My Saiga 7.62x39 AK-47 Conversion

[Pablo]

Here's my finished product:

[Pablo]

So no one else here has done a Saiga conversion?

I bought all the compliant USA parts. Trigger parts, short linkage, guard, etc. Also needed the gas tube, and the front mount, furniture and magazines and Hogue grip and Chinese strap.

First the unfinished birch furniture: sanded, then sanded wetted to raise the grain three times sanding each time, final time no raised grain. Stained them with aniline red water based stain, finished with shellac and MilOx and then wax.

The receiver was taken apart (drilled out), old holes welded, sanded/ground. Duracoated black. New parts installed moving the whole trigger assembly forward. Furniture, etc installed.

It shoots great. The new trigger is way smoother with no crunch. The only bummer is the typical short AK butt stock. I wish I got the longer style, but it wouldn't have been authentic.

[RLH70]

Looks great!

[BarryinIN]

Cool. I like red furniture on AKs. I think it looks "right".

It came with the sporter type stock, didn't it? Do you think it feels better now?

What's the red thingy on the bolt handle?

[Pablo]

Frankly at first I liked the longer supplied butt stock for normal shooting. But once I got used to "AK" style shooting, the short one is handy and authentic.

The red thingie? It's called a plastic cover, nipple cover, or some other name. Comes in really handy at preventing scratches of all other wooden stocks! I have yellow and white ones in various sizes on all my bolt handles.

[BarryinIN]

I thought that was what it was at first, then wondered if you had some sort of trick bolt carrier with a snazzy handle.

[Pablo]

It is actually kinda ghetto cool, but flies off when I fire. I should bond it in place!

[G-MAN]

A lot of work, but looks good. Would it have been cheaper to have just purchased an AK?

[Pablo]

A lot of work, but looks good. Would it have been cheaper to have just purchased an AK?

Good question. It really depends on which AK. Sure you can buy the cheapies under $500 with the laminated pin exposed furniture, terrible trigger, junky barrel. The nice ones equivalent to mine are now $800+. I tend to think the Saiga is a decent starting platform at $350.

I have $250-300 or so into it and most of that was my ignorance buying 4 SGM 30 round magazines for the Saiga before conversion. They are actually good magazines, but not necessary if one converts the bullet guide. So it saved me the hassle of that portion, but cost me over $100 in mags (duh!)