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After seeing Indy's post on his Kushnapup build for the S12, I finally got off the fence and ordered one. I will not go into the detail that Indy did as his observations and review were spot on and don't need to be repeated for the purpose of this post. I just wanted to add my comments on the build with the Saiga .223, as I encountered a couple of issues that I think were unique to using a .223 on the build.

 

I ordered my Kushnapup last week and received it in 3 days. Evidently there is plenty of stock and they ship the next day. I used a Saiga .223 with a 16.5" barrel. I kept the tang on for future options and legal compliance and cut the end off of one of the saiga stocks to use as an extension. I used a PMag from my AR to mock up the appearance with a high capacity mag. Mags for the S223 are on the way.

 

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The installation is straight forward, but I had to do a lot of fitting inside the stock to get the pup together. The primary areas of the stock that needed to be modified were: the mag release (which was expected), the trigger guard, and the safety pivot point. The kush already had areas milled out for the trigger guard and safety, but they were slightly off with the Saiga .223. The easiest way to see what needs a little taken off with the dremel is to brush on some line level powder inside and put it together and then mill down the contact points. You will not be able to see where the stock and receiver are touching without someway of marking it. The photo below shows the stock extension for the tang and where the stock had to be milled out for the mag release.

 

P1000866.jpg

 

 

One final issue with the Kushnapup build with Saiga rifles as opposed to the shotguns is the barrel ends up being free floated. There is a place where the Saiga 12 hand guard screw secures the kush stock to the FGB. Since the Saiga rifles do not use this setup (handguard is attached to the front of the receiver) you will not have this extra attachment point for the stock. However the rifle sits securely in the stock without it.

 

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Because I am cheap and had a rail section from a S12 quad rail that I no longer used, I cut it down to fit, roughed up the surfaces, and JB welded the top picatinny rail to the gas tube. It seems very secure and had plenty of surface area to bond to. We will see how it holds up. If it doesn't, I'll just buy the ultimak.

 

P1000872.jpg

 

Other than that, I plan on removing the FSB, threading the barrel, and adding a muzzle brake / flash suppressor. Overall, I love the way this gun feels when shouldered. It is back end heavy, and should facilitate quick target acquisition. The trigger leaves alot to be desired, but can be fine tuned, so I will play with those adjustments. The final specs as the gun sits is 16.5" barrel, 27" OAL, and a weight of 7.5lbs with no mag. I will update after I get it finished and get it to the range next weekend.

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The die and muzzle device is coming this week. I will be up in Manchester, TN next weekend for a wedding and will probably bring a couple of toys along with the kush to go shoot at my old range in Viola. Thanks for the complement Captain.

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no problem man. it looks pretty sweet. let us know how it shoots. the only other thing i would suggest would be maybe a '74 style rear sight. other than that you seem to have it lookin good.

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That looks great SpaceHog. I joined up after reading your post on this 223 kushnapup. Ive been wanting to build a 223 AK bullpup but Ive never cared for the old style bullpup kit. I went ahead and ordered a new 223 and it should be here within the week. Im a big bullpup fan and I think the Saiga is a great foundation for one.

 

Looking forward to seeing more about it. Im really interested in seeing how nice you can make the trigger pull.

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WVMountaineer,

Thank you and welcome to the forum. IMHO it is the best forum on the net. Most of the folks here have forgotten more about Saigas and AK weopons that I will ever know. Glad to here you are starting your own build. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me. Also check out Indy's thread on his kush build. There is some great information. As far as the trigger goes, I'll do what I can, but with the stock saiga trigger and an extension rod for the bullpup trigger, it may be like putting lipstick on a pig.

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My gun budget has taken a hit. I have bought 7 in the last year. Although I have a very understanding wife, another one might understandably push her over the edge. I'll leave the .308 build to someone else who is single with cash to burn.

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My gun budget has taken a hit. I have bought 7 in the last year. Although I have a very understanding wife, another one might understandably push her over the edge. I'll leave the .308 build to someone else who is single with cash to burn.

