Replacing Trigger Group

[BiFocals48 0]

Hi. I'm new here & 1st post, so please take it easy. I purchased a Saiga sporster 7.62X39 last fall & have been reading almost everything that I can find. The more I read, the more confused I get + prices are going thru the roof.

 

My original intent was a full conversion; a nice wood stock, bullet guide & red dot scope. But, for now I am thinking of just being compliant. I have a T-6 stock & if I replace the TG, I should be. 14 parts - 4 US parts. I still plan on doing the full conversion as time & $ become avaliable.

 

My question: Is it worth buying Dinzarms TG, one from carolianashooters, Apex or a $30 one from Midway? Will I also need rivets? I want a good trigger that I can also use later with a full conversion, but also with the least hassles for now.

 

Unfortunatly, I am usualy on the net only on the weekends, so please be paitent with me.

 

Thank you for your kind responses.

[jamesavery22 54]

If you can legally convert it then convert it.

 

If you don't have the money to convert it then leave it as is.

 

I don't know of any of the people/companies you listed above having a commercially available Saiga Sporter FCG available. Maybe some custom one-offs?

Second you'll burn more money in that than just converting.

 

Sounds like $ is your issue. Save up and don't mess with the rifle until you can buy the required parts for a full conversion.

 

 

Math isn't adding up though... T6 is $80 shipped. Finding some weird US made Saiga Sporter trigger is going to be at least $50.

 

A G2 is $30, a bullet guide is $20, functional surplus furniture is <$40(GB 340414767), say $20 shipped for everything, that's still less than what you're looking at for the sporter version.

Guessing logic isn't worked into this decision all the time...

Edited May 13, 2013 by jamesavery22

[breid1970 327]

If you can find the stuff at amazon and buy a bunch together you can get your shipping for free. Free is better.

[Tarheel72 16]

Replacing the trigger group is not that hard. Just get a G2 and a suitable pistol grip/butt stock and go for it. You will have some holes to fill in the receiver, but no rivets are required. You can pick up plugs at Lowe's that pop right in and look factory. Plenty of videos and threads on here to help.

 

Now that bullet guide is another matter. i would say for 85% of the people that try that, it goes fine. But for some of us it just will not work. I tried long and hard to drill out my receiver and finally gave up. I broke several carbide and other drill bits, and only made a small dimple in the receiver. If I ever get around to it I will take it to a machine shop, as I do not own a drill press. Otherwise, I have an unused bullet guide for now. Fortunately I do not own any surplus mags, just the expensive Saiga specific ones.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Tarheel72

[breid1970 327]

That or weld it on. I've read about quite a few folks who do that.

[dubya 198]

Replacing the trigger group is not that hard. Just get a G2 and a suitable pistol grip/butt stock and go for it. You will have some holes to fill in the receiver, but no rivets are required. You can pick up plugs at Lowe's that pop right in and look factory. Plenty of videos and threads on here to help.

 

Now that bullet guide is another matter. i would say for 85% of the people that try that, it goes fine. But for some of us it just will not work. I tried long and hard to drill out my receiver and finally gave up. I broke several carbide and other drill bits, and only made a small dimple in the receiver. If I ever get around to it I will take it to a machine shop, as I do not own a drill press. Otherwise, I have an unused bullet guide for now. Fortunately I do not own any surplus mags, just the expensive Saiga specific ones.

Put the gun in a vise perfectly level, try to use a drill that has a little centering bubble on the back of it so you know you're drilling straight down and hold that baby wide open don't be afraid of anything and go slow with the drill speed because that and not drilling straight down are what cause you to snap the bit.

[canoecanoe 63]

 

Replacing the trigger group is not that hard. Just get a G2 and a suitable pistol grip/butt stock and go for it. You will have some holes to fill in the receiver, but no rivets are required. You can pick up plugs at Lowe's that pop right in and look factory. Plenty of videos and threads on here to help.

