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Saiga wooden stocks and .308/16" barrel config.
olwesternboy
Member Posts: 4 ✭
There is a lack of these seemingly after watching this website
for a while. How many are out there? I've seen the wooden Monte Carlo style buttstock & foregrip (like on the "22 barrels) on a virtually new 16" .308 in person and a wooden Dragunov style with same foregrip, factory trigger like a regular AK on the net. Any experts on numbers? Owners? Merely a post factory switchover? Thanks in advance- first post.
for a while. How many are out there? I've seen the wooden Monte Carlo style buttstock & foregrip (like on the "22 barrels) on a virtually new 16" .308 in person and a wooden Dragunov style with same foregrip, factory trigger like a regular AK on the net. Any experts on numbers? Owners? Merely a post factory switchover? Thanks in advance- first post.
Comments
Knowing the ones with the 16" barrels, look really tacticool. Try shooting one, prior to purchase. It might cause you to opt for the one, with the 22" barrel instead.
This. 16" .308 makes a really loud muzzle blast and isn't all that pleasant to shoot.
To answer the original question, I have no idea how many wood furniture 16" bbl Saiga .308s came out of the factory, but my guess is either "zero" or "really few". The fact that you can't find any wood stock 16" 308 guns probably means that Izhmash never put these out as a standard factory configuration.
The wood furniture is considered a "hunting" option, and comes on the longer barrel guns. As Rufe is suggesting, I think anyone interested in a 16" gun probably wants more "tactical" polymer furniture (which they will probably swap out for something else anyway), and so Izhmash probably never offered wood on these.
If so, the one you saw like this probably had its original polymer swapped out for factory wood later. If that's what you want, then you're best bet is probably to do the same, ie find a 16" Saiga you like, then swap out the polymer for wood.
Apparently 16" Saiga wood furniture is a bit different then the usual .223/7.62x39 and not all that easy to find. (EDIT, the thicker barrel means ordinary 223 handguard won't fit, at least not without modification; I think ordinary Saiga buttstock alone is OK). Still, if you're patient, post "wanted to buy" tags, and look around the auction site here, Flea-bay, etc, you'll probably eventually find a set for sale.
If you have a "converted" (to AK profile) Saiga, standard AK variant furniture can fit or be made to fit, and that should be relatively inexpensive and easy to find. Its not particularly elegant, but because of the location of the triggerguard you can run a Saiga OK with just a standard AK buttstock (ie without the vertical pistol grip).
If you don't mind having a NON factory wood set, and have got a few bucks to spend, Ironwood designs offers high quality American made furniture for Saigas, effectively custom to order:
EDIT: If you're after the Dragunov style wood stock, one can be found here:
http://legionusainc.com/wood-laminate-svd-buttstock-for-saiga.html
If you're handy with woodworking, just making a buttstock for a Saiga should be fairly straightforward. The bolt-on design means you don't need the same kind of sophisticated inletting that you would with a more conventional rifle-stock. Handguards, not so much, but again, you may be able to adapt a conventional AK set for this.