James Wesley:
I absolutely love my Saiga-12. With the 20 round drum it is a walking talking claymore. I have tried the 30 round magazine and it is just too bulky. Unless you plan to deploy the Shotgun with some type of shooting sticks then 20 is the way to go. Much more manageable. As to the magazines: I prefer the 10 rounders. While having two more shells in the magazine is nice, the added length (an additional 3 inches) is a little comical. Not to mention the problem of finding some tactical pouches that accommodate the longer magazines. TheVestGuy.com makes those pouches, but then you still have to find a vest/rig to hold the pouches and they seem very cumbersome to me. The ten rounders are still big, but you can setup your battle rig around the 10-rounders without sacrificing mobility. Nice write-up though. For the record, I don’t have an iron in fire but MD Arms presently has their 20 round drum on sale for $100. They have been in a pitched marketing war with the Wraithmaker drum maker over whose drum is better. I don’t have a favorite, but I will say that competition makes for a happier consumer. The drums used to sell for over $300 each, from both sites. – A.J.K.
Jim:
Readers should do some research before joining the “family.” I’m not here to bash the Saigas but there are better choices out there especially when it comes to the Saiga 12. A magazine fed 12 gauge semi-auto is a great idea but if you do even cursory research you will find that the Saiga 12 is far from the most reliable semi-auto shotgun. It does not have a bolt hold open feature after the final shot which will nullify, to a certain extent the magazine advantage. (I believe it can be retro-fitted to a last shot bolt hold open) With the right magazine, aftermarket springs, and polishing/finishing of the gas port the Saiga 12 can be dependable but there are two clear choices when it comes to a self defense semi-auto shotgun – i.e. the FN SLP and Benelli M4. You can shoot these and reload as you go – I believe the tube feed is superior in this regard but everyone has an opinion. Yes both are a grand or more but worth every penny and are as reliable as a semi-auto shotgun can get. For home defense many, myself included, feel that a 12 gauge is the ne plus ultra when it comes to firearms. Good from zero to 100 yards with slugs and even if the bad guy is wearing body armor it will incapacitate him so he is either dead or out of the fight. If money is an issue, and it is for me, (I’m saving up for an FN SLP) get a H&R Pardner Protector Pump for $200 which has a reputation for reliability and is a clone of the Remington 870 so all parts can be interchanged – including the barrel with a spacer. I had a $200 credit and my Gun Shop guy recommended the Pardner – said they had sold hundreds and never had one returned for any reason. I got it based on trust and then researched it (not best way to do things) and it is hard to believe how much gun you get for $200. As for capacity, many home defense shotguns will hold 9 rounds which is plenty and can easily be reloaded as you go. In the end practice makes perfect. The fastest handgun shooters in the world use revolvers. A dedicated cowboy action shooter will prevail with “primitive” firearms over the latest and greatest if the latter does not practice. I agree with the writer that the Saiga guns are worth considering – just do some homework first. – John M.
Hi,
I wanted to make a couple comments re: the recent article on Saigas by Brett G. First, I am a Saiga fan, own and shoot Saiga-12 shotguns, and used to own a couple Saiga .308 rifles. That said, advising someone to focus only on the Saiga family for their weapons needs is, in my opinion, very ill-advised.
The first reason is simple: spare parts and magazines. All of the magazines for the Saiga family are expensive and relatively hard to find. The relatively low expensive cost of the rifle itself is quickly outweighed by magazines costing $50 each. Take the Saiga .308 for example: $500 for the rifle and 10 magazines costs you $1,000. For the same price you can get a PTR-91 [a HK91 clone] and 100 of the 20 round capacity [alloy G3] magazines. I recently stocked up on HK G3 20-rounders (that work in a PTR-91) for just $1 each.
The second reason is utility. The author recommends the Saiga-223. The consideration that is ignored here, of course, is the modular nature of the AR-15 platform. For example, the author mentions that while .308 is a good all-around cartridge, a rifle in .50 BMG might be desirable, then goes on to state that the cost might be prohibitive. However, there’s no reason to have a dedicated rifle for .50 BMG when an upper for an existing AR-15 works just as well and is cheaper. Also, [in the US] barreled AR-15 upper receivers have no paperwork required, for those who are concerned about such things. Further, other options exist such as the .458 SOCOM or the .50 Beowulf both of which are also available as AR uppers and utilize commonly-available M16 magazines. And regarding magazines, why wait to find Saiga-223 mags on sale at one of the few vendors that sells them when you can get AR mags for $10 less anywhere, every day?
I’m a fan of my Saiga-12 shotguns, but when it comes to rifles I think there are better options out there for someone assembling a collection that will be used for defense and survival. – J.T. in Michigan
JWR Replies: I concur with you in general. However, I suspect that magazines for Saigas will become a commodity within a few years. (That is, barring another full capacity magazine production and importation ban, here in the US.) I’ve recently seen Saiga magazines drop to under $35 each, and they will probably be under $25 each within another year. The law of supply and demand in a free market can be a good thing!
I actively discourage you from buying .458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf, or 6.8mm uppers unless or until you already have a full complement of ammo, spare parts and magazines for your rifle in the standard 5.56mm chambering. Don’t make the mistake of depending on guns in oddball chamberings, at least not for la fine del mondo come lo conosciamo. (Or, since this is in the context of Russian Saigas, perhaps I should say: “konéts svéta”.