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Knowing what you know now... Which Importer/Caliber would you build ne


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I'm still a little mixed up on importers and what they did to them once they arrived here in the states. Did some importers mill new receivers on some of these rifles and reassemble them before passing them on, or did they come that way from Russia? I am now seeing a FIME type/importers version of a Arsenal in 7.62x39 (I know, I'm crossing forums, I posted in both... hope you don't mind) and something about Arsenal phasing out some/all of it rifles. I know its tough, but could someone school me in Importers/setups reliability and desirability (.223-5.56-7.62 or even .308)?

 

 

 

I am going to do both builds at the same time, and I absolutely want to start with the right caliber/platform on build two. IYHO and why.

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Ok, this is how i believe it works. The rifles are bought by US companies....Arsenal, Century ect. Now I think Arsenal converts the saiga into a battle rifle (without automatic fire option) and sells them at a higher price. Century...hold your breath. Imports or used to import kits.. ie Romanian, Bulgarian, Yugoslavian, makes them 922 compliant and sells them...Now If I were a betting man i would avoid the Romanian like the plague. The Bulgarian are pretty solid as are the Yugoslavian PAP2 2nd Gen. Century imports those as well. There are a lot of other companies that follow suit. Krebs, Ironclad, ect..



Also i spoke to a Century rep resently and the new M70s are not kits but brand new rifles. So there is that as well.

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It really depends on your situation. For Example...I have a 5.56 rifle so I did not want to build a 5.45... I wanted a rifle that was .30cal so I chose 7.62x39 because ammo was cheap and it does alright out to 200-250 yrds (it is combat effective not match grade accuracy)

 

If you want to build yourself- Saiga or VEPR is the only way to go

If you want to buy- Rifle Dynamics, Arsenal and Waffen Werks

 

If this is your only rifle for a while...I would do the 5.45 caliber..as ammo (once you can find it) is cheap...but it is corrosive ammo (milspec bulk)...so you must clean everytime you shoot and be aware of your range rules where ever you shoot.

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yes indeed. i would not buy anything but a saiga and convert my self. its the best bang for the buck and doing it yourself you know it will be done right. ive seen some pretty bad ak's come from certain importers i will not name.

Concerning certain importers that you shall not name, could you maybe throw me a bone and share any such examples of issues said AK's may nor may not have suffered from?

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I'll throw in my opinion on the issue. As far as Arsenal goes, I dont think they did anything to the SGL rifles that they sold under their name. I feel they came into the states as basically a barreled reciever, minus a FCG and put the US made parts in them. This would make the most sense from both perspectives. It would be a waste of money for them to re-manufacture these weapons. Then theres the Legion name that is not on many of the new SGL rifles. All the current production pics Ive seen have had the same markings as the Saiga, and did not have the Legion name on the side in its place. Now whether or not that means anything is up for debate. I'll provide some links as to why I tend to agree with my above statements.

 

Here is the receiver markings on my SGL31. I feel the finish on this rifle is far better than the one that is on my other Saiga rifles.

post-32793-0-75738500-1364257449_thumb.jpg

 

And here is some better insight on my beliefs on the issue with Arsenal AK's.

 

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/70376-arsenal-sgl-21-has-mil-spec-barrel/

 

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/69227-arsenal-545x39/

 

But as for the other importers, I dont feel they do anything to the rifles. The Saiga is legal in the configuration that we buy them. No work is needed, nor is 922r until we start to mod them.

 

But for your inquiry on the desirability and reliability, I feel they are all equal in those regards, and the desirability is mostly preference. The SGL costs more, but for good reason. I dont really feel it will be any more reliable than a Saiga sporter just cuz its an SGL though.

 

Caliber selection depends on your desires for a rifle. I feel any of the calibers will be a good choice, its just some will offer other advantages over others. Just boils down to what you want.

 

 

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