My new piece of Russian goodness.

[Guest bkelm18]

I know, I've been known to bash AK's every now and then, but a few weeks ago I handled a friend's and I loved it. So I looked around at buying one and wasn't real pleased with what I could find. Then I stumbled upon the Russian Saiga hunting rifle based off the AK. So I looked around a little more and discovered you could convert the Saiga back to an AK. I'm a sucker for DIY projects. So I bought the rifle and all the parts and did the conversion a couple days ago. I am quite pleased with it. When all was said and done, I had a quality, bona-fide Russian made AK variant that cost a little more than a cheapo WASR10. Haven't gone out to shoot it yet, I'm still shopping around for some cheap 7.62. Anyway, here's my new EBR:

Before: (Note: The "Before" pic features the 20" barrel version, I bought the 16" version. I didn't chop the barrel or anything.)

After:

And for those who are wondering and who care, yes it is 922r compliant.

[strickj]

nice,you should let me break it in for-ya

[Guest nashnoob]

Congratulations! That is a beautiful gun. I had been thinking of doing the same thing too. Would you mind sharing how much is the cost of doing that?

[Smith]

Did the same thing myself, although I did let Red Stick thread the barrel and give her a good Gunkote. They are nice!

I really need to update - I've since added an ace Folding skeleton stock with internal block and Galil style hand guards.

[molonlabetn]

Nice...

[Guest bkelm18]

Congratulations! That is a beautiful gun. I had been thinking of doing the same thing too. Would you mind sharing how much is the cost of doing that?

It was about $390ish all together. Depends really on the parts you use. I pretty much used all Tapco parts since they were the cheapest and counted toward 922r.

[Smith]

Congratulations! That is a beautiful gun. I had been thinking of doing the same thing too. Would you mind sharing how much is the cost of doing that?

Won't cost you much. You can get one of the professionals to do it and run you about $350ish + parts or you can to it yourself for about $100 - $250. Depending on how much you do. Here is a great write up with illustrations. http://www.cross-conn.com/Saiga_Conversion/index.htm

[Guest bkelm18]

Won't cost you much. You can get one of the professionals to do it and run you about $350ish + parts or you can to it yourself for about $100 - $250. Depending on how much you do. Here is a great write up with illustrations. http://www.cross-conn.com/Saiga_Conversion/index.htm

Yeah that's the site I used. There's also some videos on YouTube of a guy doing the conversion. Those really helped explain a lot of the confusing parts on the tutorial.

[Bigiron]

Cool guns and workmanship.

[Guest nashnoob]

$390... That's not too bad.. does that include the cost of the gun? Thanks for the links. Don't really know much about guns but I'm quite handy with tools. Converting a saiga sounds like a fun project. Anyone know a Nashville store that has one for a good price?

[Guest EasilyObsessed]

Looks like a fun project. Congratz on getting it completed.

[Guest bkelm18]

$390... That's not too bad.. does that include the cost of the gun? Thanks for the links. Don't really know much about guns but I'm quite handy with tools. Converting a saiga sounds like a fun project. Anyone know a Nashville store that has one for a good price?

Yep that's everything. Got the gun for about $250 from http://www.rrarms.com/catalog.php?prod=GIZ132. That's about the cheapest you're going to find. The rest was spent on a new fire control group, pistol grip, buttstock, some tools I didn't already have, and a bullet guide from www.dinzagarms.com. It was pretty fun. I might do another one in the future. This forum: http://forum.saiga-12.com/ was also a big help. Most people there have done the conversion at least once and can give you lots of pointers.

[Smith]

Rabbi has one and can get other variants in a couple of days. In addition to barrel lengths, there are also caliber choices. .308, 7.62x39, .223, 410, 12g( very rare), 20g.

Guns and leather also has them from time to time.

[mousegunner]

Very, very nice!!!!

[Mike.357]

Nice rifle there BK!!

As for ammo, I am assuming 7.62X39. Sportmans Guide has Wolf Mil-Spec for 49.97 for 240 rds, 99.97 for 500 rds, and 194.97 for 1000 rds. That is as cheap as I have seen it lately. For comparison Cheaper than Dirt had 1000 rds for $214. These quotes are all from catalogues received yesterday. And today I was in Gander Mtn and they have Wolf Mil-Spec for over $12 per 20!!!! OUCH, who in the heck would pay that price?

Hope you get to break her in soon dude.

[Guest bkelm18]

Nice rifle there BK!!

As for ammo, I am assuming 7.62X39. Sportmans Guide has Wolf Mil-Spec for 49.97 for 240 rds, 99.97 for 500 rds, and 194.97 for 1000 rds. That is as cheap as I have seen it lately. For comparison Cheaper than Dirt had 1000 rds for $214. These quotes are all from catalogues received yesterday. And today I was in Gander Mtn and they have Wolf Mil-Spec for over $12 per 20!!!! OUCH, who in the heck would pay that price?

Hope you get to break her in soon dude.

Yeah I saw Gander Mtn too. Screw that. AimSurplus has 1000 Wolf for like $170. I think I'm gonna go with that.

[Guest nashnoob]

Does anyone know how much a local shop would sell them for? Planned on going to Guns and Leather today to shoot and would have asked if they had one, but the wife had other plans. bkelm18, that's probably the best $400 gun anyone can find . I might order from that site if the local prices are too high

[Guest canynracer]

ok, now I want one...you guys are killing me....

[Urse]

Check with Rabbi. I am sure he could get you one for a more than fair bargain.

www.eastsidegunshop.com

Here is a couple picks of my Russian ladies.

[Guest TNHillbilly]

i can't see myself getting one of these, but am mildly interested. i may check into this a little more.

What's the attraction to this type of gun?

[Urse]

i can't see myself getting one of these, but am mildly interested. i may check into this a little more.

What's the attraction to this type of gun?

The Kalashnikov is the most reliable and widely used intermediate range battle rifle ever.

[Guest nashnoob]

it scares the libs ... I see it as a way to give Hillary a coronary...

i can't see myself getting one of these, but am mildly interested. i may check into this a little more.

What's the attraction to this type of gun?

[Guest bkelm18]

i can't see myself getting one of these, but am mildly interested. i may check into this a little more.

What's the attraction to this type of gun?

I think this quote from Nicolas Cage in "Lord of War" says it all:

Of all the weapons in the vast soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947. More commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It's the world's most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It'll shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people's greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars.

It's a drop dead reliable gun in a good man-stopping caliber. There are an infinite number of ways you can personalize it. Like you, I used to never see myself owning an AK. Then I saw the light. Don't buy into the myth that AKs aren't very accurate either. This myth came around from people seeing enemies (usually untrained) using the old "spray and pray" method of firing them. They're pretty accurate if you take the time to actually aim them.

[Mike.357]

I bought a poor mans variant of the AK, well not really a variant but it shoots the same round. A Yugo SKS. I love it, more fun than a barrel of monkeys to shoot, and if I cared to there are a ton of ways to accessorize it.

Stock the way it was made is more than enough to give Hillary a conniption fit. Bayonet, grenade launcher and that thing that goes up. If I added a 30 round mag she might have a siezure.

[willis68]

This http://ioinc.us/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IO&Product_Code=ROMA0006&Category_Code=Featured+Items

was reviewed in Guns and Ammo, and they really liked it, I am thinking of getting one,