Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 (edited) Been on this forum for quite awhile and was finally able to buy a new Saiga 12 At Cabela's, with my points it was $450 out the door with all the fees. Nevada charges $25 for a background check! Now, where are the most reasonal places to get the conversion stuff, AK style stock, pistol grip, 12 round magazine, ect? Thanks in advance! Edited November 22, 2012 by Hudson Hornet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big John! 2,062 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Been on this forum for quite awhile and was finally able to buy a new Saiga 12 At Cabela's, with my points it was $450 out the door with all the fees. Nevada charges $25 for a background check! Now, where are the most reasonal places to get the conversion stuff, AK style stock, pistol grip, 12 round magazine, ect? Thanks in advance! Congrats. You got a smokin deal IMO. By my math you need to lose at least two parts to run that mag per 922r. The way it was explained to me, the mag counts as three. I got rid of the forearm and replaced with UTG quad rail, and got Phoenix Tech. butt stock with pistol grip. I'm sure there are many that will bag on my less than expensive add on's, but I'm saving my $$$ to get the more important to me internals polished up. That said… I'd look in the S12 e-store, or any one of the supporting vendors and spend your money with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kukurilynch 2 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 get your parts from CSS they are great to work with. and do the conversion yourself just go slow and be precise. less is more when it comes to {polishing} and have fun! just for kicks put a hundred rounds in it unconverted so you can compare before and after. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lelandeod 179 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Congrats! Are you in Reno? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Look though the whole picture thread. Decide what parts you want, and how much of the work you are willing and able to do yourself before you buy anything. Only buy once. PS the promag drums are decent, but I would avoid their stick mags unless they are veeery cheap. I would also compare the prices and selection on mississipiautoarms.com and the forum e-store. As was said above, you need to get rid of at least two parts on the list beyond your trigger group. The obvious choice is going to be butt stock and then either fore arm or puck. See here:Gunwiki: 922® Worksheet for Saiga Shotguns Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Congrats! Are you in Reno? Congrats! Are you in Reno? Minden Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Saw the videos,and read the sticky here. Well, looks like it is beyond my capabilities. Not too good with small springs and stuff. Used to working on antique cars, but not carburators with all the small parts and springs. Thought I'd get the Saiga before they try to ban them! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
misterT 174 Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 From what I have read on here ALL the shops doing conversions are backlogged for months! It really is NOT that hard to do but you will want to shoot it a while before conversion which VOIDS the warranty. Like gun fun said look through the gallery and picture posts and make up your mind what you want first. In the Saiga 12 section on here ther is whole thread with nothing but pictures that is a good place to start. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 From what I have read on here ALL the shops doing conversions are backlogged for months! It really is NOT that hard to do but you will want to shoot it a while before conversion which VOIDS the warranty. Like gun fun said look through the gallery and picture posts and make up your mind what you want first. In the Saiga 12 section on here ther is whole thread with nothing but pictures that is a good place to start. Thanks, really good advise! Should shoot it first, to make sure everything works while under warranty.. It's just that they look so awsome converted! Hopefully, the magazines and pistol grips wont be banned in the meantime. The owners manual is kinda vague. So you can shoot regular 12 gauge shot shells with it? Have the November issue of Gun Tests, and the Saiga is rated the best of the test group. Only a B+ rating? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) Ok, took it out for the first time today. Had a lot of failure to feed and failure to eject problems. Could it be the ammo? Used Winchester Universal 12 guage 2.75 inches, 1200 fps 1.8 oz, 7.5 shot. Really hard to load in the factory magazine! Very tight fit. Suprised by the recoil. Much less than my 30.06 and Mosin Nagant, when it did shoot. Now what? Edited November 25, 2012 by Hudson Hornet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lbsrdi 1,078 Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 Read, read, read... Gunfun just did a nice explanation of what you should do in a very recent thread that will help you. Should not be hard to find. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
