frasermaine 0 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Halfway through two conversions and just discovered that the pilots for the annular cutter and threading die won't enter the muzzle on one of the rifles. They do on the other .223. Both are marked .223 but were purchased probably a decade apart. Could one of them (it's the newer one) actually be a 5.45x39? Thanks in advance for any help! FraserMaine PS. I really want a .223 one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sim_Player 1,939 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) Will it chamber a .223 or 5.56 round? They would not fit in a 5.45 chamber. Edited April 21, 2015 by Sim_Player Quote Link to post Share on other sites
frasermaine 0 Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Stops about a quarter inch shy when you hand-feed it into the stripped rifle. A buddy slugged the barrel, and reports .222. FraserMaine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vance665 225 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I wouldn't be surprised if one made it out either mis marked or with the wrong barrel. Interesting, must be rare if that turns out to be true. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) Bore diameter for 5.45x39 is about .214 so at .222 your bore is still too large. Now the really weird thing is that .222 Remington is still a somewhat popular cartridge in Europe where in some countries "military calibers" like 5.56/.223 are restricted, but I have NEVER heard of Izhmash manufacturing a .222 Remington barrel. If you somehow ended up with a .222 Remington Saiga it would probably be the first I've ever heard of. What I understand is that bore diameter for 5.56/.223 can vary some, .224 is supposedly ideal but some barrels are manufactured as tight as .219. Does the rifle actually chamber a live .223 round? Here are two .223 rounds inserted into 5.45x39 chamber stubs. If your suspect rifle looks like this with a .223 round inserted, you probably do have a 5.45x39 barrel, or somebody at Izhmash mistakenly reamed a 5.56 barrel for the 5.45x39 cartridge. Edited April 22, 2015 by mancat 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 forgot to ask, did the rifle come with a factory proof paper? each Saiga rifle is supposed to be test fired before proof paper is included. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
frasermaine 0 Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Thanks, mancat! I'll look for the box with the paperwork in it, and see what it says. I'll also try to get a picture of the barrel with a .223 cartridge in it. I'm also looking for a 5.45x39 cartridge, to see if it chambers. I've never owned one, but a guy I know probably does. So it sounds like I either have a .223 with a tight bore, or a 5.45 with an oversize bore. The rifle is currently at another guy's house, I'll pick it up and take some pictures. FraserMaine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
frasermaine 0 Posted April 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 It's a .223 with a tight-ish bore. The factory proof paper says 4 shots in 137mm! Maybe he wasn't trying very hard? End of a long day? We used a pilot for the 5.45x39 with the annular cutter to remove the shroud, since the .223 pilot wouldn't go in. thanks to all for your help! FraserMaine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sim_Player 1,939 Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Glad that you figured it out! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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