Saiga semi-automatic rifle
Encyclopedia
The Saiga Semi-Automatic Rifles are a family of Russia
n semi-automatic rifle
s manufactured by Izhmash, who also manufacture the original AK
-series assault rifle
s and SVD sniper rifles. The Saiga rifles are a sporter version of the AK-series
rifles, and are marketed for hunting and civilian use.
, the Saiga series of rifles is based on the AK-47 weapon system originally designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov
. The Saiga platform was developed for shooters who wanted the reliability of an AK pattern rifle in a non-military package.
Originally designed in the 1970s, the first rifles were chambered for 5.6x39mm
. The project was not a huge success and only about 300 rifles of this design were produced.
The Saiga was reintroduced in the 1990s and was marketed as a rifle capable of hunting medium-sized game
. Improvements were made to the initial design from the 1970s which made the rifle capable of handling more powerful cartridges
such as the .308 Winchester
and the more prevalent .223 Remington
/5.56x45mm and 7.62x39mm calibers. These improvements contributed to the modern line of the Saiga rifles being adopted by many different hunters.
The rifle is currently made in the same Izhmash plant as military AKs, and imported into the United States
by Russian American Armory.
rifle, but there are many cosmetic and functional differences between a Saiga and an AK-47. On the Saiga there is a notch that is used to secure the hand guard on to the front and a screw that is used to hold the hand guard in towards the rear. The Saiga is unable to accept standard AK-47 magazines; physically the magazine catch will not allow a magazine to lock into place inside of the receiver. Even if the magazine were modified to lock into place, cartridges would not feed well because the Saiga lacks a device called a bullet guide. The bullet guide allows a round to be stripped from the magazine and fed into the chamber without getting caught up on anything inside of the receiver; this bullet guide is specifically built into the magazine of the Saiga rifle. Any magazine that is used that does not have this feature will not feed reliably in the rifle.
Another difference of some Saiga-models is that they have a bolt hold open button. The Saiga bolt hold open does not hold the rifle's action open after the last round is fired as seen on many other semi-automatic firearm
s like the AR-15
. The Saiga bolt hold open is engaged by manually depressing a button by the trigger guard and cocking the charging handle. Some versions of the rifle lack a pistol grip
and don't have a threaded muzzle, making it unable to accept muzzle devices. The trigger and trigger guard of some versions are placed farther back on the receiver than on a typical AK-47 rifle, and a transfer bar type system is used to release the hammer. This can result in the Saiga to have a considerably heavier and grittier trigger pull than that of other Kalashnikov-made firearms.
rifle uses: a gas piston. This gas piston
is pushed by the force of the gases from the firearm when a round is discharged, and it keeps powder residue and carbon
from gumming up the action of the Saiga. Some shooters believe the rifle is more reliable than other semiautomatic rifles because of this. This piston is located inside the gas tube. As gas is siphoned into the gas tube, the gas piston is sent rearward. While the gas piston is sent rearward, the bolt
, attached to the gas piston, is unlocked from the chamber and ejects the spent casing. When the bolt and gas piston reach the rearmost position of the receiver
, the recoil spring pushes them forward again, and the cycle repeats when the trigger is pulled.
Another key feature cited in the reliability of the Saiga is that the rifle is designed to have loose tolerances. These loose tolerances allow more space between the moving parts of the rifle, and they allow the rifle to push any dirt and debris out of the way when the action cycles. All Saiga rifles have a hammer-forged chrome
-lined barrel, which influences the Saiga's reliability by making the inside of the barrel
more resilient to corrosion
and enabling the rifle to withstand more rounds to be fired out of the barrel without an adverse affect on accuracy. This allows the firearms barrel to be cleaned easier than that of a non-chrome lined bore.
To achieve this, permanent changes must be made to the rifle. The factory fire control assembly must be removed and replaced with a semiautomatic only trigger group that fits in a standard Kalashnikov rifle. The aforementioned absence of a bullet guide must also be dealt with. A hole must be drilled and tapped in the front trunnion of the rifle so that the bullet guide may be fastened in the receiver. Material must be removed from the magazine latch to allow a standard Kalashnikov magazine to be used. The factory butt stock is removed and replaced with a piece similar to that found on military issue rifles. A pistol grip is installed. These are the basic steps needed to make the rifle consistent with most AK's in function.