 

Now that bullet guide is another matter. i would say for 85% of the people that try that, it goes fine. But for some of us it just will not work. I tried long and hard to drill out my receiver and finally gave up. I broke several carbide and other drill bits, and only made a small dimple in the receiver. If I ever get around to it I will take it to a machine shop, as I do not own a drill press. Otherwise, I have an unused bullet guide for now. Fortunately I do not own any surplus mags, just the expensive Saiga specific ones.

Put the gun in a vise perfectly level, try to use a drill that has a little centering bubble on the back of it so you know you're drilling straight down and hold that baby wide open don't be afraid of anything and go slow with the drill speed because that and not drilling straight down are what cause you to snap the bit.

 

I agree with dubya. I made sure my rifle was level in my jawhorse vise and used the leveling bubble on my drill. Once you find the center of the BG hole, use a centering punch to make a divot for the drillbit. Then go for it. I use some oil on the drillbit to aid cutting.

 

I have done seven conversions and drilling the hole was not a problem. On the most recent one, I broke a tap for the first time ( I was going slow with plenty of oil and this was not my first rodeo, so it wasn't operator error), so be careful here. Taps don't seem to be as high quality as they were in the past, or else the trunion was super hard on this rifle. I hade to use a pundh to knock out the broken piece. Fortunately I had another tap on hand and was able to finish the job.

 

You might want to have an extra tap, just in case.

[dubya 198]

^ same here, I've installed 4 bullet guides and the first 3 went smooth hut the last one I did I had the tap break very easily and it was a new tap too. I just "unthreaded" it with a pliers, put one of my old taps in and got it done. Same brand tap from the same store.

[hdskumm 39]

I vised the gun and drilled with a drill press, then put the tap in the drill press and hand turned it so it was exactly in line with the hole. Had to loosen the drill press belt and spring to make it turn easier.

[BiFocals48 0]

Thanks for the reply's. I'll do some more reading too, as I am still on the net only on weekends. (I have some crazy working hours, but am thankfully employed)

 

Yep, jamesavery22, $ but more so time is tight. You are right! Sometimes my logic isn't always working properly & I spend $ unwisely. I do like the current LOP that I have.

 

I'm kind of anxious to get it up & running the simplest way that I can. I bought the T-6 stock at a nice discount when I bought the rifle, which was also at a good price for the "rush". The rifle did not come with a pistol grip or a threaded muzzle. So is my parts count correct?

 

FCG: from http://www.dinzagarms.com/misc_parts/fcg.html I have read some good reviews, but if the FCG from http://www.midwayusa.com/ is basically the same, why spend the extra $? Yes, midways will also require fitting & polishing, but I'm fine with that. Or, does the FCG have to be moved forward?

 

If I use the T-6 stock that (I already have) it should allow me to leave the FCG in it's present position. Would the Tapco or Dinzgam's drop back into the same location & function reliabily?

 

The BG may be more of an endevor than I thought. Most pic's of the BG show a lot of copper & brass shavings. I wonder if a small champher at the leading edge will prevent that? I have 2 options, buy or make my own. I am acustom with the problems listed above. I do factory maintenance, weld, do lathe & mill work, so I have some machines avaliable after hours.

 

Thanks for any help or links to these questions.

[dubya 198]

I learned after my first conversion to round the face of the BG edge before installing them. I had a few HP bullets get caught o the sharp edge once in awhile and rounding the edge helped that issue.

Also, its not converted if you use that T6 stock.... sell it and do a real conversion you'll be much happier and it'll be done properly.

[Spacehog 2,218]

Thanks for the reply's. I'll do some more reading too, as I am still on the net only on weekends. (I have some crazy working hours, but am thankfully employed)

 

Yep, jamesavery22, $ but more so time is tight. You are right! Sometimes my logic isn't always working properly & I spend $ unwisely. I do like the current LOP that I have.

 

I'm kind of anxious to get it up & running the simplest way that I can. I bought the T-6 stock at a nice discount when I bought the rifle, which was also at a good price for the "rush". The rifle did not come with a pistol grip or a threaded muzzle. So is my parts count correct?