 

a year ago that was me on deployment, but now, i have a fiance who is getting a new pistol today, and she wouldnt let me do this to her s308. maybe i can convince her to let me get another one ;)

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Got the rest of my goodies in yesterday. Installed a bullet guide, got a couple of Galil mags, and threaded the barrel with the kit from CSS. The FSB removal caused some issues but otherwise the threading portion was easy. I still want to add a couple of 3" rails on each side. Here is a couple of pics of the almost finished product:

 

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Shooting tomorrow. I will follow up with a range report after this weeked.

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Thanks Dad. Let's just hope its shoots well. Those first couple of shots are going to be a little nerve racking with that bolt so close to my face. I might invite a couple of people I don't really like to be the first to break it in. :)

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That's the trade off with the kushnapup. 7 screws to remove, and then it field strips like any AK. There is also a built in storage compartment for a screwdriver, however IMHO it is just something to rattle which drives me crazy. The field stripping issue doesn't bother me because it is a Saiga. If it were built on a tighter tolerance weapon like an AR, then it might be something to think about.

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Got the Kush out to the range in Tennessee today while visiting for a wedding. It was about a 101F and 90% humidity! A couple of observations:

 

The Galil mags are tough to lock up on a loaded mag. They are easy to lock up unloaded. The bolt is difficult to pull back over the loaded mag. With that said it fired fine and shot brass forward at a 45 degree angle about 15-20 feet.....a good thing with a bull pup design and your face close to the ejection point. No FTF or FTE through 200 rounds. Recoil is light about 75% of my AR carbine, which we also brought along for comparison.

 

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One other consideration with the design is you get to feel burning powder on your right forearm each time you pull the trigger. Don"t get me wrong, it is not painful, and left no visible marks, but it is a "different" sensation that takes a little getting used to.

 

My nephew getting to shoot his first rifle:

 

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And now for accuracy.... With a 2.5 MOA red dot true glo sight we were able to put most rounds in a 2x2 square. As seen on the target below, the upper grouping of shots was during sighting in, and with a couple of flyers to the left and right. Those were operator error beaten.gif Ammo was PMC 55 grain FMJ.

 

KushTarget.jpg

 

Over all it is a sweet little shooting rifle.

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The trigger has a distinct 2 stage feel to it. It is not as crisp as a converted saiga with work done on the trigger. My initial impressions while dry firing was that I would not be happy with it and it would affect accuracy. However, after going through live fire, it actually is pretty decent. The second stage break is crisp, although there is quite a bit of initial travel. The linkage itself is stiff and in my opinion does not add much if any slop to the unconverted trigger. A 2.5 lb target trigger with zero take up or creep it is not, but for the function of what the rifle is made for, it is not bad.

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I haven't measured it since threading and adding the flash hider, and I am out of town until tomorrow. Based on the the original OAL before threading of 27", my guess would be right at 29" with the flash hider installed. I can give you an exact measurement when I get home tomorrow evening.

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sounds good

I haven't measured it since threading and adding the flash hider, and I am out of town until tomorrow. Based on the the original OAL before threading of 27", my guess would be right at 29" with the flash hider installed. I can give you an exact measurement when I get home tomorrow evening.

 

sounds good, get me that measurement when you get a chance.

thanks spacehog

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sounds good

I haven't measured it since threading and adding the flash hider, and I am out of town until tomorrow. Based on the the original OAL before threading of 27", my guess would be right at 29" with the flash hider installed. I can give you an exact measurement when I get home tomorrow evening.

 

sounds good, get me that measurement when you get a chance.

thanks spacehog

 

Villain,

 

I confirmed that it is 29" on the nose from the end of the butt stock extension to the end of the flash hider.

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Spacehog, have you been to the range yet? I just put one on an S-12 and can't imagine the trigger being condusive to accuracy. I hope I'm wrong as I would like to have one on a rifle, as I can't justify the price of another S-12 for myself, but a rifle is more in the budget.

Let me know what kind of groups you get with it! :)

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