Dirtypacman
NES Door Greeter
So I finally got the chance to make the purchase of one of the 7.62x39 Saiga rifles that can be converted to your more standard looking AK. I had gone back and forth about if I could handle the conversion on my own. It was not really about having the right tools it was about having the best tools for the job. Surprised that I don't think I am capable of doing such a conversion well maybe you did not see what happened to the stock on the last AK I had changed the furniture on from the fine Atilla commie karma. Haha
First off I want to give all the credit to our very own "SKS Ray" for not only helping me pick out the proper parts for the conversion, put supplying a workshop for the job and actually giving the guidance on the conversion. THANKS RAY!!!
Since I have already had several inquires as to what parts I used and where I had got them I decided I would just put together a thread for others to read up on it.
First off I got the Saiga rifle from B&K Sales - Awesome shop - really you don't meet many like Brian and he is great.
Next step is figuring out if I had a flat or rounded trunnion.... Don't ask me exactly because Ray was the one that was able to decipher off my pictures but I found I had a flat one. This is very important as to which bullet guide you get.
So after we figured out what I had and what I needed - we went online and made a couple purchases. I used both Carolina Shooters Supply and K-Var for the pieces needed for the conversion. To make it as simple as possible here are the two orders and actual items purchased:
carolinashooterssupply.com Items
1 TRIGGER GROUP- TROMIX SAIGA FIRE CONTROL GROUP @ $42.75 = $42.75
1 TRIGGER GUARD MOUNTING HARDWARE @ $0.95 = $0.95
1 TRIGGER GROUP HOLE PLUGS FOR SAIGA CONVERSIONS @ $0.95 = $0.95
1 GRIP AK/SAIGA GRIP SCREW AND BUSHING SET @ $6.60 = $6.60
1 BULLET GUIDE- FLAT TRUNNION 7.62X39 WITH DRILL AND TAP SET @ $18.00 = $18.00
1 HANDGUARD RETAINING LOWER BRACKET<b> SAIGA 223, 5.45, 7.62 RIFLES</B> @ $47.45 = $47.45
1 GAS TUBE UPPER HANDGUARD @ $1.85 = $1.85
1 GRIP AK/SAIGA AK47 STYLE <B>BLACK</B> @ $9.97 = $9.97
k-var corporation
1 AK-080R Gas Tube Assembly, Standard, Russian $39.99
Parts Arrived - Adding my left over furniture from my WASR Ak furniture change:
So with everything now in hand I just had to wait for the big day and it arrived even sooner then I had expected. I was excited to get the call from Ray that he would be able to meet up with me so I jumped at the chance. And the work starts:
Nice spot to make an AK today
Top off what is inside will soon be nothing
Bare Bones
Removed the internals as you can see them laying there. Best thing was Ray saying stuff like "see these parts here they do not even get used back on the gun". I counted 3 pieces that never made there way back in. Got to love AK's
When I said he had the right tools for the job I was not kidding. Grinding some parts and smoothing them out.
Air powered drills - with some nice bits makes the job go smooth. Knowing what your doing helps lol.
Coming together nicely. Ray even painted the bottom of the receiver back up to have it blend perfectly. So smart he is.
Don't remember exactly what this shot was of but I have a feeling it was when Ray was smoothing out the trigger for me. He did a hell of a job as the trigger was very nice.
We broke the upper hand guard (surprise surprise) But can you believe I happened to order a cheesy plastic one just in case and it was used so I felt good that I had got it. Literally had to use a vice to get it on though.
On top of that we actually re-used my stock off the WASR and it fit like a glove (almost haha).
The finished product photos of course. I brought it to the range that weekend and ran it. It worked like a charm and felt great. I was very impressed with the quality of the rifle to start, the incredible work that Ray did like a champ. I will have it with me at the Pumpkin shoot! Just awesome.
Once again a huge Thank You goes out to SKS Ray. I know I would be able to attempt it on my own next time! I hope this brief overview of a simple saiga conversion will help others as much as Ray helped me.
First off I want to give all the credit to our very own "SKS Ray" for not only helping me pick out the proper parts for the conversion, put supplying a workshop for the job and actually giving the guidance on the conversion. THANKS RAY!!!
Since I have already had several inquires as to what parts I used and where I had got them I decided I would just put together a thread for others to read up on it.
First off I got the Saiga rifle from B&K Sales - Awesome shop - really you don't meet many like Brian and he is great.
Next step is figuring out if I had a flat or rounded trunnion.... Don't ask me exactly because Ray was the one that was able to decipher off my pictures but I found I had a flat one. This is very important as to which bullet guide you get.
So after we figured out what I had and what I needed - we went online and made a couple purchases. I used both Carolina Shooters Supply and K-Var for the pieces needed for the conversion. To make it as simple as possible here are the two orders and actual items purchased:
carolinashooterssupply.com Items
1 TRIGGER GROUP- TROMIX SAIGA FIRE CONTROL GROUP @ $42.75 = $42.75
1 TRIGGER GUARD MOUNTING HARDWARE @ $0.95 = $0.95
1 TRIGGER GROUP HOLE PLUGS FOR SAIGA CONVERSIONS @ $0.95 = $0.95
1 GRIP AK/SAIGA GRIP SCREW AND BUSHING SET @ $6.60 = $6.60
1 BULLET GUIDE- FLAT TRUNNION 7.62X39 WITH DRILL AND TAP SET @ $18.00 = $18.00
1 HANDGUARD RETAINING LOWER BRACKET<b> SAIGA 223, 5.45, 7.62 RIFLES</B> @ $47.45 = $47.45
1 GAS TUBE UPPER HANDGUARD @ $1.85 = $1.85
1 GRIP AK/SAIGA AK47 STYLE <B>BLACK</B> @ $9.97 = $9.97
k-var corporation
1 AK-080R Gas Tube Assembly, Standard, Russian $39.99
Parts Arrived - Adding my left over furniture from my WASR Ak furniture change:
So with everything now in hand I just had to wait for the big day and it arrived even sooner then I had expected. I was excited to get the call from Ray that he would be able to meet up with me so I jumped at the chance. And the work starts:
Nice spot to make an AK today
Top off what is inside will soon be nothing
Bare Bones
Removed the internals as you can see them laying there. Best thing was Ray saying stuff like "see these parts here they do not even get used back on the gun". I counted 3 pieces that never made there way back in. Got to love AK's
When I said he had the right tools for the job I was not kidding. Grinding some parts and smoothing them out.
Air powered drills - with some nice bits makes the job go smooth. Knowing what your doing helps lol.
Coming together nicely. Ray even painted the bottom of the receiver back up to have it blend perfectly. So smart he is.
Don't remember exactly what this shot was of but I have a feeling it was when Ray was smoothing out the trigger for me. He did a hell of a job as the trigger was very nice.
We broke the upper hand guard (surprise surprise) But can you believe I happened to order a cheesy plastic one just in case and it was used so I felt good that I had got it. Literally had to use a vice to get it on though.
On top of that we actually re-used my stock off the WASR and it fit like a glove (almost haha).
The finished product photos of course. I brought it to the range that weekend and ran it. It worked like a charm and felt great. I was very impressed with the quality of the rifle to start, the incredible work that Ray did like a champ. I will have it with me at the Pumpkin shoot! Just awesome.
Once again a huge Thank You goes out to SKS Ray. I know I would be able to attempt it on my own next time! I hope this brief overview of a simple saiga conversion will help others as much as Ray helped me.
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