Buttstock Cap?

[tbryanh 11]

I shortened the buttstock on my stock Saiga. The cap that goes on the end of the buttstock no longer fits. Any ideas what cap might fit or what else can be done to make the end of the buttstock comfortable when pressed into your shoulder?

[theorangeplanet 968]

The easiest way would be to get a slip on recoil pad to go over it.

[tbryanh 11]

This sounds like a good solution, but it appears to add 3/4" to the length of the buttstock. I shortened the buttstock by 2". I probably don't want to add 3/4" back or to shorten the buttstock any more.

Edited February 1, 2013 by tbryanh

[theorangeplanet 968]

You could try and find some sheet of plastic material, trace off the shape of the butt, cut it out and glue/screw it on. If you do that, I'd also fill up the stock with some expanding foam to get rid of that flimsy hollow-feeling they have.

[tbryanh 11]

The expanding foam sounds good. Maybe fill it most of the way, let it harden, then fill it the rest of the way with epoxy. Will epoxy bond to the buttstock? Will epoxy shrink when it dries?

[Brian M1 50]

The easiest way would be to get a slip on recoil pad to go over it.

 

+1. Limbsaver slip on recoil pad. Find the length of buttstock you want, then cut 3/4" MORE off of it and add the slip on pad.

[tbryanh 11]

The buttstock has a tapered shape. When the buttstock is cut, the dimension of end of the buttstock becomes too small for the slip on recoil pad to fit snug.

Edited February 1, 2013 by tbryanh

[cguiro 29]

Mossberg 500 speedfeed stock recoil pad will fit inside of u didnt cut to much. Fill with foam.. apoxy the recoil pad inside and enjoy.

[tbryanh 11]

I think a leather buttstock cover will work.

[tbryanh 11]

I put expanding foam in the buttstock and let it dry. Then I carved out some of the foam, about a 1/2" in, and capped off the buttstock with epoxy.

 

The epoxy bonds real well to the plastic and is rock hard. Appears to be a permanant fix.

 

The foam does not appear to reinforce the buttstock in any way. It appears to be needed only to prevent having to fill the whole buttstock up with epoxy.

 

The Russian optics appear to work well now with the shortened buttstock. They appear to have the correct eye relief. I will know more once I go to the range.

 

If I shorten the buttstocks on my other Saigas, I will experiment with putting black dye in the epoxy.

Edited February 17, 2013 by tbryanh

[tbryanh 11]

Epoxy-based pastes for tinting epoxy and providing color to the final finish: http://www.acpsales.com/Epoxy-Pigment-Paste.html

 

eBay has epoxy-based pastes too.

Edited February 16, 2013 by tbryanh

[sjglaw 1]

you will like the ergonomics better if you simply take off the butstock and put on an arsenal warsaw length butstock sold by k-var for example

[tbryanh 11]

Don't you have to convert to pistol grip when you use a k-var buttstock? Its not a sporter buttstock is it?

[Deadeye 325]

just grind down the factory one too fit. I have done that and it worked.

[tbryanh 11]

Do you mean to grind the end of the k-var buttstock to shorten it like I did the stock sporter buttstock?

 

The k-var buttstock is not a sporter buttstock, and the stock trigger will be hard to reach if it is used.

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

If you mess up. I have a number of factory sporter stocks I'd be happy to give you. I was going to make some tables with them but have never gotten around to it. So if you need a couple let me know.

[tbryanh 11]

A couple of extra factory sporter stocks would be nice. If you PM me your email address, I can send you some money for shipping. Thanks.

[Brian M1 50]

You could always tape up the outside of the stock (and spray outside of stock with teflon spay, such as Tri-flon), fill a small pan with black epoxy, and just dip the end (all the way flat to the pan) of your buttstock into it. Once dried, you just knock off the portion on the outside and peel off the tape. That would be a clean, smooth finish (and allow you to keep the buttstock hollow if desired).

[tbryanh 11]

^^^ This sounds good. If I like the work I did already after I test it at the range, I will try that method on the other Saiga rifles.

Edited February 17, 2013 by tbryanh

[tbryanh 11]

I shortened another buttstock. Brian M1's suggestion got me thinking, and I tried another method.

After mixing the black epoxy-based paste I got from ACP Composites together with the Resin and Hardener, I scouped the mixture into the bottom end of the buttstock. Then I turned the buttstock upside down, placed it on a piece of cardboard, and held it in place for 5 minutes. The epoxy ran down to the bottom of the buttstock, and a tiny bit oozed out around the edges. Next day I removed the buttstock from the cardboard and scraped and sanded the bottom of the buttstock to removed remnants of cardboard from the buttstock. I used a medium grit wet/dry sandpaper and a wooden block. Wetting the sandpaper appeared to keep it from gumming up too quickly.

Even though some remnant of cardboard are left on the buttstock, I am happy with the results. A belt sander would help out to remove the remaining remnants, and then a finer grit sandpaper could be used to finish it off.

The problem with the first method is, because the mixture is like a thick honey, air bubbles were rising to the top and not exiting the mixture before the mixture set up. The air bubbles caused an uneven surface at the bottom of the buttstock, and caused pits in the surface after sanding. Whatever air bubbles got stuck in the mixture this time are inside the buttstock. The bottom of the buttstock is very smooth this time, and there are no pits from air bubbles after sanding. It seems the cardboard got a tiny bit soggy in a few little places when it got wet by the epoxy. This caused some irregularity in the surface, but overall this is not a big issue. Next time, I think I will use card stock instead of cardboard.

The holes in the buttstock that accept the screws that hold the buttstock to the rifle appeared to provide big enough passages for air to circulate inside the buttstock to allow the epoxy to fully cure.

Since this buttstock is much nicer than the first one I shortened, I probably will not use the first buttstock. Thanks to liberty -r- death's donation of buttstocks, I can shorten another one to replace it.

As a side note, I plan to experiment with using epoxy to paint some of my buttstocks and foregrips green. I want the plastic on my 5.45 Saigas to be black, and I want the plastic on my .223 Saigas to be green. Black plastic cannot be dyed a different color, and paints made for plastic come off pretty easy. More on this later.

Edited February 27, 2013 by tbryanh

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

That looks pretty good. Look forward to seeing the finished product.

[mancat 2,368]

I don't get it. Just convert the rifle.

[thebuns1 4,323]

It does look good, but I think I'll have to agree with Mancat. Convert that rifle and do away with the short sporter stock and put it back into its true configuration.

[AShotInTheDark1 2]

I have also been trying to shorten the butt stock of a 223 and a 308.

Here is the thread:
http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/88383-shorten-saiga-223-butt-stock-legally-in-ny/

I don't have the technical expertise to cut it, nor to do the fill in, nor to put the butt stock and played back on, especially with screws and glue and such. I want to get 4 inches cut off if the butt plate is going to be put back on, or, 5 inches if I have to use a limb saver as a limb saver eats up an inch. Bottom line is I want each stock 4 inches shorter after everything is said and done.

I am however selling the 308, which is in the for sale section, so I actually really only need the 223 butt stock shortened.

I have five extra un-shortened regular polymer sport plastic stocks available.

If anybody can do it for me, I will gladly pay you, just please send me a private message and we will work it out.

Thank you

[Ravan 17]

next time put it down on wax paper.