Some armorers also take steps to make the rifle even more similar to the AK-100 series rifles. The handguard is replaced by the removal of the factory gas tube. A standard gas tube is used as a replacement, since they have the ability to retain the top portion of the handguard present on military issue Kalashnikovs. The rifle must also be fitted with a lower handguard retainer in order to use a military-style lower handguard component. Both press-on and bolt-on retainers are available, with the press-on versions requiring the removal of the front sight post and the gas block for installation. Finally, the owner may choose to thread the muzzle of the rifle or to install a threaded front sight block to enable the use of muzzle devices. This requires the removal of the front sight block installed at the factory, or removal of the additional material over the muzzle that extends from the front sight block. At the end of this process, a Saiga may not be readily distinguishable from a fully automatic military issue AK-100 series rifle, save the third receiver axis pin required to house the additional fire control parts necessary for fully automatic fire. This procedure is legal in most states, but those with laws regulating "assault weapons" may consider a restored Saiga a contraband weapon.
Such a procedure is not without risk. Damage may occur if the individual doing the upgrade does not take care while working. Furthermore Saiga conversions fall under section 922(r) of BATFE regulations. 922(r) requires that a "non-sporting" weapon imported to the United States have a certain number of its components manufactured in the United States. Since the Saiga is Russian made, care must be taken to make sure that the foreign parts count after the conversion does not exceed ten components out of the rifle's fourteen. As with all civilian-held firearms in the United States built after 1986, it is a felony to convert, transport, buy, sell, or be in possession of a Saiga with full-auto capability that does not fall under the grandfather clauses of the US government.
Converted Saigas are notable for their "pedigree" among Kalashnikov collectors and enthusiasts. Value is given to the weapon based on the fact that it is made from brand-new parts, as opposed to many commercially available AK pattern rifles, which are commonly built using an American-made receiver completed with surplus or retired parts kits from the rifles of the former Soviet Bloc. As a result, fit and finish on Saigas tends to fall into a higher category than the "de-milled" rifles of Romanian or Polish origin.
Rifles that have undergone more changes to resemble a military-issued weapon are often of a higher value than those that undergo a more simple conversion. These factors all enable converted Saigas to command high prices when sold relative to other civilian-legal Kalashnikov rifles. Such rifles may be sold at two to four times the value of a stock, non-converted factory Saiga.
Saigas are also considered "true" Kalashnikovs, since they are made legally (without design license violations) in the same Russian Izhmash factory where Mikhail Kalashnikov works. Currently, this is a unique feature of the Saiga, since Izhmash, the Kalashnikov's main producer, states that the vast majority of Kalashnikov-pattern rifles produced in the world today are illegal copies produced without a license.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n semi-automatic rifle
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
s manufactured by Izhmash, who also manufacture the original AK
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
-series assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
s and SVD sniper rifles. The Saiga rifles are a sporter version of the AK-series
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
rifles, and are marketed for hunting and civilian use.
History
Named for the Saiga AntelopeSaiga Antelope
The saiga is a Critically Endangered antelope which originally inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe zone from the foothills of the Carpathians and Caucasus into Dzungaria and Mongolia. They also lived in North America during the Pleistocene...
, the Saiga series of rifles is based on the AK-47 weapon system originally designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov
Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov is a Russian small arms designer, most famous for designing the AK-47 assault rifle, the AKM and the AK-74.-Early life:...
. The Saiga platform was developed for shooters who wanted the reliability of an AK pattern rifle in a non-military package.
Originally designed in the 1970s, the first rifles were chambered for 5.6x39mm
.220 Russian
The .220 Russian cartridge was developed in the late 1950s for deer hunting in Russia. It is a 7.62x39 cartridge necked down to hold a 5.6mm bullet. It was later adopted by Finland, and by around 1965 was being produced by SAKO and Lapua. When it was introduced to the United States, Sako, and...
. The project was not a huge success and only about 300 rifles of this design were produced.