 

FCG: from http://www.dinzagarms.com/misc_parts/fcg.html I have read some good reviews, but if the FCG from http://www.midwayusa.com/ is basically the same, why spend the extra $? Yes, midways will also require fitting & polishing, but I'm fine with that. Or, does the FCG have to be moved forward?

 

If I use the T-6 stock that (I already have) it should allow me to leave the FCG in it's present position. Would the Tapco or Dinzgam's drop back into the same location & function reliabily?

 

The BG may be more of an endevor than I thought. Most pic's of the BG show a lot of copper & brass shavings. I wonder if a small champher at the leading edge will prevent that? I have 2 options, buy or make my own. I am acustom with the problems listed above. I do factory maintenance, weld, do lathe & mill work, so I have some machines avaliable after hours.

 

Thanks for any help or links to these questions.

 

For the amount of time and money spent adding a US trigger group in the Sporter configuration, you could replace the trigger group, move it forward and do the conversion. If you like the LOP, you could purchase a cheap nato length Tapco stock and PG, until you have the funds to do the setup like you want. Most of us have redone the furniture and setup of our Saigas multiple times anyway. Infact you may want to spend $5, become a contributor to the forum and use the WTB/WTS section for some of the parts you need.

 

 

If buying the trigger group/parts new, I recommend using the Forum business sponsors such as DInzag or CSS over Midway or others. CSS is great to work with and Greg always a pleasure to do business with. I have never been disappointed dealing with them.

 

 

As far as the bullet guide, I have found that using a slow rpm and making sure the area stays cool while drilling does the trick everytime. High speed and heat hardens the steel, and once you have hardened it, it is nearly impossible to drill with commercial bits. Just my two cents, but I hope you get setup like you want regardless which way you decide to go.

[mostholycerebus 415]

You dont even really need a US stock. If you go with a US made FCG, you only need 2 more US parts. You could run Tapco mags right away just doing the FCG. The slab-side are actually pretty good, though I have a few $5 galil style on hand too as backups. Later when you want to run Combloc mags, change out your gas piston ($15) and handguard. Or get a complete set of US-made Ironwood furniture.

 

Use this calculator, it really helps: http://jobson.us/922r/

[Bigtwin 219]

You dont even really need a US stock. If you go with a US made FCG, you only need 2 more US parts. You could run Tapco mags right away just doing the FCG. The slab-side are actually pretty good, though I have a few $5 galil style on hand too as backups. Later when you want to run Combloc mags, change out your gas piston ($15) and handguard. Or get a complete set of US-made Ironwood furniture.

 

Use this calculator, it really helps: http://jobson.us/922r/

This is very true! Though some of us do not want to be limited by the mag to count for 922r. But yes it can be done using mag parts. Also the link is almost perfect(the Saiga rifle does not come as imported with a pistol grip, so once provided it must be US made to go the route suggested)!

[BiFocals48 0]

Thanks for the reply's. mostholycerebus & Bigtwin really addressed a starting point for me. Overall I think that I should first pick up & "shoulder" a few AK's to get the feel & then decide on stocks. It reads like my "best" initial investment would be to sell the T-6 stock & go for the full conversion.

 

I was hoping that the T-6 & FCG would be a quick full compliance set up. Guess not.

 

I'm looking at a month or so down the road. So I'll start my goodie list from Forum supporters & go from there. Any suggestions as to who might want an unopened T-6 stock?

 

Thanks.

[canoecanoe 63]

Thanks for the reply's. mostholycerebus & Bigtwin really addressed a starting point for me. Overall I think that I should first pick up & "shoulder" a few AK's to get the feel & then decide on stocks. It reads like my "best" initial investment would be to sell the T-6 stock & go for the full conversion.

 

I was hoping that the T-6 & FCG would be a quick full compliance set up. Guess not.

 

I'm looking at a month or so down the road. So I'll start my goodie list from Forum supporters & go from there. Any suggestions as to who might want an unopened T-6 stock?

 

Thanks.

Become a contributor and list it on the for sale forum here.