[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Saiga-12 Reliability (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/21/2014 12:57:08 PM EDT
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Mine has always run 100% on everything except one of the two main "value pack" loads that Wally World carries. I can never remember if it will run the Federal or the Winchester, and which of the two it will choke on, though.  I THINK it's the Winchester that won't cycle and everything else is good to go. |
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Low brass reliability kit in mine (converted mine myself), and it's run 100% after the first 10-20 rounds or so for a bit of break in. Mostly with cheap federal wal-mart loads. If you 'limp shoulder' it, it won't always feed reliably, however. Sometimes when I let other people shoot it they have this issue.
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Quoted: I have one of the 450 that came in during the AWB with the left folding stock. It shoots everything I have put in it, even the cheap winchester walmart ammo. This must be a issue with the newer ones. |
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Quoted:
Mine has always run 100% on everything except one of the two main "value pack" loads that Wally World carries. I can never remember if it will run the Federal or the Winchester, and which of the two it will choke on, though. I THINK it's the Winchester that won't cycle and everything else is good to go.Its most likely the Federal that runs well.....the Winchster stuff is junk lol |
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Quoted:
Low brass reliability kit in mine (converted mine myself), and it's run 100% after the first 10-20 rounds or so for a bit of break in. Mostly with cheap federal wal-mart loads. If you 'limp shoulder' it, it won't always feed reliably, however. Sometimes when I let other people shoot it they have this issue. The "low brass reliability kit" is not good.....you probably won't be able to run any drums because the spring isn't strong enough. |
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You got one made when the worker just had a nice buzz going, rather than the full vodka special. Quoted:
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I have one of the 450 that came in during the AWB with the left folding stock. It shoots everything I have put in it, even the cheap winchester walmart ammo. This must be a issue with the newer ones. lol |
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Thanks. I'll check mine later. It is suspect of being a vodka special since it sometimes fails with birdshot.
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Quoted:
Thanks. I'll check mine later. It is suspect of being a vodka special since it sometimes fails with birdshot. Quoted:
Thanks. I'll check mine later. It is suspect of being a vodka special since it sometimes fails with birdshot. To tell you the truth the Saiga12 was never meant to shoot birdshot. Its a combat shotgun for buck and slugs. |
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Mine choked up on birdshot occasionally. But being that it wasn't designed for birdshot shenanigans, and that it was pretty infrequent, I was OK with that. Ended up having Pauly over on the Saiga boards do a Glass Bolt job for me, which IIRC, came with a new gas puck to aid cycling even more.
I got everything back from him...............and then never ended up shooting it again. This was years ago.
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Quoted:
Here's mine: - converted - Krebs sights - Krebs brake - MGI 10-round drum - SAW-type handguard - SlideFire stock <a href="http://s277.photobucket.com/user/drfcolt/media/General%20Firearms/100_1894_zps2c82db8c.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/drfcolt/General%20Firearms/100_1894_zps2c82db8c.jpg</a> Nice set up! |
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Quoted:
Mine has always run 100% on everything except one of the two main "value pack" loads that Wally World carries. I can never remember if it will run the Federal or the Winchester, and which of the two it will choke on, though. I THINK it's the Winchester that won't cycle and everything else is good to go.Winchester bulk consistently fails to cycle mine with a failure rate at least 30%; I'm pretty sure it's a little underpowered. Federal bulk semi consistently succeeds at cycling mine but it will fail to cycle about 4-5% of the time. Best performance I've had was with the Rem bulk pack; this has always worked well if the gas system was clean. Sadly I haven't seen Rem bulk for at least a year and a half at Wallyworld. ETA: The factory gas plug sucked donkey dick, damn thing wouldn't cycle reliably with it. An after market plug with 4 settings fixed that but I think replacing the puck with a self cleaning unit to scrape plastic fouling would help a lot too. Plastic fouling is a bitch. |
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Quoted:
Winchester bulk consistently fails to cycle mine with a failure rate at least 30%; I'm pretty sure it's a little underpowered. Federal bulk semi consistently succeeds at cycling mine but it will fail to cycle about 4-5% of the time. Best performance I've had was with the Rem bulk pack; this has always worked well if the gas system was clean. Sadly I haven't seen Rem bulk for at least a year and a half at Wallyworld. ETA: The factory gas plug sucked donkey dick, damn thing wouldn't cycle reliably with it. An after market plug with 4 settings fixed that but I think replacing the puck with a self cleaning unit to scrape plastic fouling would help a lot too. Plastic fouling is a bitch. Quoted:
