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Vepr 12 - Vs Custom Saiga 12 and the winner is.....


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So i got my Vepr 12 today and tried it out. I took it directly from my FFL, un-boxed it and shot it.

 

I shot a total of 50 rounds.

 

25 federal red box 1 1/8 oz bulk pack

5 wolf 00 buck

10 federal 1 oz blue box.

10 reloaded slugs

 

I only had one FTE on the last round on the federal 1 oz blue box.

 

Overall a much better experience than the first time i shot my Saiga 12. The first time i shot my Saiga 12 it had a lot more malfunctions than that. But that was before all of the work done to it. now my old Saiga functions flawlessly but it took a lot of work and money.

 

so here are the two shot guns i am comparing.

 

20121029232712.jpg

 

Vepr 12- its features and things i like about it-

 

It Came with the original wood stock which is very nice and is already drilled for a cleaning kit it just needs a metal but plate with trap door.

 

the finger extension on the safety out of the box works great and is a lot more ergonomic than i thought it would be. a little stiff but should loosen up with wear.

 

mags fit the magwell very tightly with no wobble. looks to be a very solid setup.

 

the bolt hold open release works great and is in a good location. You don't have to pull back on the charging handle you can just hit the button and the carrier and bolt drops. i love it!

 

you can tell that the carrier is better quality than the Saiga. it is machined better and you can see it.

 

these are the things that i felt were worth mentioning the rest of the great features of the gun are kind of obvious.

 

 

the stuff i don't like on the Vepr 12 -

 

the trigger - it is heavy and the reset is terrible. I couldn't rapid fire it fast at all. it will get a new tapco g2 trigger set.

 

the handgaurd. It needs a rail on the bottom of it. I will add it to the factory hand guard.

 

The mag release - it should have come with an extended one this will be added

 

I am torn about the stock, while I like the look of it it is not comfortable to shoot. i will most likely replace it at some point.

 

 

My Old Saiga 12's features-

 

it has had all necessary reliability work to work flawlessly.

 

Moe stock, tapco trigger, competition mainspring, JTE mag well, extended mag release, utg tri rail, moe fore grip, Tromix monster break, gun fixers gas plug, and MD booster puck.

 

All total at least $1300 in parts and labor.

 

I love this shotgun.

 

So how do they compare?

 

well here are some things that are better on the Vepr than my Saiga-

 

Magwell and factory magwell mags. While the JTE mag well works great on the Saiga and does not cause problems it has a lot of slop in it and the mags fit loosely and wear over time. it is just not as durable of a setup as the vepr magwell.

 

Self Adjusting gas system. oh yeah baby! it works great. the low power shells ejected about 5 feet while the higher power shells ejected about 10 feet. i like it.

 

last round bolt hold open and bolt release. they work perfect and i love being able to drop the bolt with the push of a button like an AR.

 

I am not even going to talk about all of the rest of the features the vepr has that my Saiga doesn't.

 

 

 

Here are the things that i like about the Saiga better-

 

extended Mag release

 

Tri rail

 

A lot less recoil- I am sure the monster break helps as well as the butt pad on the stock but i think the fact that the gas is a little more regulated helps as well.

 

and the trigger - the tapco g2 and lighter mainspring make for an incredibly light trigger that can be shot almost at a full auto rate.

 

All in all I love them both like children and will never part with either but if i had 1k to spend on a 12 ga it would be the Vepr 12. By the time you get the S 12 anywhere near the level of the Vepr you have a lot more money in it than a grand.

Edited by rogers
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The slop is probably a result of having to mod the stock mags with files and sanding discs.

 

While the JTE mag well works great on the Saiga and does not cause problems it has a lot of slop in it and the mags fit loosely and wear over time. it is just not as durable of a setup as the vepr magwell.

 

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The slop is probably a result of having to mod the stock mags with files and sanding discs.

 

While the JTE mag well works great on the Saiga and does not cause problems it has a lot of slop in it and the mags fit loosely and wear over time. it is just not as durable of a setup as the vepr magwell.

 

 

yes and no. when the mags were fitted they were considerably tighter that they are now. The mag well tends to cut into the mag body over time due to the fretting caused by the aluminum magwell on the polymer mag body which causes them to fit looser. this will not be a problem on VEPR 12.

Edited by rogers
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+1 on the mag wear. I took some tips from Cobra and did some youtube learning on plastic welding and added some material back to the SGMS. They are almost too snug now, but I'll let them wear in.

 

If you observe the wear & aluminum rub transfer on your magazines, you will notice that all the force in the back is focused on the point where the funnel flare transitions into the magwell plane. I build up the back of the mag then filed it slowly so that it now makes solid contact on that whole back surface. I believe this will significantly reduce or eliminate that wear-in.

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+1 on the mag wear. I took some tips from Cobra and did some youtube learning on plastic welding and added some material back to the SGMS. They are almost too snug now, but I'll let them wear in.

 

If you observe the wear & aluminum rub transfer on your magazines, you will notice that all the force in the back is focused on the point where the funnel flare transitions into the magwell plane. I build up the back of the mag then filed it slowly so that it now makes solid contact on that whole back surface. I believe this will significantly reduce or eliminate that wear-in.

 

thats a great idea. I would do that but i am strongly considering getting another Molot mag well for my saiga 12 so they can share mags. I just don't know if that will work yet.

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I'm hoping a lot of you do that and that the JTE double latch hits the market soon so that I can clean up on all your old magazines for nothin!

 

Oh, and people have been putting molot magwell on saigas for years, so it is doable. I think there was something about a hassle with the magazine release. PM Schultze about it. That seems to be his schtick.

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Sadly, they will all escape me anyway, because the nothin' bit is my budget.

 

Whenever Jack drops those double latchers, I will be uneasy until I get to try one. The scary part is I might like it, and will have to find old style magazines.

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GunFun and I were discussing in another thread about the interchangability of mags. Modded mags for JTE wells can work(no BHO function though) in VEPRs but not the other way around.

 

+1 on the mag wear. I took some tips from Cobra and did some youtube learning on plastic welding and added some material back to the SGMS. They are almost too snug now, but I'll let them wear in.

 

If you observe the wear & aluminum rub transfer on your magazines, you will notice that all the force in the back is focused on the point where the funnel flare transitions into the magwell plane. I build up the back of the mag then filed it slowly so that it now makes solid contact on that whole back surface. I believe this will significantly reduce or eliminate that wear-in.

 

thats a great idea. I would do that but i am strongly considering getting another Molot mag well for my saiga 12 so they can share mags. I just don't know if that will work yet.

 

I probably don't shoot enough!! lol!

 

+1 on the mag wear. I took some tips from Cobra and did some youtube learning on plastic welding and added some material back to the SGMS. They are almost too snug now, but I'll let them wear in.

 

If you observe the wear & aluminum rub transfer on your magazines, you will notice that all the force in the back is focused on the point where the funnel flare transitions into the magwell plane. I build up the back of the mag then filed it slowly so that it now makes solid contact on that whole back surface. I believe this will significantly reduce or eliminate that wear-in.

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turbotezza

 

Posted Today, 10:21 AM

GunFun and I were discussing in another thread about the interchangeability of mags. Modded mags for JTE wells can work(no BHO function though) in VEPRs but not the other way around.

 

care to elaborate on that or point me to that thread. from what i can tell my JTE SGM magwell mags don't fit in the vepr 12's magwell. they wont go all the way in and fit very loose. if there is something i can do to them to make them work in the vepr that will not affect how they function in the Saiga with the JTE magwell i would like to know.

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