The Saiga was reintroduced in the 1990s and was marketed as a rifle capable of hunting medium-sized game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
. Improvements were made to the initial design from the 1970s which made the rifle capable of handling more powerful cartridges
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
such as the .308 Winchester
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65...
and the more prevalent .223 Remington
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with almost the same external dimensions as the 5.56×45mm NATO military cartridge. The name is commonly pronounced either two-two-three or two-twenty-three. It is loaded with a diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from , though the most common...
/5.56x45mm and 7.62x39mm calibers. These improvements contributed to the modern line of the Saiga rifles being adopted by many different hunters.
The rifle is currently made in the same Izhmash plant as military AKs, and imported into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Russian American Armory.
Description
Most of the components of the Saiga are similar if not identical to an AK-47AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
rifle, but there are many cosmetic and functional differences between a Saiga and an AK-47. On the Saiga there is a notch that is used to secure the hand guard on to the front and a screw that is used to hold the hand guard in towards the rear. The Saiga is unable to accept standard AK-47 magazines; physically the magazine catch will not allow a magazine to lock into place inside of the receiver. Even if the magazine were modified to lock into place, cartridges would not feed well because the Saiga lacks a device called a bullet guide. The bullet guide allows a round to be stripped from the magazine and fed into the chamber without getting caught up on anything inside of the receiver; this bullet guide is specifically built into the magazine of the Saiga rifle. Any magazine that is used that does not have this feature will not feed reliably in the rifle.
Another difference of some Saiga-models is that they have a bolt hold open button. The Saiga bolt hold open does not hold the rifle's action open after the last round is fired as seen on many other semi-automatic firearm
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
s like the AR-15
AR-15
The AR-15 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle, with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation. It is manufactured with the extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials....
. The Saiga bolt hold open is engaged by manually depressing a button by the trigger guard and cocking the charging handle. Some versions of the rifle lack a pistol grip
Pistol grip
On a firearm or other tool, the pistol grip is that portion of the mechanism that is held by the hand and orients the hand in a forward, vertical orientation, similar to the position one would take with a conventional pistol such as the M1911....
and don't have a threaded muzzle, making it unable to accept muzzle devices. The trigger and trigger guard of some versions are placed farther back on the receiver than on a typical AK-47 rifle, and a transfer bar type system is used to release the hammer. This can result in the Saiga to have a considerably heavier and grittier trigger pull than that of other Kalashnikov-made firearms.
Design and Operation
The Saiga uses the same type of gas system that the AK-47AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
rifle uses: a gas piston. This gas piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
is pushed by the force of the gases from the firearm when a round is discharged, and it keeps powder residue and carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
from gumming up the action of the Saiga. Some shooters believe the rifle is more reliable than other semiautomatic rifles because of this. This piston is located inside the gas tube. As gas is siphoned into the gas tube, the gas piston is sent rearward. While the gas piston is sent rearward, the bolt
Bolt (firearm)
A bolt is a mechanical part of a firearm that blocks the rear of the chamber while the propellant burns.In manually-operated firearms, such as bolt-action, lever-action, and pump-action rifles and shotguns, the bolt is held fixed by its locking lugs during firing, forcing all the expanding gas...
, attached to the gas piston, is unlocked from the chamber and ejects the spent casing. When the bolt and gas piston reach the rearmost position of the receiver
Receiver (firearms)
In firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts. The receiver usually contains the bolt carrier group, trigger group, and magazine port. In most handguns, the receiver, or frame, holds the magazine well or rotary magazine as well as the trigger mechanism...
, the recoil spring pushes them forward again, and the cycle repeats when the trigger is pulled.
Another key feature cited in the reliability of the Saiga is that the rifle is designed to have loose tolerances. These loose tolerances allow more space between the moving parts of the rifle, and they allow the rifle to push any dirt and debris out of the way when the action cycles. All Saiga rifles have a hammer-forged chrome
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
-lined barrel, which influences the Saiga's reliability by making the inside of the barrel
Gun barrel
A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....
more resilient to corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
and enabling the rifle to withstand more rounds to be fired out of the barrel without an adverse affect on accuracy. This allows the firearms barrel to be cleaned easier than that of a non-chrome lined bore.
