SAIGA - THE KALIFORNYA KOMPLIANT AK
The Californians Option For An AK
by Uli Gebhard - Suarez International Staff Instructor
The AK-47 is the fighting rifle of choice of Suarez International. The price is reasonable, the AK's built by Jim Fuller/Rifle Dynamics are accurate and reliable, yet all of them have one other thing in common: The State of Kalifornia in its infinite wisdom has decided to save us from our own dark side and banned them in their original configuration.
All of the original AK's that have been modified to comply with the CA regulations have severe disadvantages such as fixed/tool-only removable magazines or have either no pistol grip or the Monster-man grip. Neither option really aids handling of the gun.
Ladies, Gents, I'm writing this since I'm teaching in LA, and I'm facing these exact problems. The next best thing to downgraded standard AK's is the RAAC Saiga. The Saiga is essentially nothing but a "sporterized" AK. The engineers at Izmash removed the pistol grip and moved the trigger far enough to the rear that it can be reached from a Monte Carlo stock that's attached to the rear trunnion. Another measure to get it onto the American market is a redesigned magazine seat that does not allow using original AK magazines.

Still, in my opinion, the Saiga, particularly in 7.62x39 (.223 and .308 are also available) is the best centerfire autoloading rifle on the Kalifornia market.
All Saigas that I have seen thus far are as rugged and reliable as any AK that Gabe is running in his classes. Together with the Ruger Mini-14/30, M-1A, and M-1Carbine they have a removable magazine, which makes them suitable as true fighting rifles. Big advantage of the Saiga is their low price of $350 to $400. The SU-16 has the same feature, but I would not call it a true fighting rifle since the bore is not chrome-lined and the reliability is an issue.
What you get for this investment is a caveman-simple, reliable, rugged, accurate, low-maintenance platform. One other point to consider is that 7.62x39 is just about the cheapest centerfire rifle ammunition currently on the market.
The Saiga has the typical AK controls: trigger, safety, mag release, charging handle. Just like the regular AK, these controls can be easily manipulated under stress, regardless if the rifle is operated right- or left-handed.
The only control that I handle different on the Saiga is the safety. While the trigger was moved back, the safety stayed in place, where it is out of reach when the trigger hand is on the stock. When operating the trigger with my right hand, I place the web of my hand on the rear of the cover. This gives me enough reach with my middle finger to manipulate the safety lever. With the left hand on the trigger, I use the right thumb, just like on the AK. Running the Safety on the Saiga - right hand.
The sights are AK-typical notch and post - just like on your pistol. There is no need re-train yourself in using Ghost-ring sights. Yet they allow hitting a 10" steel plate at 100 meters with boring regularity.
Three things that the Saiga needs for use as a CDR (Civilian Defense Rifle): A sling, a bag for your ammo and lots and lots of magazines.
The simpler the sling is the better. I used to use the ueber-tactical three-point or single-point slings in the past. They are slow to put on and when you let the rifle drop into the sling it's dangling in front of you, which has two very negative effects:1). The rifle limits your ability to move effectively while you move and operate the pistol, and 2). It's attached to your body on the side that faces your adversary.

Gabe had an account from his SWAT days when an officer my size encountered a rather strong and large opponent who then got hold of the 3-point-sling-fixtured MP5. The bad guy flung the officer around by his weapon until a fellow SWAT member cured this anger management issue with some large caliber therapy.
Point of story - basic two-point slings not only cost a fraction, but are also more effective. You can throw the rifle over you head and sling it over your back in one swift motion, transition to pistol and you're back in the fight, while the rifle is out of the way.
As for bags, I use the rifle-bug-out-bag from One Source Tactical. The mag-pouches are designed for full-size mags, which means that the Saiga 10-rounders usually sit a little too low for easy access. .223 Magpuls resolve this problem.
After seeing the Sneaky Bags in action during the AK course in Prescott, an upgrade is called for - they work better in the dump-pouch section than my current bag.
Why a bag and not a chest rig or vest? Figure the following test: Your gear and rifle are in the trunk of your car. On "Go", grab your equipment, run to cover, fire a couple of rounds, do a proactive reload, sling your rifle, transition to pistol and evade to an alternate position. Do this as fast as possible without leaving any items behind. On the mag issue, three options are viable: One can leave the rifle unmodified and use the Saiga-proprietary 10-round mags.
Both of the other options require modifications to the rifle: The Saiga mags have an integrated feature that guides the bullets into the chamber. Stock AK mags not only don't fit, but will also cause frequent malfunctions in form of failures to feed since they lack the guide feature. This can be resolved by installing a bullet guide. The parts are available from various online sources. All it takes is to drill and tap the front trunnion to install the guide and secure it with Loctite. Problem is that the trunnion is hardened, which makes drilling and tapping a bit of a challenge if you haven't done work like this before.
With the bullet guide installed, one of the following modifications is necessary to allow using standard AK mags in the Saiga:
1). Modifying the mags to work with the slightly different Saiga Magwell/mag-release configuration
2). Modifying the Magwell/mag release to use standard magazines as-is.
All options considered, my Saiga is stock and uses the Saiga factory mags. The reasoning behind this is simple. I'm an instructor and I log these rifles around quite a bit. There's always the chance to get pulled over and I'd rather show that everything is as it came from the factory than trying to educate the officer that yes, the rifle is modified, but no, the mags are not illegal because they are still Kalifornia kompliant choked-down 30-rounders that will hold only ten cartridges.
If you want to get your Saiga modified for AK mags and you're not comfortable doing it yourself, give Jim Fuller a call. I've seen him at work and I've seen the results of his skills. Rest assured that you will get a conversion that you can rely on - period!As far as ruggedness goes, please picture this: When I demonstrate the Saiga, I field-strip it and, just for show, dump the cover, bolt carrier, bolt, recoil spring assembly and gas tube in the dirt. I give the parts a slight blow-off at best, reassemble the rifle, perform a function check, insert a magazine and put 10 rounds downrange. I did this pretty much at the end of each class this year and have never encountered any malfunctions.
To summarize things: The Saiga rifles are reliable and can, with very few exceptions, be operated just like an AK. If you train manipulations on your Saiga, then head to a free state and take an AK course, you will be at least at the same level as the rest of the crowd.
Last but not least a brief note for those who like these top-loading AR Carbines just because they are cool and not a com-block abomination: you can buy two Saigas, all necessary gear and a decent amount of ammo for the price of one top-loading or bullet-button incapacitated AR - how much better does it get?!
Yes - I like my com-block abomination and will gladly use it to teach the next rifle class!