misterT 174 Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 Dont get discouraged, like king of the hill said read read read. But in the meant time your gas valve has to be set to #2 for low brass bulk ammo and NO ONE has good luck with the Winchester bulk ammo. It should shoot the federal stuff O.K. and any high bras but make sure you set the gas valve to #1 for high brass or you will damage your gun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) Dont get discouraged, like king of the hill said read read read. But in the meant time your gas valve has to be set to #2 for low brass bulk ammo and NO ONE has good luck with the Winchester bulk ammo. It should shoot the federal stuff O.K. and any high bras but make sure you set the gas valve to #1 for high brass or you will damage your gun. Ok. It was set at #2 from the factory when I shot it.. Stupid question, but how do change the settings? Owners manual is practically worthless with the Russian instructions translated to English. Is there somethig out there that I can print up that really gives better information for novices? I have two shotguns, but neither has choke tubes, ect.My regular AK is easy to understand! From what I have read on here ALL the shops doing conversions are backlogged for months! It really is NOT that hard to do but you will want to shoot it a while before conversion which VOIDS the warranty. Like gun fun said look through the gallery and picture posts and make up your mind what you want first. In the Saiga 12 section on here ther is whole thread with nothing but pictures that is a good place to start. From what I have read on here ALL the shops doing conversions are backlogged for months! It really is NOT that hard to do but you will want to shoot it a while before conversion which VOIDS the warranty. Like gun fun said look through the gallery and picture posts and make up your mind what you want first. In the Saiga 12 section on here ther is whole thread with nothing but pictures that is a good place to start. Is there a warranty? GUN TESTS says "none". Edited November 29, 2012 by Hudson Hornet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 Read the post on settings. Will try #1 and see what happens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Read, read, read... Gunfun just did a nice explanation of what you should do in a very recent thread that will help you. Should not be hard to find. I put a link for the whole PROCESS in my signature line. Other people have good processes too. The point is to be methodical and eliminate variables. Thanks, really good advise! Should shoot it first, to make sure everything works while under warranty.. It's just that they look so awsome converted! Hopefully, the magazines and pistol grips wont be banned in the meantime. The owners manual is kinda vague. So you can shoot regular 12 gauge shot shells with it? Have the November issue of Gun Tests, and the Saiga is rated the best of the test group. Only a B+ rating? I sit on the fence about this one. On one hand, problems are extremely rare which cannot be handled by the average schmo taking his time about it. Warranty work is a hassle because your gun is likely to be in a shop for a few months. You also hassle with shipping, FFL transfers and all that crap. The other thing is a warranty shop is going to do the very least they can to your gun to get it running. They will only address problems that you specifically point out. Most of them seem to do the gas work up to the level that it will run some brands of 3 dram, but not all. (Most builders will not do warranty work to run winchester bulk) Doing my whole process should be doable by anyone in about an hour for the stuff not at the range, a trip to the range to test, and maybe another half hour to hour for each time you adjust the port size and then a trip to the range. Bottom line, I would want to shoot it enough to know if something is majorly out of whack, like a very crooked block, bad machining on the bolt, or whatever. If it runs the hot stuff fine, but is too weak to do run the weaker ammo, then I lean towards just doing it yourself and being done. For one thing, since it is your gun, you will care a little more, and probably take that extra step to ensure it runs all the ammo you might buy with all the magazines. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Dont get discouraged, like king of the hill said read read read. But in the meant time your gas valve has to be set to #2 for low brass bulk ammo and NO ONE has good luck with the Winchester bulk ammo. It should shoot the federal stuff O.K. and any high bras but make sure you set the gas valve to #1 for high brass or you will damage your gun. That's not true. It would be better to say that most don't. One of mine would run it 95% sporter, which a KA puck solved, and the other one would out of the box (but not with an MD20). When I found a couple years later that winchester seemed to be weaker, I bumped up the port size and count to #1 and moved the KA puck to #2 solving both issues with the weaker new Win Bulk. It is not what I prefer to buy, although it runs cleaner. I want my gun to run everything it possibly can without compromising top power safety. It doesn't take a lot of work to get there. IMO it has paid off too. Sometimes the store is out of your brand. Sometimes your range buddy shows up with a box of Winchester bulk. I don't want to quit playing when that happens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted November 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Great video, GunFUN! Looks like you can load the magazine blindfolded! Was told that Winchester Universal is not too good with this gun. That's what I was using. Kinda different than my AK, which you just load and shoot, and it keeps going...going... Edited November 30, 2012 by Hudson Hornet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
