Friend of mine has a Saiga sporter in 7.62x39 that he says deforms brass so badly that it can’t be reloaded. Is there a barrel that can be installed to cure this problem, and can anyone recommend someone to do the work?
Shoot steel. Problem solved.
Thread closed.
All kidding aside, it's not the barrel. It's a pretty common thing in those earlier Saiga sporters. Share some pics of the spent cases to see if they look like this:
ETA - from the user manual (sic):
"Warning: on request of the Russian law enforcement bodies the chamber design of the carbines, cal 7.62x39 provides for special distinctive element, which during firing produces circular stamping on the fired case mouth, not affecting the carbine reliablility, trouble-free performance, serice life and ballistic parambers and not being a sign of being faulty. The cartiges extraced from the chamber of the carbine reloading and unloading, are suitable for repeat usage."
Thanks. I will contact him. I just read his "Slovakian parts kit" post. It looks like the Slovakian receiver uses the same 22mm barrel journal as my Saiga. The only thing that worries me is that instead of machining DOWN the barrel to fit, he reamed the trunion to a larger diameter.
I modified the original plastic Monte Carlo stock and added a hand grip ---------- fabricated from the handle of a ski pole! Bright yellow, no less! Let me put it this way, I have lived most of my life in the Carolinas and have had three friends who were called "Bubba." Even THEY would have laughed at the thing!
I can't believe that I am admitting this, but......... at the time, I was kinda proud of myself. I thought that it looked cool. I felt like a gen-u-ine graduate of the Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing (WECSOG)!Since no skeleton stock was available at the time, I modified the original plastic Monte Carlo stock and added a hand grip ---------- fabricated from the handle of a ski pole! Bright yellow, no less! Let me put it this way, I have lived most of my life in the Carolinas and have had three friends who were called "Bubba." Even THEY would have laughed at the thing!
(There is no optic options for Chinese.... So I'm stuck with iron)