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New to forum, question about drums etc..


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Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and have a few questions... please excuse my lack of knowledge as I just purchased my saiga 12 a couple of days ago (literally).

 

1) I want to get a few 20 round drums.. I saw most people it seems recommend the MD20 vs. the promag drum? Is there any reason why? I couldn't find much information on it... I was thinking of using a slidefire stock would one be better for this than the other?

 

2) I was anxious to get my gun to the range after I bought it.. I fired some nobel sport LE buckshot (00 12 pellets) and it worked flawlessly. I didn't really understand that I needed to change the gas setting to #1 when shooting some slugs, and had a few FTEs... my question is, do you think I could of damaged my receiver from the hard recoil of the slug from firing 10 shots?

 

3) I'd like to put pistol grips on my gun, but I do not have much experience modifying firearms. Is it simple to do? Do I need to move the trigger guard forward and if so, is this something an amateur could do? Could I get some recommendations on which one to go with? I saw some people were using the ak47 pistol grips from "Engage"..

 

4) What's the cheapest most reliable ammo for buckshot?

 

5) Any other advice you could give a newbie like myself?

 

Thanks so much for your time and looking forward to being a part of the community!

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1) I want to get a few 20 round drums.. I saw most people it seems recommend the MD20 vs. the promag drum? Is there any reason why? I couldn't find much information on it... I was thinking of using a slidefire stock would one be better for this than the other?

MD 20 is the orginal. It is more durable, and easier to load. It has run just fine on many actual full auto guns. It is worth the extra $10 -20

 

2) I was anxious to get my gun to the range after I bought it.. I fired some nobel sport LE buckshot (00 12 pellets) and it worked flawlessly. I didn't really understand that I needed to change the gas setting to #1 when shooting some slugs, and had a few FTEs... my question is, do you think I could of damaged my receiver from the hard recoil of the slug from firing 10 shots?

Old quesiton answered many times. Probably not, but you would if you did this a lot. You can check. Is the back of the carrier smashed up where it strikes the trunion at the back of its stroke? If not, you are fine. You just learned a lesson.

3) I'd like to put pistol grips on my gun, but I do not have much experience modifying firearms. Is it simple to do? Do I need to move the trigger guard forward and if so, is this something an amateur could do? Could I get some recommendations on which one to go with? I saw some people were using the ak47 pistol grips from "Engage"..

A pistol grip is a pistol grip. Any AK grip will do, or if you get an AR grip adapter, any AR grip. I think the MD one is pretty nice for a basic grip.

 

4) What's the cheapest most reliable ammo for buckshot?

Anything that runs over 1 1/8 oz at over 1200 FPS. IMO #4 Buck is most suited for home defense for a variety of reasons. More effective and less dangerous to neighbors.

sgammo .com is usually the cheapest source. check here every time you buy gun-deals.com - User-Submitted Gun & Ammunition Deals

 

If you are using a drum, your ammo needs to fit in it. Here is a list of what is known to work: MD20 Ammo Table Guide - PDF attached! - Page 3 - Saiga-12 - forum.Saiga-12.com Read the post then use the table.

 

5) Any other advice you could give a newbie like myself?

Don't buy the slide fire or bumpski yet. Run the gun for a while first. Do a basic conversion after reading all the way through the picture thread and deciding exactly what you want. Only buy your parts once.

Oh and before you go nuts, do the stuff in the reliability link in my signature line. Be methodical and do it in order.

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Welcome to the forum. The best advice for modification is to read the stickies. There's a wealth of information there, easy to follow, user written, and answers written before you ask the questions.

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Thanks for the replies guys I really appreciate it. GunFun, I found your thread about the ammo after I posted this.. thanks so much.. incredible information.

 

Thanks again for the advice GunFun, I'll definitely check out that reliability thread.

 

Don't give too much credit. That isn't my thread, I just did dome updates. King of the hill did some recent additions too.

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Regarding the difficulty of converting it to a pistol grip set-up: The first time I ever touched a dremel tool was for my first saiga conversion. The skill required is fairly minimal, but thats only if you know what you are doing. Fortunately there are a lot of written guides and how to videos. I researched the conversion process for hours before I even ordered my first part. Using a trigger guard that has a built in pistol grip nut such as what Tromix offers saves a lot of time and make the process much easier.

During my first conversion I also left out the bolt hold open, which made the conversion much quicker. Although I finally got around to installing it a year or so later and wished I had just taken time to do it from the start. Now that I've done it several times it's a breeze. Overall doing the conversion yourself is a fun project and teaches you a lot about the workings of the saiga-12. Just make sure to do lots of reading about it first!

Edited by Admiral Jared
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Regarding the difficulty of converting it to a pistol grip set-up: The first time I ever touched a dremel tool was for my first saiga conversion. The skill required is fairly minimal, but thats only if you know what you are doing. Fortunately there are a lot of written guides and how to videos. I researched the conversion process for hours before I even ordered my first part. Using a trigger guard that has a built in pistol grip nut such as what Tromix offers saves a lot of time and make the process much easier.

During my first conversion I also left out the bolt hold open, which made the conversion much quicker. Although I finally got around to installing it a year or so later and wished I had just taken time to do it from the start. Now that I've done it several times it's a breeze. Overall doing the conversion yourself is a fun project and teaches you a lot about the workings of the saiga-12. Just make sure to do lots of reading about it first!

 

Thanks for the info.. I've seen some detailed videos in youtube.. there really is a lot involved and I would be a bit nervous to do it myself.

 

However, another place that was recommended to me, JT engineering, it would take about 3 weeks and around $300 in labor... so it is a trade off. I'd like to do it myself, but I would be really depressed if I messed something up.

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I ordered a 20 round drum from MD arms today, should be here in a week. I also went to the gun range today and they happened to have some 20 round drums from promag... I couldn't resist and I bought one to test it out at the range while I was there.

 

I had some 00 #9 buckshot from winchester to try it out with...

 

Promag's drum was pretty difficult to load up, but it was ok once I got the hang of it. It fit my gun right out of the package.

 

What I didn't realize however though is that I needed to have the bolt open when loading my drum.. and I struggled with it for like 5 minutes before I figured it out.

 

Every round cycled fine, and no FTEs occurred. Pretty happy with it overall... but I think you really need to have a pistol grip in the front of the gun on a rail because the drum gets in the way while you're shooting the gun (excuse my lack of technical terminology).

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ProMag 20 drums are easy to load - use that cocking lever to move the follower down - you are practically dropping in the 12 ga round one at a time.

I do this while resting the drum on the ground/floor, than on a bench.

 

Yep - load it with the open bolt - it is easier, faster, and less likely to smush a weak crimped shell.

 

It depends on you - your arm length etc. I can hold my Saiga fine with a drum. Just take some time to get used to it.

You will eventally get a quad rail for the fore arm (for a center mounted top rail for Red Dot Sight)- and the fastest way to get a pistol grip/collapsable stock/folder - is by TAPCO, or similar - that does not require the trigger group to be moved.

 

SGammo.com is the place for me too!

Edited by DNR
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  • 2 weeks later...

oops wrong quote --- something about about watching youtube videos......

 

 

There are good videos for conversion on youtube, but Avoid IraqiVet888's S12 videos. That advise will mess up your gun. He has ok advise on other topics/ The major stores on this forum have pretty good conversion videos if you plan to use a kit.

 

The old Moe Zambique conversion sticky will show you how to do a little cheaper but more labor intensive method.

Edited by GunFun
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