misterT 174 Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Gun Fun stated "That's not true. It would be better to say that most don't. One of mine would run it 95% sporter, which a KA puck solved, and the other one would out of the box (but not with an MD20). When I found a couple years later that winchester seemed to be weaker, I bumped up the port size and count to #1 and moved the KA puck to #2 solving both issues with the weaker new Win Bulk." Thats good to know I will have to give it a try, I have read SO MANY negative comments on the Winchestor bulk ammo I guess I assumed it didnt work for anyone. Edited November 30, 2012 by misterT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hudson Hornet 40 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Will take it back to Cabela's this week for them to check out the feeding and ejection problems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 They won't know a thing. They will just send it to who ever currently has the warranty contract with the importer. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sdustin 578 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 I'd shoot about 100-200 3" mag or 2 3/4 buckshot. Then try fedreral. It's a combat shotgun. Soldiers don't usually use birdshot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pro2A 17 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Great video, GunFUN! Looks like you can load the magazine blindfolded! Was told that Winchester Universal is not too good with this gun. That's what I was using. Kinda different than my AK, which you just load and shoot, and it keeps going...going... I learned from here that Winchester is the dirtier ammo, since then, I've gone to the Federal bulk pack. I'd shoot about 100-200 3" mag or 2 3/4 buckshot. Then try fedreral. It's a combat shotgun. Soldiers don't usually use birdshot. Amen.......Mine's never had a problem with Federal hi brass slugs, and its took about 200 crappy game loads to get nice and smooth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Squishy 1,149 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 The first S-12 I obtained runs Win Universal fine with an Auto-Plug. But don't take this statement as a recommendation to get one, get it sorted out first then look at other options, you should be able to run it with the factory plug. I run WU birdshot as it comes from the box and, I substitute Lee 7/8oz slugs for the birdshot and it runs fine unless I messed up the hull opening the shell to get the shot out. A peppier shell for break in would be Rio High Velocity 00 buck which SGAmmo usually has for around $110 per 250, it runs well for me. Ditto on the not taking it back to, or sending it to anyone. Spend the time you'd be waiting for some mook to try and figure out what's "wrong" with it (a long wait for a train that won't come) or waiting for warranty work to be done reading this board. It's all here, trust me, it is. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheDarkHorse 216 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 ....Mine's never had a problem with Federal hi brass slugs, and its took about 200 crappy game loads to get nice and smooth That's all my two needed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ammohawg 4 Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) I recently spent some time on the range with my first S12. I had great luck after the first mag, everything ran well. I went back to the range today and found reduced recoil buck shot (bought it by mistake) is somewhat of an anomoly for the S12 with the stock gas plug. I also noticed today that the gun seemed to run well and felt like it has settled a little. I know that's total crap, just perception on my part. The moral of this is I am more familiar with the S12 and what to expect in terms of recoil etc.. No way I would attempt to get Cabelas to do anything, they're a bunch of Fudds still stuck in the days when single stage loading presses were all the rage. Pure speculation here, but I would guess all they would do is have their in-house smith look at it, and things would go downhill from there. LIke Squishy posted, all the info you could ever want is here, and a concentration of shooters who are familiar with your gun and anything you are likely to do with it. I'm still wet behind the ears with the S12 (been shooting and wrenching race guns for over 20yrs) and can say without doubt, you are looking at the best source on the 'net for S12 information. Ditto on the not taking it back to, or sending it to anyone. Spend the time you'd be waiting for some mook to try and figure out what's "wrong" with it (a long wait for a train that won't come) or waiting for warranty work to be done reading this board. It's all here, trust me, it is. Edited December 6, 2012 by ammohawg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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