ww2imposter 2 Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 A little background 1st., #1- I am a happy/very satisfied owner of an MKA 1919 #2- I was a very dis-appointed owner of a saiga 12 #3- I was a very very dis-apointed owner of a saiga 20 #4- I bought all 3 of these new between Sept/Aug 2012 #5- The MKA 1919 has been 100% reliable. Not a single fail, EVER. Straight out of the box w/ANY load or type. #6- The 2 Saigas were nothing but miserable failures and money pits straight out of the box. After $250 in upgrades (without going into details) and nearly 200 rounds down range with the S12, I bailed out of that abortion. After nearly $400 in upgrades and another 200 +/- rounds down range, the S20 piece of crap went the way of the Dodo bird. Has anyone else had similar luck? Good or bad. Would anyone buy a new car knowing that before you can use it, the transmission has to be re-built? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zombiehunter762 376 Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 At first mine was having FTE. Then a few rounds and gas adjustment and it ran fine. I recently got a Tac47 Autoplug but have yet to hit the range. I've been thinking of a 1919 or VERP12. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
haugpatr 972 Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 You can put hundreds of dollars into "upgrades" but if they aren't the correct "upgrades" they will never fix the underlying problem. If you do the correct upgrades you will have a great running S12 that you will be extremely happy with, 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mullet Man 2,114 Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Probably could have had both the S12 and S20 running like scalded apes, with little to no money put into them, if some research had been done and DIY work put into it. Glad you are a happy 1919 owner. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 On a bright note, I'm sure you can sell those Saigas in today's market for a nice profit. Then you can buy some more upgrades for your Akdal. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ww2imposter 2 Posted April 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 As stated in the original post, I never had to do a darn thing to the MKA . Performs flawlessly from day one. The only add-on was a rail and a surefire m900a. I may swap out the plastic carry handle for a real one at some point. Those two saiga's were traded for a nice little Colt M4. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Those two saiga's were traded for a nice little Colt M4. Sweet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beefcakeb99 572 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 some people have more money than they do sense...$700 in upgrades, and ammo, then give up? must have been one expensive ass colt, sorry you couldnt get it right but at least you are happy now 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 I guess its a matter of timing. AR's are selling at a premium right now. Colt M4's are selling down here for over 2 grand in a matter of minutes. Saw a used one at a gun shop yesterday with a $2800 price tag on it. Several Saiga 12's are offered in the $1200 range and are still on the shelf. I've never even held a Saiga shotgun and do not know if that is a good or a bad price. But I do love those Colts. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Syndicate 812 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 eh I can't get anything light to run in my akdal, my standad clay load doesn't like running in the 1919 which sucks because that's what I'm set up to reload. Unless I change up some springs and maybe bypass the gas system. All I gotta say, althought really happy and love my 1919, plastic fucking feed ramp. I am at some point I'm either A: going to have to get the lower or B: send it to jim for the feedramp fix. I think if the feedramp was proper from the get go I'd have a lot less of the (although not a regular prob) feed issues. I have no idea if I'll ever get an S12, but when I do I know who's going to work on it and I know what I want done, what I am going to get out of it, and what I am going to use it for, because this website has great info and I know what I'm getting into. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jasper 19 Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 (edited) I made that claim about a year ago on this forum. I had the rain of hell come down from fanboys. I cant say I was supprised. It is after all a saiga forum. I no longer have a S12. I wont say they are not good guns but for gun games the Akdal is hands down better. More upside and ergos are better. I have not really posted much at all since. This platform has come farther faster than the S12 would ever and will ever. BUT I think most of that is due to 3 gun. Im still waiting for someone to make a one piece mag body of 12-20 rounds. It will happen I think. I forgot to say when I feed my Akdal (a early Firebird conversion with the new feed ramp upgrade) the ammo it likes, 1200 FPS AA and pretty much any other brand it runs as close to 100% as I could have hoped for. Using 15 round mags and 10 round Firebird mags. My gun ran better last weekend than a couple other brands considered the gold standards for 3 gun. Mossburg and Benelli. Edited April 10, 2013 by Jasper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dubya 198 Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I guess its a matter of timing. AR's are selling at a premium right now. Colt M4's are selling down here for over 2 grand in a matter of minutes. Saw a