The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

As Alpha1 mentioned first-take this clamp/bipod away.Then the scope-try iron sights again-25 to 50m.And get some Barnaul ammo too-like hunting FMJ.If it past 10K shots-ok,change the barrel.But....highly unlikely in UK.Or maybe ask me in few months time...and I can help You can go for .300Blackout if you wish....Oh,and clean it properly first before any more tests.In short-go to basics and grab the notepad...

My Bulgarian underfolder makes me very proud hitting an 8" Shoot n c at 200 yards even if it is with 6x setting on a Strike Eagle. My VZ58 also struggles anything over 4" MOA but l do like shooting both of them. Definitely taking the Bulgarian and the Dragon to Sennybridge when l get the chance. Would like to be able to take my Bleep and Booster flash hider off the Bulgarian to clean it better but the flash hider body is welded on to make minimum OA length.

I don't think you are ever going to get this type of rifle to shoot really tight groups its not what they were designed for. I would just shoot it and enjoy it for what it is.

I have a .223/5.56 Saiga using a dedicated 6x PSO style optic and found it very inaccurate shooting Nato spec ammo like GGG. In fact, I too, thought the barrel was defective until I stuck to 55 grain.

I agree that it's not an accurate target rifle -300 yards is probably its maximum and better at 100 or 200 yards and I do not even try and keep up with other club shooters who have more mainstream target rifles and expensive western optics. For me, its like having a 50's ex-Soviet tank which you cannot compare to its western counterpart.

The Saiga is probably ideal in semi-auto mode (where you will be consuming many rounds)- but that's not possible here, and so I plan get the most out of it (like the 7.62x39 Saiga I also own)- before military look alike rifles and/or high capacity magazines are possibly one day taken away from us (as the EU/many a politician would love to do).

What MOA do you usually get with 55 grain bullets?

ajz wrote:I have a .223/5.56 Saiga using a dedicated 6x PSO style optic and found it very inaccurate shooting Nato spec ammo like GGG. In fact, I too, thought the barrel was defective until I stuck to 55 grain.

I agree that it's not an accurate target rifle -300 yards is probably its maximum and better at 100 or 200 yards and I do not even try and keep up with other club shooters who have more mainstream target rifles and expensive western optics. For me, its like having a 50's ex-Soviet tank which you cannot compare to its western counterpart.

The Saiga is probably ideal in semi-auto mode (where you will be consuming many rounds)- but that's not possible here, and so I plan get the most out of it (like the 7.62x39 Saiga I also own)- before military look alike rifles and/or high capacity magazines are possibly one day taken away from us (as the EU/many a politician would love to do).

HALODIN wrote:What MOA do you usually get with 55 grain bullets?

ajz wrote:I have a .223/5.56 Saiga using a dedicated 6x PSO style optic and found it very inaccurate shooting Nato spec ammo like GGG. In fact, I too, thought the barrel was defective until I stuck to 55 grain.

I agree that it's not an accurate target rifle -300 yards is probably its maximum and better at 100 or 200 yards and I do not even try and keep up with other club shooters who have more mainstream target rifles and expensive western optics. For me, its like having a 50's ex-Soviet tank which you cannot compare to its western counterpart.

The Saiga is probably ideal in semi-auto mode (where you will be consuming many rounds)- but that's not possible here, and so I plan get the most out of it (like the 7.62x39 Saiga I also own)- before military look alike rifles and/or high capacity magazines are possibly one day taken away from us (as the EU/many a politician would love to do).

It's probably also worth finding out what twist rate too? AFAIK, Saiga manufacturered the .223 in 2 twist rates 1 in 12 (favouring the lighter projectiles ) and 1 in 7 (or 8 - not sure?). I've got the latter, which doesn't seem to play nice with 55gn - I get 1 MOA better with the heavier stuff.

Is it even viable to re-barrel ?

As I recall, the barrel is inserted into a trunnion and squeezed in there with a hydraulic press ?

Might be a costly job to sort ?

breacher wrote:Is it even viable to re-barrel ?

As I recall, the barrel is inserted into a trunnion and squeezed in there with a hydraulic press ?

Might be a costly job to sort ?

Yes - they're pressed in, headspaced and pinned in place.

That was kinda the reason for my original question - after sourcing a barrel (or having one made) and then fitting it - how much is it likely to cost?

Checking what twist rate your rifle has would be a VERY good idea, you might need to dig out a bore rod to do that if it is not written down but there are some guide videos on Youtube showing how to do it.

The AK has a pretty short narrow profile barrel, a bit over 16" with a bore length of 14.5". If you have a 1 in 7 twist the more common 55gr ammo is too light a pill to get any kind of accuracy. With that bore length and twist rate you need to be thinking at least 69gr or ideally 75gr bullets.

Go buy a box of Hornady Steel Case 75gr training rounds, they are affordable and surprisingly accurate. Even better they come in 50rd boxes, don't worry about the steel case your AK will not be fussed about that. Also unlike Barnaul or Tula they don't use Bi-Metal bullets but instead a Hornady HPBT match bullet. Find a bean bag to rest the rifle on a gallery day and start putting some down range and see how it goes then work your way back to 100yds.

http://www.wentworth-sporting.com/shop/ ... THP-x50/75

Try and eliminate the variables when doing this and also consider other factors like trigger control and breathing etc.

breacher wrote:
As I recall, the barrel is inserted into a trunnion and squeezed in there with a hydraulic press ?

Might be a costly job to sort ?

Yep, as I said earlier

AKs aren't really designed to be rebarreled, even the export Capitalist-market 5.56/.223 ones.If accuracy of an AK dropped off or the barrel got damaged it would be returned to the section armourer and exchanged for a new one......or you'd pick another off the battlefield and crack on.It would take some doing to shoot out a chrome-lined Saiga barrel, especially a straight-pull version......my 7.62x39 Romanian barrel is as unmarked and the rifling as defined as it was when I first shot it despite having thousands of dirty steel-cored milsurp through it.


Kalashnikov Concern rates the life span of their barrels at 10,000 rounds without sacrificing accuracy, plus an “additional” 6,000 rounds that they do not show in the warranty documentation, but steadily show at tests and in trials......Arsenal in the States have some semi-auto test rifles with 100,000+ rounds through them that will still hit centre mass at 100m with ease.