My 7.62 Saiga

[CarRacer]

In my continuing gun tourism I wanted to jump back to the rifle side of things. I've had an AR previously and really liked that platform but the 7.62 caliber kept intriguing me. I also wanted a project that allowed me to use my mechanical skills a bit more. This led me to researching a Saiga conversion.

I picked up this Sporter from Frontiersman. The 7.62 was pretty tough to find but they had one so I jumped on it. I already ordered a conversion kit from Carolina Shooter Supply, so after running 10 rounds through it today to see what was what, I did the conversion.



Everything was pretty straightforward and the videos that CSS had were very helpful. The only crappy part was that I couldn't find the damn loctite so it's all gotta come back apart anyway. I'm okay with that though as I didn't paint the exposed metal yet and I wasn't sure which trunion I had so I haven't ordered a bullet guide yet.

I'm also not sure if I'm going to take anymore off of the mag catch. I have three mags and most of the time when I insert them they latch fine. Occasionally they don't want to latch but I'm not sure if that's due to me not being familiar with the reloading motions yet. I may need to fit the butt stock better but this will just be a shooter so I'm not too concerned. Overall it was a fun project that I'm already happy with and I haven't even shot it after conversion so I'd say it was a great purchase.

[fjrdc]

Nice! , I've been seriously thinking about finding one and doing the same.

[ironman24]

hi just new here when i saw your gun i was really envy its really nice i want to have one

[CarRacer]

I shot it more yesterday and the trigger is a ton better, that linkage in the sporter setup really gums up the works. I took everything apart and used the low gloss engine paint I saw recommended although it wasn't as close of a match as people said.

I do enjoy working on it, the simplicity of it's construction is pretty crazy. The 7.62 round is interesting as well, it's got more kick to it but I kind of like that so far. The AK stock is not nearly as comfortable during recoil as a MOE stock on an AR though.

[bri]

Nice work, I did the same and it's a fun firearm.

Check the interwebs for some aftermarket butt pads, ex: http://kalinkaoptics.com/zenit-ak-butt-pad.html. The rubber butt pad will reduce slipping as well.

Pic from CSS should help you determine which trunnion you've got (mine was round, '09 build):

[CarRacer]

Mine is a round trunion and I installed a bullet guide on it and it fed all 30 rounds perfectly. I feel kind of stupid ordering one after seeing what it was. I could have made one, but the purchased one did function 100% right out of the box, I'm not sure I could have done that.

Upon reading a bit, I found I have a military barrel on mine as well. I'm not sure if I'll have the front sight pressed off or not in order to do the full conversion. It would be closer to an AK103 but I don't know if I care that much, but it's cool to know that's an option.

[TommyMN]

Can I ask what you paid for the sporter base?

[CarRacer]

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't see your comment. I picked up the Saiga from Frontiersman, they had comparable prices to other online retailers.