[radams430]

Thinking about buying one and need honest, intelligent reviews first.

[Jstrong]

Converted my saiga myself,love it. Brand new AK style rifle,no parts kits or any of that mess. Fit is tighter than a wasr,but its still an AK. plus its a hoot to shoot. Don't know what else to say about it. I could probably answer most questions you have about it. The only thing I don't particularly care for is the narrow front sight post and the small space to acquire it through the rear sight leaf,I suppose it affords for a little more accurate shooting but I prefer the fat front sight post and big gap in the rear sights that are on my dads wasr.

Other than that the rifle has been great,no problems at all besides some misfeeds due to a bad magazine. What things exactly are you curious about?

[orangello]

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f19/ask-me-anything-you-need-know-about-saiga-rifles-48100/

Might be some info in there for you.

[radams430]

Just generally looking to see if it stood up next to other aks, basically, before i decide to buy one. Thank you for the info.

[Jstrong]

Originally Posted by radams430

Just generally looking to see if it stood up next to other aks, basically, before i decide to buy one. Thank you for the info.

Well they're brand new rifles made in the same factory the Russian military has been getting their AK variants ever since the AK came to be. A properly converted saiga will be the closest anybody in the U.S. will get to having a new Russian AK.

Ever heard of Arsenal Inc. or KREBS customs AK's? ... well they all start life as Saiga rifles. A converted saiga will eat wasr's for breakfast especially when u factor in that you can buy and convert a saiga for only a few bucks more than you can get a century wasr for. Among the standard AK variants you usually see (wasr's,yugo's,parts guns,etc) I would put a saiga on top of all of those. Arsenals,Krebs,veprs,and maybe Polish tantal's may be a bit more desirable,but the first two are Saiga rifles that have been professionally converted or have had custom attention. Veprs are pretty much another Russian factories version of the saiga,haven't read up much on these though. And Polish tantal's are a very well built AK variant and are pretty hard to come by now a days.

[tchick]

I recently purchased a converted Saiga from Classic Arms. I had looked at several WASR's but had heard some of the bad stuff about them and was a little hesitant about getting one. I'm very happy with my Saiga. I have not been to the range yet with it but the quality is very good. My converted Saiga has a Russian dimpled Receiver, Russian barrel, Tapco stock, Tapco G2 trigger (with a light and smooth pull), and a welded bullet guide to accept AK magazines. It still has the sporter style front hand guard but the standard AK style hand guard can be added by swapping out the gas tube and adding a barrel hand guard retainer. I paid $479 for mine which is less than what the WASR's are selling for locally.