used one at a gun shop yesterday with a $2800 price tag on it. Several Saiga 12's are offered in the $1200 range and are still on the shelf. I've never even held a Saiga shotgun and do not know if that is a good or a bad price. But I do love those Colts. Bill If those guns are STILL at those prices this week anyone buying them is high off their azz. The stores up here have been flooded with AR's and other "assault" rifles for two weeks and prices are dropping like 1oz sinker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I guess its a matter of timing. AR's are selling at a premium right now. Colt M4's are selling down here for over 2 grand in a matter of minutes. Saw a used one at a gun shop yesterday with a $2800 price tag on it. Several Saiga 12's are offered in the $1200 range and are still on the shelf. I've never even held a Saiga shotgun and do not know if that is a good or a bad price. But I do love those Colts. Bill If those guns are STILL at those prices this week anyone buying them is high off their azz. The stores up here have been flooded with AR's and other "assault" rifles for two weeks and prices are dropping like 1oz sinker. Houston is a wonderful area for competition shooting but when it comes to getting guns and ammo, it sucks big time. I don't know if those guns were selling at those prices, but several prospective buyers were sure drooling over them. Its border line "mean" for folks to tell us about ammo and guns readily available when we are starving. I've not seen a box of .22 LR ammo on the shelves in months but hear that Oklahoma City stores have shelves loaded with them. I am headed there to visit family at the end of April and plan on hitting every Walmart, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shop and Mom and Pop gun store I can find just to replenish my stock. Bill 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bitters 6 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Sometimes I wish I had bought the MKA instead of my S12 (the gun shop had both). But, I am working to improve it. Unblocked the gas ports and now just have to drill them bigger. If that works, then it really wasn't much of a struggle. Although, a gun working right out of the box would have been nice. Something makes me think I will probably get an MKA at some point if they ever are priced at $600 again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morning Would 5 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 threads like this make me feel like a very lucky guy that my unconverted, bone stock Saiga 12 runs like a champ no matter what I feed it. That's the main reason I have yet to convert or mess withy anything other than cosmetics. I would be completely bummed if it started having issues after conversion.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mullet Man 2,114 Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 threads like this make me feel like a very lucky guy that my unconverted, bone stock Saiga 12 runs like a champ no matter what I feed it. That's the main reason I have yet to convert or mess withy anything other than cosmetics. I would be completely bummed if it started having issues after conversion.... If that were to be the case, there is a wealth of info and helpful members on here to get it back into to tip top running condition. Have no fear, convert that thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 threads like this make me feel like a very lucky guy that my unconverted, bone stock Saiga 12 runs like a champ no matter what I feed it. That's the main reason I have yet to convert or mess withy anything other than cosmetics. I would be completely bummed if it started having issues after conversion.... If that were to be the case, there is a wealth of info and helpful members on here to get it back into to tip top running condition. Have no fear, convert that thing. But it is tough to change if you are like me. The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" might be in your genetic makeup. How about buying another Saiga 12 in hopes its a piece of crap? Then you can "fix" to your heart's content. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mullet Man 2,114 Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 So why you changing your lower, on your MKA? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flatland Shooter 22 Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 So why you changing your lower, on your MKA? Cause mine is broke. It runs great with the factory 5 round magazines but the first several rounds from a 15 round magazine run straight into the feed ramp. I've played with the gun and the magazine and finally visited with Anubis for suggestions. So far it still jams. The cure is to either have Firebird install one of their new aluminum feed ramps in my polymer lower or get one of the new TAC-12 aluminum lowers. Also the TAC-12 will add about 2 pounds to the weight of the gun and to me thats a plus. Actually I ordered the TAC-12 before I started having problems with the polymer lower because I was concerned with its longevity. For a while I was putting 6 or more boxes of shells through it per week. In January I finally got access to a range that lets me practice for USPSA and 3 gun so I've gone a little overboard on the shooting compared to the prior several years. And its just plain fun to shoot. So far it has held together but I did not want to wait for a failure to replace it. (The polymer lower will not be sold and I'll keep it in the safe should I ever need it.) Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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