New Here-Saiga 12 repair

[S&W/M&P 5]

I have had a saiga 12 for a few years now and I have installed a bumpski stock and converted the grip and trigger group. It has never functioned correctly with the bumpski and I need to have a qualified person who knows the gun inside and out to check it out. Who and where can I send it to? I am in SC. Thanks for any help!

[Dad2142Dad 6,559]

Cobra Custom is in NC

[SGL 530]

Have you tried it with full power loads?   The bumpski is not going to provide a lot of support for the recoil.   It's the same principal as "limp wristing" a pistol.  If you don't have any luck with more powerful loads (3 Dram min) I would recommend putting a standard fixed stock on and seeing if you can fire it from the hip without bracing it too hard.

 

If it doesn't reliably eject the shells that you're using, you either have too much friction or not enough gas.  It's probably not the bumpski's fault, more likely it's a gun that's not tuned well enough to fire light loads without support.

Edited May 22, 2015 by SGL

[gunfun 3,931]

The same thing could be done by locking the bumpski and doing the basic reliability evaluation and service yourself.

 

The normal stuff: Start with 3 dr eq ammo (federal), profile the hammer, slick the rails, and see how the ammo cycles. Then if desired, do the bolt reprofile or send it to cobra to have him do it, then gas ports if still needed. 

 

OP has not said what exactly he has tried in it and in what way it didn't work right, so we don't know what it will need to advise him. We don't even know if he has tried the gun with appropriate ammo.

[S&W/M&P 5]

I  have tried different loads and have tried firing it with the bumpski locked and unlocked. it just doesn't want to fire more than once or twice. almost like the bolt itsnt making a full stroke forward or catching. I did the mods myself and I am by no means a gunsmith.

[gunfun 3,931]

Right but WHAT loads? i.e. you need to give us the brand and numbers. Specifically shot weight and velocity. That is what matters.

 

Troubleshooting is about being consistent, and eliminating one problem at a time, then changing only one variable at a time. Ammo is the biggest variable, and the most common problem is the hammer face.

 

See here: http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/76775-sweetest-trigger-for-saiga-conversions/&do=findComment&comment=973021 That trapezoid shape causes a lot of drag, which fights both extraction and feeding.

 

If it is ejecting healthily, such that the empties are kicking out 4-12' then getting the jam you are describing, that sounds like a feed issue likely related to either a weak "low recoil" spring. (from the misnamed reliability kits.) Possibly it could be a crummy magazine, not lifting the rounds, or flopping around under recoil to mis-align the feed. 

 

Do us a flavor. Get some federal bulk pack ammo with 1 1/8 oz of shot 1200 FPS. If you can't find that, get winchester AA ammo 1 1/8 oz 1200 FPS. Then lock the stock and  have a friend or friendly tripod set up pointing at the ejection port, and with zoom at a level that we can see inside and see the upper part of the magazine. Then do some shooting. Make sure to have the frame rate on your camera as high as possible. Also have the light behind the camera, since slowing down video depends on getting good light.

[Dad2142Dad 6,559]

If you don't want to mess with it, that's what the vendors are here for. If you want to take it Gunfun will help you through it

[S&W/M&P 5]

I Sent the bolt and trigger assembly to Cobras custom. I will report back when I get it back and try it out.