Saiga in .308 vs. Other aks

frequent

Hello..I'm trying to find out if saiga in 308 is a good investment..my budget is $800..i figure i wont be shooting past 150 yards.. probably will be the last gun I'll buy..please right both pros and cons of the rifle..thanks.

drobs

308 ammo is still, as far as I know, really expensive. Figure that into your equation. Personally, I'd want more accuracy out any 308 rifle I buy. Especially with the ammo being so expensive.

There are some companies finally offering hi cap Saiga 308 mags. It really depends what you want the gun for.

As far as collectability, I'd go with a Saiga 12 ga.

iwannausername

For $800 you could probably pick up a decent FAL built from a kit on a good (Imbel, etc) receiver.

quickmajik

I agree with IWannaUserName... Saiga mags are expensive as all get out, like 45.00 apiece.. A saiga rifle and ten mags would cost you about as much or more then an entreprise FAL would. And the fal is a friendlier gun IMHO.

Stay away from century arms international when it comes to FAL rifles.. I have gotten two crappy FALs from them..

Before you buy or bid on an PK FAL, Talk to the builder and find out if he is a ametuer or an experianced builder... If you get a lemon you just might get stuck with it.

beantownshootah

I agree with all of the above.

Saigas are basically sporterized Kalashnikov rifles. They're reliable, relatively inexpensive (for a semi-auto .308), and not especially accurate (though they are undoubtedly accurate enough for defense or short-range hunting).

The Saiga RIFLES are not particularly collectible at this time, so as a financial "investment", there are probably better guns to buy. I agree with Drobs that the shotgun is the way to go if you want a collectible Saiga, as magazine fed-shotguns invariably end up on gun-haters "ban" lists.

If by "investment" you mean an investment into a functional gun, the answer is going to depend largely on what exactly do you want to do with this thing.

For shooting at less than 150 yards, I question the necessity of a .308 (though again, that depends on your application). For a real-world defensive gun, a 7.62x39 will probably do what you need to do, with less recoil and far less ammo expense.

If you want a "combat" type .308, as mentioned, I think there are better ones out there, though they'll generally also cost more than a Saiga. Personally, I'd go "old school" with an M1a, though now we're talking a *LOT* more money than a Saiga (eg $1500).

If you're really thinking of under 150 yards with non-pinpoint accuracy requirements, you may be better served with just an ordinary Kalshnikov in 7.32x39. For your $800 budget you could get a good one and trick it out with nice accessories, like a folding stock, etc.

In fact, for not much more than $800 you could probably get BOTH a used AK as well as a used bolt-action .308, sort of giving you the best of both worlds.

drobs

Check out the Arsenal Saiga SGL21 7.62x39
http://www.k-var.com/shop/product.php?productid=17044&cat=353&page=1

It's a steal of a deal at $500.