AK: Century vs Saiga

[Sentient]

I am most likely going to cancel my order through Lanworld due to the long wait. Most places are sold out of the Saiga, except some stores at a huge markup. I might be in the market for a used one if you have one for sale.

I am seeing that some of the Century AK rifles are in stock. How do you think those compare quality wise?


I appreciate all of your feedback.

[Bongos]

Saiga are Russian AK sporter made along side AK74 and AK47 for the Russian Military, The CAI (Centery Arms Import) are mostly Romanian... I like the Russian you just have to pic your flavor.. it's an AK after all, it will go bang every time, out of the water, out of the sand, out of the snow, out of the dirt, out of the bush (that did not sound right ), you get the picture (that did not sound right either).. the Russians are nicer quality in my mind

[Sentient]

Thanks. Saiga was my first choice but Century is actually in stock online. I like the look of the Saiga and the reputation and think it has a cooler sounding name (pretty superficial). The century looks comparable and I can order now.

If I cant find somebody willing to sell me a Saiga for around $500 in the SF bay area or is willing to ship I might have to go with the century, but I wanted to double check peoples experiences.

[supermario]

Why dont you call Ammo bros in cerritos and ask them if they will send it over there. They have them for $499

[grammaton76]

Just so you know, some of the "marked-up" Saigas you're seeing are probably professionally converted to take AK-47 magazines. The Henderson Defense Saigas cost a crapload more than a normal Saiga, but they've already been converted.

As a point of reference, choosing between Saiga and AK at the same price, I'd take the AK hands-down. I've got 30rd mags, and can easily fix the minor things that're frequently wrong with the WASR's. I'm not so interested in converting Saigas, personally.

[Sentient]

I dont want a fixed magazine though, and pistol grips are nice but not essential. I would love an AK, but Im a poor student and my heart is set on a semi-auto with a detachable clip in the classic AK round. If you have any comparable suggestions I am open to them.

I am definitely in the market if somebody knows somebody selling something new or used.

AmmoBros will not ship, or at least that is what they said over the phone.



Is that a sword in your avatar?

[grammaton76]

Yep, it's a sword.

As for pistol grips, I leave the pistol grips off of my AK's and use detachable magazines. I'd call it comparable to a Saiga in performance, with or without a Monsterman grip.

[seal20]

Why dont you call Ammo bros in cerritos and ask them if they will send it over there. They have them for $499

I just came from there...I bought one of the last 2 I could find in the Western UNITED STATES! I got quotes of 6 weeks to 9 months of lead time on these....and that's if you PAY NOW. I must have called 15 dealers...they could probably get $1000 for these bangers right now.

They also got a load of S&W ARs this morning and more than half were gone by 1:30pm today.

[Sentient]

Im a Bunjinkan student myself.

Who is selling CA legal AKs either in the SF Bay Area or online?

[grammaton76]

Im a Bunjinkan student myself.

Ah, neat. I will say I have zero formal sword training (short of cardboard boxes)... and my short-lived karate experiences ended with a broken ankle and then moving away before it healed. I keep meaning to get back into something now that I'm fairly well settled where I am (yes, I've been saying that for 4 years now)

Who is selling CA legal AKs either in the SF Bay Area or online?

Don't know about the Bay Area, but you might want to try going through the list of forum supporting dealers. One or two of them might have something in stock.

[elSquid]

Who is selling CA legal AKs either in the SF Bay Area or online?

Even in pre-Obama times, I found it difficult to track down an AK from a stocking dealer in the bay area. I wound up buying from Cold War Shooters at the San Jose gun show.

Another option is to buy an NDS-3 receiver from CWS, and then get a parts kit and have a rifle custom built for you by M24Armorer/Overland/Henderson/etc. ( Or build it yourself ) Of course, you'll need to find a parts kit...

You may find it easiest to just go to Bullseye and buy a Saiga from them. You can always convert it later if you feel the need.

-- Michael

[Sentient]

I already asked this on the other thread, but how feasible is it to convert the 223 Saiga to 7.62x39?

I may purchase the 7.62 used from a member on this site, but the 223 new is over $100 cheaper. However, I would probably want to convert it, but I have no idea how or how much that would cost.

[grammaton76]

I already asked this on the other thread, but how feasible is it to convert the 223 Saiga to 7.62x39?

I may purchase the 7.62 used from a member on this site, but the 223 new is over $100 cheaper. However, I would probably want to convert it, but I have no idea how or how much that would cost.

Pretty much not gonna happen.

Different bolt and different barrel, and those are just the diffs off the top of my head. Those parts alone are going to cost you well over $100, not counting the effort of conversion.

To convert it, you're going to basically need the same tooling you'd need to BUILD an AK. In short, I wouldn't say it's worth it.

[IH8CALAWS]

look on other in the marketplace on other forums, you can still find some good deals out of state. I recently found and purchased a Romanian SAR-2(AK74 for $470 shipped),wasr10 with plum furniture and a 74 brake installed for $430 shipped, and a new Hungarian SA-85M for $600 shipped. Keep you'r eyes open and you'l find something. I like the marketplace at www.theakforum.net and www.akfiles.com. Good luck with you'r search.

[vinny_land]

Hands down....SAIGA! SAIGA! SAIGA!

Its Russian made and with a few tools, the right parts, and a little know how, you have yourself a Russian AK. Some guy on youtube has step by step video on how to convert a Saiga. I should have bought a bunch when they were less than $320 out the door.