Draganov/ tiger/Romak 3 - accuracy

Wildweasel

Wildweasel

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I Have always been interested in these type rifles. I know the latter is a poor cousin to the Drag, as it is the "Gold" standard. How accurate are they really?
a worthy opponent to out old M21? how is the recoil? (I have had two shoulder surgery's and don't shoot bolt actions now for the most part because of it.

anyone out west (western mass) have one I could shoot before I buy one? (likely Romak type)(I have the place, A friends large gravel bank here in town) and you can shoot some of my toys in return. If you don't want to advertise you have one an PM is fine.
 
Wildweasel said:
I Have always been interested in these type rifles. I know the latter is a poor cousin to the Drag, as it is the "Gold" standard. How accurate are they really?
a worthy opponent to out old M21? how is the recoil? (I have had two shoulder surgery's and don't shoot bolt actions now for the most part because of it.

anyone out west (western mass) have one I could shoot before I buy one? (likely Romak type)(I have the place, A friends large gravel bank here in town) and you can shoot some of my toys in return. If you don't want to advertise you have one an PM is fine.
Click to expand...

I have a Romak 3 you can shoot if you want. I think that you on live a few towns over from me. The recoile isn't bad, my girlfriend likes to shoot it and she isn't that big. I have just be shooting surplus ammo so I never tried to see how accurate it is. I will PM you my phone # and you can call if you want.
 
Thanks for the offer I will be in contact. Nice to hear the recoil isn't bad. I shoot AK types often so I didn't figure it would be like an M44 (lol) My son loves the M44 and has several.
 
The Romaks have springs in the butt plate that help absorb recoil. Accuracy is pretty good. No where near an M1 Garand but pretty good. I've heard 148 grain Wolf works best and to avoid any heavy ammo because of possible damage to the receiver.
Its a combination of the POSP scopes and the barrel whip that make up the lack of good accuracy. Lots of people choose a side rail mount that lets them add their own scope.
 
Gotta remember that the Romak is not a Dragunov in any way. shape, or form. It is basically an enlarged AK. The Dragunov shares more design aspects with the SKS.
 
Yes I am aware of the difference, I just don't want to shell out the 5K+ for a real Drag.
(thus the poor cousin comment) but thanks for the reminder for everyone else who reads this.
Big differences are the receiver, Milled VS stamped steel and action differences.
Closest affordable ones are the Chinese Version. but they are also rare. Neat thing about real Drags? they are C&R
 
My Romak 3 is fairly accurate with the Czech silver tip. I'm still experimenting with different ammo, though. I'll have to cook up some handloads to see what she'll do.

Regardless of how it shoots... it's DAMN neat looking! Always draws a crowd at the range.
 
USMA-82 said:
Regardless of how it shoots... it's DAMN neat looking! Always draws a crowd at the range.
Click to expand...

Yes they are and do.[smile]

ca69f827.jpg


Like I mentioned, the 148 grain Wolf ammo is supposed to be prefered because of its accuracy in the Romak rifles. Its been compared to the 7N1 ammo developed for the Dragunov rifles and has been reported to be top notch in Romaks.
 
Wildweasel said:
Yes I am aware of the difference, I just don't want to shell out the 5K+ for a real Drag.
(thus the poor cousin comment) but thanks for the reminder for everyone else who reads this.
Big differences are the receiver, Milled VS stamped steel and action differences.
Closest affordable ones are the Chinese Version. but they are also rare. Neat thing about real Drags? they are C&R
Click to expand...

I remember when they were available and like under $1000. Dammit, dammit, dammit!
 
I shot mine today at 100 yards with 2 different types of ammo. First was Wolf 148 grain ammo. I had quite a few soft primer hits and was shocked because thats never happened before. I may have to scrub the bolt and get a little oil inside.
Accuracy was good but not as good as the other ammo which was Prvi Partizan 150 grain soft point ammo.
The Prvi stuff all went bang on the first hit but I noticed the shells we're flying far, about 25 feet and some even further. Accuracy from this ammo was great and it figures because I only got one box and can't find it anymore.
I've heard ammo in the neighborhood of 150 grain is ideal for these rifles because its what offers best for accuracy. I also heard heavy ammo like some of the 203 grain stuff out there will damage the rifle because its too powerfull.
I have a bunch of 180 grain stuff but I'm not sure if its ok for the Romak 3 or not.[thinking]
 
what I have read is stick with the 150 and under. I Will see what ammo I can get local for testing and then when I go up to Kittery trading post pick up dies and bullets for it and start working up a load. I figure I can squeeze the best accuracy out of it with handloads.
everyone says stay with light ball as the receiver will be damaged otherwise. this is a century import factory rifle with 2 mags a scope and case and ditty bag and a sling/oilcan (and cleaning rod and parts.) they don't come with 4 mags as I guess they used to. gotta clean it tomorrow full of grease and I will likely do some work to clean the trigger up some too. If I find any earth shattering secrets I will pass them on of course.
Also load data.
 
ammo

I own two Romaks, one is a parts rifle built by Tennessee gun and the other an IO SSG 97"new" rifle. I have shot over 1000 rounds of heavy ball ammo with the older of the two with no issues at all. It does like silver tip best which as you know is far lighter. I also replaced the original 4X scope with a Russian 8X on both of them. I get 1 inch groups using a Harris bi pod at 100 yards all day. If you want to improve the accuracy buy a trigger from Red Star and you will be amazed.No over travel and a much smoother trigger. Well worth the money.

As to the receiver not being able to handle higher end loads that is why the receiver is reinforced. It is in essence a RPK receiver.

There is a great article in this months Shot Gun news about the rifle.

I suggest you buy one these beauties. Far cheaper than a Garand and the ammo is available on the surplus market.

