cycling issues with saiga 12ga 410 bought at gun show

[gigatexal]

I, on impulse, picked up a saiga 12ga shotgun from a gun show in St. Helens, and I finally was able to take it out to shoot. I was shooting the same shells my remington 870 shoots, 2 3/4 inch shells, which fit the magazine just fine.

When I went to shoot it it would shoot one round, but then fail to kick out the casing, the plastic would get caught on the internals. I tried moving the ring on the front to change the gas setting to no avail, anyone have any tips?

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[Certaindeaf]

Just as a layman regarding those, I'd say to make sure she's lubed up and I also hear that if low base loads are kept in the fully loaded firearm the shell/s can become deformed from the pressure of the mag spring pushing up against the bolt. I heard they do do well with "target" low base shells though, barring that one condition..
Anyway, good luck

 

[gigatexal]

Before I took her out shooting, I tore it down and lubed it with frog lube. I got to do more research on the right loads for it, otherwise if I can't figure it out, I'll have to either see if I can return it or sell it for a loss.

 

[Certaindeaf]

What shells were you shooting?

 

[gigatexal]

Winchester 12 Gauge, 1 1/8th-8, 2 3/4 length shells

 

[Nwcid]

Is this a 12ga or 410? Title says both, but appears to be 12ga.

In general they run well on 2 3/4 shells as long as you have at least 1 1/8 oz. One problem I have found also is body weight/positioning, can be the cause. Myself and a buddy had shot a box each with no problem. My 3rd buddy could not get the gun to cycle more then 2-3 rds at a time. He is a slender little guy. I loaded it up with some buckshot and he had no problems with those.

There is another gas plug, <broken link removed> which also helps, I got one (included) when I got one of the original mags.

 

[gigatexal]

you know what, i'm not sure what I got. This is the gun, it's attached. The russian manual was two-pages, I can't seem to find it now, but it listed a very sparse set of instructions for the whole family of guns.

 

[Nwcid]

Well I would say if you are shooting 12ga out of it then it is not a .410...................

First link on google search for Saiga 12 manual, <broken link removed>

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

There's a whole forum dedicated to getting those to run with some very knowledgeable folks that will probably help you diagnose it.
http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/forum/2-saiga-12/

 

[Certaindeaf]

How often did those failures occur? Were they from the top of the magazine? Do you/did you keep that/have that gun loaded with those low base shells for a period of time?

 

[gigatexal]

thanks for the links! I should have googled. I've seen all sorts of tips like keep the bolt back in the locked position for a while to "loosen" it up some so it cycles.

 

[gigatexal]

certaindeaf, It happened after every round. I can load one in but when it would go to cycle it would get stuck ejecting.

 

[Nwcid]

Again I don't know your size/weight but "short-cycleing" is defiantly an issue I have seen with theses guns. Mine is a fully converted "factory" Tromix.

 

[gigatexal]

6 foot, 185, but it could definitely be me. I'll take a look at the saiga forum.

 

[Certaindeaf]

certaindeaf, It happened after every round. I can load one in but when it would go to cycle it would get stuck ejecting.

I hear you.. it sounds like it's short stroking and maybe a few boxes of buckshot would help break it in for those target loads.

 

[gigatexal]

i'll try that while i do more research, i haven't given up yet.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

You may need to polish the bolt, especially if you want to cycle low brass stuff. Mine wouldn't cycle the bulk pack stuff worth a darn until I had Pauly do his magic on the bolt.

 

[gigatexal]

how would i go about polishing it? belt sander?

 

[trainsktg]

how would i go about polishing it? belt sander?

Good God, no. Sit down some night, watch a good movie or two, and slowly rub the underside of the bolt with your thumb and some extremely fine grit sandpaper and emory. It wouldn't hurt to do the same where the bolt rides across the hammer either. You don't want to change the profile any, just smooth out the gritty finish. Running a hundred rounds of OO will do the same thing.

These weapons are designed to cycle with full power military buck and slugs but can run the cheapest Wally World Universal Bulk. (Most autoloaders fall apart with low brass as well though...nothing unusual.) After a little polishing mine would cycle the cheapo Universal (as long as I pulled the stock into my shoulder properly) all the way up to painful 3" Magnum loads. Get a VPlug (an aftermarket gas valve that gives you five gas settings instead of the factory two) or similar product, choose a few different types of ammo to experiment with. Start at the lowest gas setting and work up until you get consistent cycling with each load, then record.

Its a great platform...enjoy!

Keith

 

[gigatexal]

oh nice, i'll have to get a plug for more settings. thanks!

I'll break it down today and figure get to fixing it all up.