Quoted:
Mine has always run 100% on everything except one of the two main "value pack" loads that Wally World carries. I can never remember if it will run the Federal or the Winchester, and which of the two it will choke on, though. I THINK it's the Winchester that won't cycle and everything else is good to go.Winchester bulk consistently fails to cycle mine with a failure rate at least 30%; I'm pretty sure it's a little underpowered. Federal bulk semi consistently succeeds at cycling mine but it will fail to cycle about 4-5% of the time. Best performance I've had was with the Rem bulk pack; this has always worked well if the gas system was clean. Sadly I haven't seen Rem bulk for at least a year and a half at Wallyworld. ETA: The factory gas plug sucked donkey dick, damn thing wouldn't cycle reliably with it. An after market plug with 4 settings fixed that but I think replacing the puck with a self cleaning unit to scrape plastic fouling would help a lot too. Plastic fouling is a bitch. In my opinion the TAC-47 Auto plug is the best......just set it and forget it lol. No need to change settings. |
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Quoted:
With a Saiga, you don't buy a firearm. You buy a project. Depends on how drunk the worker at the factory was. I hit the jackpot on my second one and got one that wasn't headspaced/timed properly. Bolt chewed a "modifed" cam channel. Importer said it was one of only two they'd ever seen that way. RAA went above and beyond tho, and sent me a new barreled receiver. So I have to say the importer's customer service is fantastic. 
The variable timing of the start of the threads on the gas plug/port are a well-known issue. Easily solved with an aftermarket plug. |
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Quoted: In my opinion the TAC-47 Auto plug is the best......just set it and forget it lol. No need to change settings. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Mine has always run 100% on everything except one of the two main "value pack" loads that Wally World carries. I can never remember if it will run the Federal or the Winchester, and which of the two it will choke on, though. I THINK it's the Winchester that won't cycle and everything else is good to go.Winchester bulk consistently fails to cycle mine with a failure rate at least 30%; I'm pretty sure it's a little underpowered. Federal bulk semi consistently succeeds at cycling mine but it will fail to cycle about 4-5% of the time. Best performance I've had was with the Rem bulk pack; this has always worked well if the gas system was clean. Sadly I haven't seen Rem bulk for at least a year and a half at Wallyworld. ETA: The factory gas plug sucked donkey dick, damn thing wouldn't cycle reliably with it. An after market plug with 4 settings fixed that but I think replacing the puck with a self cleaning unit to scrape plastic fouling would help a lot too. Plastic fouling is a bitch. In my opinion the TAC-47 Auto plug is the best......just set it and forget it lol. No need to change settings.  |
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Quoted:
Depends on how drunk the worker at the factory was. I hit the jackpot on my second one and got one that wasn't headspaced/timed properly. Bolt chewed a "modifed" cam channel. Importer said it was one of only two they'd ever seen that way. RAA went above and beyond tho, and sent me a new barreled receiver. So I have to say the importer's customer service is fantastic.
The variable timing of the start of the threads on the gas plug/port are a well-known issue. Easily solved with an aftermarket plug. Quoted:
Quoted:
With a Saiga, you don't buy a firearm. You buy a project. Depends on how drunk the worker at the factory was. I hit the jackpot on my second one and got one that wasn't headspaced/timed properly. Bolt chewed a "modifed" cam channel. Importer said it was one of only two they'd ever seen that way. RAA went above and beyond tho, and sent me a new barreled receiver. So I have to say the importer's customer service is fantastic.
The variable timing of the start of the threads on the gas plug/port are a well-known issue. Easily solved with an aftermarket plug. Glad everything worked out for you! |
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What do you hate? Quoted:
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I hate everything about my S12, EXCEPT for reliability. It runs like a sewing machine. What do you hate? Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it! 
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. |
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Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it!
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I hate everything about my S12, EXCEPT for reliability. It runs like a sewing machine. What do you hate? Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it!
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. Put an MD20 in it. Fun, but it basically makes it the most awkward to fire gun on the planet. |
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Quoted: Put an MD20 in it. Fun, but it basically makes it the most awkward to fire gun on the planet. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I hate everything about my S12, EXCEPT for reliability. It runs like a sewing machine. What do you hate? Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it! It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. Put an MD20 in it. Fun, but it basically makes it the most awkward to fire gun on the planet. |
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Quoted:
Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it!
