Well if finally came! My Saiga 12ga is finally here! For those who are not familiar with this beast it is an AK-47 built in the original AK factory by the original manufacture. At the end of this review will be links to the importer and manufacture.
First off lets look at the contents of the box:
Siaga 12ga
5 shot clip
plastic oil bottle
bore brush
bore patch holder
cleaning rod
2 cleaning/adjustment tools
tool holder
1st Impressions:
When I first saw the gun it looked incredible. It looked just like an AK, all the same style and design. When I picked it up, I was less impressed. The stock is a synthetic that feels like smooth plastic. The finish is dull and the design of the safety scratches the finish off in a line down the receiver. The gun also has 0 bolt hold open option. The bolt will not hold open unless you hold it open. The butt also has no pad at all, just a hard plastic plate. All of these bad points I listed are what makes it an AK. The scratching safety, odd feeling synthetic stock, and the no bolt hold open are all part of the original AK design.
On to the good! The gun just feels solid in your hands, like a baseball bat. The only sound it makes when you shake it is the click of the sling rings shaking back and forth. You need to disengage the safety to pull the bolt and it makes a very unique "claachink" sound when released. The clip is the standard AK "rock and lock" getup. With shells in the clip it will not "rock and lock" as easily as an empty clip. It took me 5 min to lock in a clip with one shell. Once I got it it was simple and now I can do it without thinking about it. You have to make sure the bottom of the action is pushing on the shell a bit to get the right angel to load a clip. I would not try this with paper shells. My gun came with a 22" bbl and a fixed full choke as well as fixed iron sites chambered in 3". You can get adjustable sites and 19" threaded bbl with screw chokes. I will have after market chokes put in mine (adjustable titan!). The gun is 7.6lb officially, but with the balance and distribution it feels like 2lbs. Everyone I handed it too said "wow this is light".
The gun ships from Russia with about 6lbs of heavy oil inside the action. I looked at the manual and proceeded to strip her down. Basically push a button on the back of the receiver to take the cover off. From there you just pull the guts of the gun out the top. I have yet to see a procedure for taking the trigger group out, but that really is no big deal since the whole mechanism can be seen and cleaned from the top if the gun. I cleaned and oiled the gun and slapped it back together. One thing I found is you can't be afraid to slam the top cover back on, you gotta give it a good whack.
So far I can say this is not a gun for everyone. This is a gun for those who want a solid action, interesting design and don't mind cleaning a gun. I say that because the action and safety are designed to scratch the finish of the gun. Keep the gun clean and dry and it should not be a problem.
Well sadly this is it for now. After work today I will be patterning the gun and shooting some clays from my thrower. Tonight is trap night so I plan on using this gun on the line. I'll let you all know how she shoots and how the funny looks turn out!
http://www.eaacorp.com/firearms/saiga/shotguns/saigawords.shtml
http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/product/saiga12.shtml
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First off lets look at the contents of the box:
Siaga 12ga
5 shot clip
plastic oil bottle
bore brush
bore patch holder
cleaning rod
2 cleaning/adjustment tools
tool holder
1st Impressions:
When I first saw the gun it looked incredible. It looked just like an AK, all the same style and design. When I picked it up, I was less impressed. The stock is a synthetic that feels like smooth plastic. The finish is dull and the design of the safety scratches the finish off in a line down the receiver. The gun also has 0 bolt hold open option. The bolt will not hold open unless you hold it open. The butt also has no pad at all, just a hard plastic plate. All of these bad points I listed are what makes it an AK. The scratching safety, odd feeling synthetic stock, and the no bolt hold open are all part of the original AK design.
On to the good! The gun just feels solid in your hands, like a baseball bat. The only sound it makes when you shake it is the click of the sling rings shaking back and forth. You need to disengage the safety to pull the bolt and it makes a very unique "claachink" sound when released. The clip is the standard AK "rock and lock" getup. With shells in the clip it will not "rock and lock" as easily as an empty clip. It took me 5 min to lock in a clip with one shell. Once I got it it was simple and now I can do it without thinking about it. You have to make sure the bottom of the action is pushing on the shell a bit to get the right angel to load a clip. I would not try this with paper shells. My gun came with a 22" bbl and a fixed full choke as well as fixed iron sites chambered in 3". You can get adjustable sites and 19" threaded bbl with screw chokes. I will have after market chokes put in mine (adjustable titan!). The gun is 7.6lb officially, but with the balance and distribution it feels like 2lbs. Everyone I handed it too said "wow this is light".
The gun ships from Russia with about 6lbs of heavy oil inside the action. I looked at the manual and proceeded to strip her down. Basically push a button on the back of the receiver to take the cover off. From there you just pull the guts of the gun out the top. I have yet to see a procedure for taking the trigger group out, but that really is no big deal since the whole mechanism can be seen and cleaned from the top if the gun. I cleaned and oiled the gun and slapped it back together. One thing I found is you can't be afraid to slam the top cover back on, you gotta give it a good whack.
So far I can say this is not a gun for everyone. This is a gun for those who want a solid action, interesting design and don't mind cleaning a gun. I say that because the action and safety are designed to scratch the finish of the gun. Keep the gun clean and dry and it should not be a problem.
Well sadly this is it for now. After work today I will be patterning the gun and shooting some clays from my thrower. Tonight is trap night so I plan on using this gun on the line. I'll let you all know how she shoots and how the funny looks turn out!
http://www.eaacorp.com/firearms/saiga/shotguns/saigawords.shtml
http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/product/saiga12.shtml