Market
Since the expiration of the Federal 1994 Assault Weapons Ban in 2004, so called "military-style" weapons have become wildly popular with marksmen in the United States. The Saiga, a variant of the ubiquitous AK-47 design, is no exception. Often, firearms enthusiasts will "restore" a Saiga to the configuration of the modern AK-100 series rifles produced alongside the Saiga rifles at Izhmash. The goals of these restorations are often as follows:- To install standard AK furniture on the rifle- i.e., a pistol grip, military butt stock, and handguards.
- Gain the ability to accept standard AK high-capacity magazines.
- Enable the rifle to be equipped with muzzle devices such as compensators, flash suppressors, bayonets, and suppressors.
- Give the rifle places to attach tactical accessories such as lasers, flashlights, and optics.
To achieve this, permanent changes must be made to the rifle. The factory fire control assembly must be removed and replaced with a semiautomatic only trigger group that fits in a standard Kalashnikov rifle. The aforementioned absence of a bullet guide must also be dealt with. A hole must be drilled and tapped in the front trunnion of the rifle so that the bullet guide may be fastened in the receiver. Material must be removed from the magazine latch to allow a standard Kalashnikov magazine to be used. The factory butt stock is removed and replaced with a piece similar to that found on military issue rifles. A pistol grip is installed. These are the basic steps needed to make the rifle consistent with most AK's in function.
Some armorers also take steps to make the rifle even more similar to the AK-100 series rifles. The handguard is replaced by the removal of the factory gas tube. A standard gas tube is used as a replacement, since they have the ability to retain the top portion of the handguard present on military issue Kalashnikovs. The rifle must also be fitted with a lower handguard retainer in order to use a military-style lower handguard component. Both press-on and bolt-on retainers are available, with the press-on versions requiring the removal of the front sight post and the gas block for installation. Finally, the owner may choose to thread the muzzle of the rifle or to install a threaded front sight block to enable the use of muzzle devices. This requires the removal of the front sight block installed at the factory, or removal of the additional material over the muzzle that extends from the front sight block. At the end of this process, a Saiga may not be readily distinguishable from a fully automatic military issue AK-100 series rifle, save the third receiver axis pin required to house the additional fire control parts necessary for fully automatic fire. This procedure is legal in most states, but those with laws regulating "assault weapons" may consider a restored Saiga a contraband weapon.
Such a procedure is not without risk. Damage may occur if the individual doing the upgrade does not take care while working. Furthermore Saiga conversions fall under section 922(r) of BATFE regulations. 922(r) requires that a "non-sporting" weapon imported to the United States have a certain number of its components manufactured in the United States. Since the Saiga is Russian made, care must be taken to make sure that the foreign parts count after the conversion does not exceed ten components out of the rifle's fourteen. As with all civilian-held firearms in the United States built after 1986, it is a felony to convert, transport, buy, sell, or be in possession of a Saiga with full-auto capability that does not fall under the grandfather clauses of the US government.
Converted Saigas are notable for their "pedigree" among Kalashnikov collectors and enthusiasts. Value is given to the weapon based on the fact that it is made from brand-new parts, as opposed to many commercially available AK pattern rifles, which are commonly built using an American-made receiver completed with surplus or retired parts kits from the rifles of the former Soviet Bloc. As a result, fit and finish on Saigas tends to fall into a higher category than the "de-milled" rifles of Romanian or Polish origin.
Rifles that have undergone more changes to resemble a military-issued weapon are often of a higher value than those that undergo a more simple conversion. These factors all enable converted Saigas to command high prices when sold relative to other civilian-legal Kalashnikov rifles. Such rifles may be sold at two to four times the value of a stock, non-converted factory Saiga.
Saigas are also considered "true" Kalashnikovs, since they are made legally (without design license violations) in the same Russian Izhmash factory where Mikhail Kalashnikov works. Currently, this is a unique feature of the Saiga, since Izhmash, the Kalashnikov's main producer, states that the vast majority of Kalashnikov-pattern rifles produced in the world today are illegal copies produced without a license.