differences. The Vepr wood is much nicer and hatched. However, I refinished my forearm with Minwax Tung and now have a similar color to the Vepr, but with a harder finish. I like mine more, and need to find the time to do the stock. The metal finish on the Vepr looks much better. We also noticed that the Vepr barrel is more stout. The m-series steps down twice, only being as thick as the Vepr for a few inches past the receiver. Of course the Vepr has the better 1000y windage-adjustable rear sight, while the M-Series just has the 300y non-adjustable. The Vepr has a threaded barrel with a pinned thread cover that should be easy to remove. But heres the kicker: once dialed in, the Saiga M-Series was consitently more accurate than the Vepr! My dad, who is a much better shot than me, fired a few sets from the Lead Sled and from seated position, and the Saiga always had a smaller group.

 

He postulated that it was because of the extra 2" of barrel, and I sure as hell dont know, im just glad it can hang with the best of the AKs!

 

He's gonna add a bullet guide to his Vepr and hes getting a few Tapco smooth side mags for christmas, but we may not be able to get out there again until spring. I really wanna see how these two compare when they are both modded.

 

Regarding the trigger, i definitely noticed some drawbacks this time out. The break was not consistent, and it was still gritty on the return. I didnt want to, but I may end up replacing it. What are some good trigger options? If im gonna replace I definitely want an upgrade.

Edited December 3, 2012 by mostholycerebus