Saiga Semi-automatic Rifle - Market

Market

Since the expiration of the Federal 1994 Assault Weapons Ban in 2004, so called "military-style" weapons have become wildly popular with marksmen in the United States. The Saiga, a derivative of the ubiquitous AK-47 design, is no exception. Often, firearms enthusiasts will "restore" a Saiga to the configuration of the modern AK-100 series rifles produced alongside the Saiga rifles at Izhmash. The goals of these restorations are often as follows:

• To install standard AK furniture on the rifle- i.e., a pistol grip, military butt stock, and handguards.
• Gain the ability to accept standard capacity AK magazines.
• Enable the rifle to be equipped with muzzle devices such as compensators, flash suppressors, bayonets, and suppressors.
• Give the rifle places to attach tactical accessories such as lasers, flashlights, and optics.

To achieve this, permanent changes must be made to the rifle. The factory fire control assembly must be removed and replaced with a semiautomatic only trigger group that fits in a standard Kalashnikov rifle. The aforementioned absence of a bullet guide must also be dealt with. A hole must be drilled and tapped in the front trunnion of the rifle so that the bullet guide may be fastened in the receiver. Material must be removed from the magazine latch to allow a standard Kalashnikov magazine to be used. The factory butt stock is removed and replaced with a piece similar to that found on military issue rifles. A pistol grip is installed. These are the basic steps needed to make the rifle consistent with most AK's in function.

Some armorers also take steps to make the rifle even more similar to the AK-100 series rifles. The handguard is replaced by the removal of the factory gas tube. A standard gas tube is used as a replacement, since they have the ability to retain the top portion of the handguard present on military issue Kalashnikovs. The rifle must also be fitted with a lower handguard retainer in order to use a military-style lower handguard component. Both press-on and bolt-on retainers are available, with the press-on versions requiring the removal of the front sight post and the gas block for installation. Finally, the owner may choose to thread the muzzle of the rifle or to install a threaded front sight block to enable the use of muzzle devices. This requires the removal of the front sight block installed at the factory, or removal of the additional material over the muzzle that extends from the front sight block. At the end of this process, a Saiga may not be readily distinguishable from a fully automatic military issue AK-100 series rifle, save the third receiver axis pin required to house the additional fire control parts necessary for fully automatic fire. This procedure is legal in most states, but those with laws regulating "assault weapons" may consider a restored Saiga a contraband weapon.

Such a procedure is not without risk. Damage may occur if the individual doing the upgrade does not take care while working. Furthermore Saiga conversions fall under section 922(r) of BATFE regulations. 922(r) requires that a "non-sporting" weapon imported to the United States have a certain number of its components manufactured in the United States. Since the Saiga is Russian made, care must be taken to make sure that the foreign parts count after the conversion does not exceed ten components out of the rifle's fourteen. As with all civilian-held firearms in the United States built after 1986, it is a felony to convert, transport, buy, sell, or be in possession of a Saiga with full-auto capability that does not fall under the grandfather clauses of the US government.

Converted Saigas are notable for their "pedigree" among Kalashnikov collectors and enthusiasts. Value is given to the weapon based on the fact that it is made from brand-new parts, as opposed to many commercially available AK pattern rifles, which are commonly built using an American-made receiver completed with surplus or retired parts kits from the rifles of the former Soviet Bloc. As a result, fit and finish on Saigas tends to fall into a higher category than the "de-milled" rifles of Romanian or Polish origin.

Rifles that have undergone more changes to resemble a military-issued weapon are often of a higher value than those that undergo a more simple conversion. These factors all enable converted Saigas to command high prices when sold relative to other civilian-legal Kalashnikov rifles. Such rifles may be sold at two to four times the value of a stock, non-converted factory Saiga.

Saigas are also considered "true" Kalashnikovs, since they are made legally (without design license violations) in the same Russian Izhmash factory where Mikhail Kalashnikov works. Currently, this is a unique feature of the Saiga, since Izhmash, the Kalashnikov's main producer, states that the vast majority of Kalashnikov-pattern rifles produced in the world today are illegal copies produced without a license.