Just pick up a copy of SGN and the price as well as the dealer is listed.
 
ZHA had a Tiger on the wall the last time I was there late last week. It was $2600 something, if your looking for a gun, might be worth a shot. No idea if thats a good price or what...

--D
 
Just an update 10 round mags are avalible for the PSL/romak3 at K-var for 21.99 ea. (not on the bad gun list so no worries about outing a supplier.) I just wanted the set of 4 I have the pouches for, and my gun came with 2.

as for the Tiger ,price that is not a bad deal from what I have seen. too rich for my house rebuilding blood.
 
Didn't some of these have a cold to hot barrel problem with accuracy? (I can't remember which one had it)

I believe the Tigers were around 3k the last time i seen one.


How do they compare in accuracy against the russian izhmash saiga??

My 308 saiga w/16" barrel will shoot 1 1/2" groups @ 100yds benchrested using surplus south african 308 fmj ball ammo with iron sites.(no scope)
 
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Well any of the thin and long barreled guns will likly have issues as you shoot and it warms up. Haven't gotten out to shoot mine yet (this weekend! with luck) but it sounds like the saiga is shooting as good as these do (the Romak3) drags are another kettle of fish.
 
ROMAK

I had a SAIGA 308 , important part of that sentence is "had". It was OK but was in no way close to my ROMAK's. It grouped well but was not as accurate as my ROMAK. It may have been just that one rifle and not typical to all Saigas. They are priced much lower than the ROMAKs so that is a plus for the budget minded.
The VEPER was the best of the production Russian AK style rifles. Far better trigger and barrel then the SAIGAs. They are extremely hard to find now and when you do see them they are commanding top dollar. My buddy has a Tiger, the commercial Drag and it groups the same as the ROMAK.

If any one is looking for a wood stock set for a 308 SAIGA PM me. It is just taking up space.
 
EasyD said:
ZHA had a Tiger on the wall the last time I was there late last week. It was $2600 something, if your looking for a gun, might be worth a shot. No idea if thats a good price or what...

--D
Click to expand...

They DID have a Tiger. I bought it up. It's in great condition too, must not have been fired much. As for price wise it's not a bad price considering a real Dragunov depending on what model sells up to $5,000 or so. $2,600 was about right for what I got. I was looking at the Romanian FPK that they had there for $800. But after talking with the owner and handling the real deal I just couldn't walk out of there without it. My credit card was on fire that day that's for sure.
 
drumenigma said:
They DID have a Tiger. I bought it up. It's in great condition too, must not have been fired much. As for price wise it's not a bad price considering a real Dragunov depending on what model sells up to $5,000 or so. $2,600 was about right for what I got. I was looking at the Romanian FPK that they had there for $800. But after talking with the owner and handling the real deal I just couldn't walk out of there without it. My credit card was on fire that day that's for sure.
Click to expand...

So you're the guy I heard about the other day.

Any chance you live in southeastern Mass and would like to be my guest at Sippican in Rochester? I have US manufactured sniper grade 7.62x54 and plenty of Prvi ammo and could help you sight it in.[smile]
 
50 BMG said:
I had a SAIGA 308 , important part of that sentence is "had". It was OK but was in no way close to my ROMAK's. It grouped well but was not as accurate as my ROMAK. It may have been just that one rifle and not typical to all Saigas. They are priced much lower than the ROMAKs so that is a plus for the budget minded.
The VEPER was the best of the production Russian AK style rifles. Far better trigger and barrel then the SAIGAs. They are extremely hard to find now and when you do see them they are commanding top dollar. My buddy has a Tiger, the commercial Drag and it groups the same as the ROMAK.

If any one is looking for a wood stock set for a 308 SAIGA PM me. It is just taking up space.
Click to expand...


I lubed my saiga up with moly and then worked it in by hand operating the bolt carrier about 100 times to work it in before shooting it. Its a whole different gun after lubing it with moly. I also do up the trigger sears and springs too, besides the bolt and bolt carrier and the gas piston/tube too. When i say i'm shooting 1 1/2" groups @ 100yds benchrested I like to get two shooters to see if its that good and it repeats. If i hand it to my son and he repeats the 1 1/2" groups then and only then will i say it shoots 1 1/2" groups because its constant. On some forums other saiga owners are saying there shooting out to 400yds with great accuracy too.(16" barrel) The russians at izhmash did say they focused on accuracy and made the saiga more accurate than its ak brothers. You have to try the moly, the saiga's are a whole different gun with just a lube. It cycles faster and smoother too. It feels like a more expensive gun rather than the orginal cost of $307 OTD. I think its the best buy for a ak in 308 out there. After all we buying a brand new russian izhmash ak47 in a sporter wrapper. I wonder how much difference in the groups adding scope would make on the saiga's?

Don't the romak and the drag have first shot cold problems because of the longer unsupported barrel? I think there was a report on that and thats why the gun was discontinued. I was just wondering how much error was with the first shot when its cold? I always wanted one but it got banned here first...
 
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I have one from Tennesse gun works that is listed as an FPK, It is still a PSL. Stamped Dragonuv on the receiver, 1977 all original rifle. It will reach out there. Light ball ammo is the only ammo that should be used, 147 to 152gr. The PSO scope and rifle are "tuned" for it. As far as accuracy on the 1st shot I have had no issues. I you fire 3 rounds quickly accuracy will fall off after that. I also like the 4x scope better than the 6x or 8x models. Lots of 400 yard fun. I've been running 1946 Soviet light ball from Aim lately. Hungarian light ball is the most accurate. I'm loading 150gr .3115 SP on top of IMR 4064 in Prvi brass for hunting. Prvi works very well for factory ammo. Wolf gold is Prvi ammo w/ a higher price tag. Jim

IM000281_1.jpg
 

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