My Saiga .223
by matthe murray
(Griffin GA)
I bought my Saiga .223 before they became popular here in the US. I wanted a rifle that shot .223. I'm a soldier and that's what I was used to. I really wanted a mini-14, one because it shot .223, and two because I've always been a fan of its M1 Garand / M1 Carbine / M14 style action. Second on my wish list was an AR-15 of course...again...I'm a soldier and its what I'm used to. But when I went to market to buy a rifle, I was a poor college student, and I only had $300. I went to my good buddy Dave Phillips' store and found a Saiga .223 for $270. I'd never heard of the rifles up to that point (this was around 2004) and I was surprised to see an AK configuration chambered in .223 (this was before I became an official gun nut and realized that they are more common that one thinks)....but for $270!!! I snatched it.
I then ordered a front sight post key and windage vice to zero the rifle from Tapco. I zeroed it and I'm confident in saying that I could easily qualify with it on a US Army qualification range in place of an M16A4 or M4. Also, its reliable. I have NEVER had a jam. Its an ammo slut...it'll take anything. One challenge though was magazines. When I first got it, it only had a 10 round factory mag. Later at a gun show I found an incredibly overpriced 20 round mag. But then I learned two important things: one; it can take Galil/Golani mags and two; AK74 mags (orange plastic ones) can be easily modified to work with it. So here are the key points as to why I think its a great survival rifle.
1. Its reliable.
2. Its accurate (and if anyone disagrees its because they haven't google'd how to zero the rifle).
3. It shoots a common ammunition.
4. Its easy to operate.
5. Savvy survivors can procure mags for it...but who really needs more than
three in a survival situation (I have 3 Galil mags plus the factory ones).
6. Its good for varmint and human threats alike...they are practically one and the same.
DOWNSIDES: For all you hand loaders out there, the Saiga .223 ruins casings...its got a hell of an ejector and it goes monster truck to cars on brass. And if you don't buy a side fixed scope mount and use the cheap action cover rail mounts, your optics will walk. But when your killing zombies, what real man needs a scope.
NOTE: Since I bought this rifle, I've also procured many more (poor college student evolved into dude with job/soldier with pay) including a Carbon 15 (bushmaster...not the old junk), a Cetme (retooled not to eat brass with the fluted chamber), and a Mini 14. None of my since purchases have persueded me to sell the Saiga. I consider it the anchor of my collection.
All the best good Americans,
SPC Murray (45B, armorer, Georgia Army National Guard)
