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The Range
Rifle & Shotgun Discussion
Saiga Vs. Any AK47
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<blockquote data-quote="henschman" data-source="post: 1764955" data-attributes="member: 4235"><p>There is some truth to what your co-worker is saying. Saigas are made at the Izmash factory in Russia on the same machinery that the current military AKs are made on. However, before they are imported to the U.S., they have some modifications made so that they are considered "sporting rifles" under U.S. import law (non-pistol grip stock, no threaded muzzle, no bayonet lug). Then when they are here, many are promptly turned back into AK configuration, which unfortunately requires the replacement of some of the original Russian parts with U.S. domestic made parts in order to be legal. Usually the parts that are replaced are some of the less consequential ones, or parts that have to be replaced anyway like the furniture and the trigger. </p><p></p><p>Most other AK's that are currently on the market are indeed parts guns... importers buy AK's from overseas, take all the parts off the receivers, and assemble them on US-made receivers with a certain number of U.S. parts (to satisfy those same import laws). A converted Saiga is superior in that it uses an original Russian-made receiver which is of better quality than most of the US-made stamped receiver, and in that it uses an original Russian chrome-lined barrel of very high quality, unmatched in any domestically-made AK barrel (you're lucky to even find one that is chrome lined at all, in a US-made barrel). Some parts guns use original foreign chrome lined barrels and bolts, but very few have an original foreign made receiver like the Saiga. </p><p></p><p>The Russian military does not call their rifles Saigas... They call them AK-74M. "Saiga" is a name given by the manufacturer to the ones imported to the US, to highlight the fact that they are sporting purpose rifles ("Saiga" is a kind of antelope that is hunted in Russia). Other than the cosmetic modifications to pass customs, they are mechanically identical to the military models, though.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="henschman, post: 1764955, member: 4235"] There is some truth to what your co-worker is saying. Saigas are made at the Izmash factory in Russia on the same machinery that the current military AKs are made on. However, before they are imported to the U.S., they have some modifications made so that they are considered "sporting rifles" under U.S. import law (non-pistol grip stock, no threaded muzzle, no bayonet lug). Then when they are here, many are promptly turned back into AK configuration, which unfortunately requires the replacement of some of the original Russian parts with U.S. domestic made parts in order to be legal. Usually the parts that are replaced are some of the less consequential ones, or parts that have to be replaced anyway like the furniture and the trigger. Most other AK's that are currently on the market are indeed parts guns... importers buy AK's from overseas, take all the parts off the receivers, and assemble them on US-made receivers with a certain number of U.S. parts (to satisfy those same import laws). A converted Saiga is superior in that it uses an original Russian-made receiver which is of better quality than most of the US-made stamped receiver, and in that it uses an original Russian chrome-lined barrel of very high quality, unmatched in any domestically-made AK barrel (you're lucky to even find one that is chrome lined at all, in a US-made barrel). Some parts guns use original foreign chrome lined barrels and bolts, but very few have an original foreign made receiver like the Saiga. The Russian military does not call their rifles Saigas... They call them AK-74M. "Saiga" is a name given by the manufacturer to the ones imported to the US, to highlight the fact that they are sporting purpose rifles ("Saiga" is a kind of antelope that is hunted in Russia). Other than the cosmetic modifications to pass customs, they are mechanically identical to the military models, though. [/QUOTE]
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