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I hate everything about my S12, EXCEPT for reliability. It runs like a sewing machine. What do you hate? Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it!
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. I'll take it off your hands......free? lol |
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Not for me! No matter how big the drum is it won't get in my way lol.....weight on the other hand Put an MD20 in it. Fun, but it basically makes it the most awkward to fire gun on the planet. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I hate everything about my S12, EXCEPT for reliability. It runs like a sewing machine. What do you hate? Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it!
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. Not for me! No matter how big the drum is it won't get in my way lol.....weight on the other hand Put an MD20 in it. Fun, but it basically makes it the most awkward to fire gun on the planet. |
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Mine was a 2-port Vodka speshul. I had to enlarge the gas ports with a drill. Works great now.
The couple of products I really love that I used on my conversion are 1) the Tac47 auto plug (auto gas relief) 2) the Tac47 magwell. I converted my SGM mags with a dremel. Mag changes like an AR. I also did the BCG polish and shaved the hammer. |
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Quoted:
Mine was a 2-port Vodka speshul. I had to enlarge the gas ports with a drill. Works great now. The couple of products I really love that I used on my conversion are 1) the Tac47 auto plug (auto gas relief) 2) the Tac47 magwell. I converted my SGM mags with a dremel. Mag changes like an AR. I also did the BCG polish and shaved the hammer. The magwell would be nice but I like my drums too much lol. |
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Quoted: The magwell would be nice but I like my drums too much lol. Quoted: Quoted: Mine was a 2-port Vodka speshul. I had to enlarge the gas ports with a drill. Works great now. The couple of products I really love that I used on my conversion are 1) the Tac47 auto plug (auto gas relief) 2) the Tac47 magwell. I converted my SGM mags with a dremel. Mag changes like an AR. I also did the BCG polish and shaved the hammer. The magwell would be nice but I like my drums too much lol.    |
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The magwell would be nice but I like my drums too much lol. Quoted:
Quoted:
Mine was a 2-port Vodka speshul. I had to enlarge the gas ports with a drill. Works great now. The couple of products I really love that I used on my conversion are 1) the Tac47 auto plug (auto gas relief) 2) the Tac47 magwell. I converted my SGM mags with a dremel. Mag changes like an AR. I also did the BCG polish and shaved the hammer. The magwell would be nice but I like my drums too much lol. That is the downside.
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I had to do the same thing with my gas ports and gas block and now it runs like a champ. I do need to get one of those auto plugs though. I was curious about them when they first came out but the reviews have been good. My saiga has kind of been neglected for the past couple years since I caught the nfa bug. I think I'm going to show it some love this wk when I FINALLY get to try out my sawed off side x side 12ga  Here is my chaos fucked saiga.   |
The only round mine has any problems with is the Winchester bulk from Wally World, but it still cycles even that 80% of the time. Federal bulk pack on up is 100%. I have never had a good word to say about Pro-mag, but their Saiga drums are tits, so I think they are really rebranded from some other maker. 12s, 15s and the one 20 I have all work perfectly. Here is my son running a 15rd drum of slugs. He loves the thing, except for the metal stock. Looking to put some kind of foam tubing around the top to protect his delicate little cheek.
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Mine choked up on birdshot occasionally. But being that it wasn't designed for birdshot shenanigans, and that it was pretty infrequent, I was OK with that. Ended up having Pauly over on the Saiga boards do a Glass Bolt job for me, which IIRC, came with a new gas puck to aid cycling even more. I got everything back from him...............and then never ended up shooting it again. This was years ago. And now, they're banned. 
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I'll take it off your hands......free? lol Quoted:
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I hate everything about my S12, EXCEPT for reliability. It runs like a sewing machine. What do you hate? Ergos, sights, safety, mag insertion. Other than that, I love it!
It is was it is. I knew what I was getting before I got it. I just thought it would grow on me more. It hasn't. I'll take it off your hands......free? lol Lol - I had it on the EE for a while, along with some other commie junk in my safe. 
ETA: I'm not dogging the platform. It runs. Followups are fast. It's just not my cup. As far as fighting with it, I'll have to call a time-out if I needed to reload. My AR's are too silky smooth to ever consider the S12 as a viable go-to gun. Sure, a drum full of nasty is doom up close, but other options are quite effective, and come without the drawbacks. |