DESIGN
The Saiga is a popular hunting and military
shotgun. It is officially named Saiga 12,
to distinct it from the other Saiga’s, but
if one mentions the Saiga it is clear Saiga
12 is meant. It is the only non-Western semi-automatic
military shotgun. There is a version with
a long barrel and a short barrel. The long
barrelled version is more accurate and is
meant as a hunting shotgun. The short barrelled
version has a pistol grip and is used by
several East European special forces. Both
versions are also available with a foldable
stock. |
| This is the basic version and is used for
hunting. |
| This version is designed for the police.
It has a foldable stock and pistol grip,
but retains the full length barrel. |
| The military version of the Saiga. It has
a foldable stock, pistol grip and short barrel. |
| This version is similar to the Saiga 12K,
but has a foldable stock. The Saiga 12SP
is sometimes called the Saiga 12P. |
PERFORMANCE
The Saiga is the best military shotgun ever
produced. Just as with the SPAS-15, the reload
problem of shotguns is solved by using magazines.
The Saige outperforms the SPAS-15 due to
its larger magazine and higher level of reliability.
The Saiga is the only semi-automatic shotgun
that can fire both 2.75” and 3.00” shells.
Like all Russian firearms it is very reliable
and jams are very rare. The reliability is
the only pro of a pump-action shotgun, but
is nowadays no longer an issue. A skilled
operator can fire five aimed shots in three
seconds. That is quite impressive. A pump-action
shotgun will never be able to do that, no
matter how skilled the operator is. There
is only one drawback to this shotgun: the
recoil. The Saiga is relatively light and
therefore is its recoil quite strong, when
using 3” shells.
This weapon should find its way to American
and European law enforcement agencies. But
hey, it is Russian, so I wonder if it will
ever happen. It will find its way to Western
criminals…..
USE
- The Saiga 12 is a popular civilian shotgun
in East Europe. It is used for hunting and
self defence.
- The Saiga 12K is used by several East European
special forces, including the Russian Spetznaz
and Omon.
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