I just spent the day converting my father's .308 saiga, and I haven't seen a decent breakdown on how to do so for the .308 specifically online, so i'm going to post the steps here. The trigger on the stock .308 Saiga is total ass due to the sporting requirements, and actually pulls up instead of back. Please note that I got the basic carolina shooters supply kit to do this. Parts you will need: The conversion kit itself. A 3/16 drill bit and drill to drill out a few rivets. Some metal drill bits. A spot weld remover bit. Thread locker. An AKM safety lever. A screwdriver. A pin punch and hammer. Blue painters tape. Black high temperature paint. A marking punch. Cutting oil. 80 grit sanding block. Round file. 3 ft of twine. (optional) Part 1: Full takedown. Step one: Push in the button holding the dust cover on and lift up on the dust cover to remove it. Step two: Push forward on the dust cover retaining button until the recoil spring comes loose. Lift the recoil spring assembly and pull it out of the piston/bolt carrier assembly. Step three: Pull the bolt carrier/piston assembly to the back of the reciever and it should pop free. Step four: Pull up on the piston housing tube lever and pull the piston housing tube up and out. Step five: Using a screwdriver to protect your hands, lift the hammer spring arms up and over the hammer, using a bread tie to secure the spring arms together. Step six: Remove the screws from the stock and pull the stock from the reciever. Step seven: From behind the reciever, on the left side of the reciever attached to the trigger pin is a "shepherds crook" spring The arm of the spring extends to a groove in the hammer pin. Push down on the shepherds crook arm to remove the hammer pin. You may need to use a pin punch. Pull the hammer and spring assembly out of the reviever and set aside with the pin. Step eight: Push up on the bolt hold open lever and the trigger pin should come loose. Use a punch to push out the trigger pin. Keep the punch in the reciever as you set the pin to the side. Keeping your hand over the top of the reciever, remove the punch. The BAIN OF MY EXISTENCE, err, bolt hold open (BHO) spring will come loose. Pull out the trigger assembly, BHO lever and BHO spring and set aside. Step nine: Rotate the safety lever until it is straight up to pull it free. Step ten: Use a strip of blue painters tape to cover the barrel and gas piston housing. Congratulations, your Saiga is ready to be altered. To convert a Saiga from it's "sporting" configuration you need to remove a plate that's covering the original trigger slot. Thankfully the factory still cut the spot out. Part 2: Removing the plate. Step 1: Inspect the reciever to identify the rivets and spot welds you need to remove the trigger guard plate. DO NOT remove the rivets holding the magazine catch on. On my father's Saiga there was one rivet behind the mag catch and one at the back of the trigger guard, and a spot weld on either side of the existing trigger slot. The instructions that came with the kit said there were 4 total rivets, which may be true for later models. Step 2: Use a punch to mark divot in the top center of of each rivet to mark where to put the 3/16 drill bit. Step 3: From the top of the reciever use the 3/16 drill bit to begin milling the rivets out. Start slowly until you have a clean purchase in the rivet. If you are straight on then when you drill past the rivet head the body of the rivet will fall out. If you're a little off you will have to drill straight through, and knock the rivet body out with a hammer and chisel. You will not ruin the reciever by being a little off in drilling the rivets out. Step 4: Identify the spot welds on the bottom of the reciever and use your marking punch to mark the center of the welds. Use a spot weld remover bit slightly larger than the visible weld. Go slowly, alternating between each weld until the plate comes loose. You can use a regular drill bit to mill the welds out if you are careful. You can also bend the plate up and use a hammer and chisel. Step five: Using a square or other measuring device find the center of the bottom of the reciever and use a sharpie to draw a line down the center. Step six: Line the new trigger guard up on the reciever where you want it and lay it on it's side. Mark the cross section where the thread holes will line up and the center of the reciever. The rear hole will be where the original trigger was, the kit includes a washer. Step seven: Use your marking punch to mark the center of where you will be drilling your trigger guard holes. Start with a small bit to create pilot holes and then use progressively larger bits until the trigger guard screws can fit freely. Fit the trigger guard to make sure the holes are in the proper position. Step eight: Clean the reciever of metal shavings and use the sanding block, if needed, to smoothe out anything remaining of the spot welds. Apply a strip of blue tape to the inside bottom of the reciever. Apply a light coat of the high temperature paint to the bottom of the reciever where the plate was, as this was unpainted at the factory. Step nine: Remove all tape. Attach the new trigger guard, As stated earlier the rear trigger guard attachment point will need a washer. Step ten: Fit the new stock into the reciever. The screw and washer will prevent the stock from slotting all the way in. Use a round file on the stock assembly to remove enough material to fit the stock all the way into the reciever. Step eleven: With the stock fit flush into the reciever, use a high visibility marker to mark out the spots where the screws will go in the stock. Remove the stock from the reciever and use the provided bit to drill pilot holes for the provided screws. Replace the stock into the reciever and screw the stock into place. Step twelve: Screw the grip into place. If you're using the hogue grip you may have to shave some of the material off to get it to fit properly. Congratulations, thats the gunsmithing part complete. All you have to do now is reassemble with the new trigger kit. Part 3: Reassembly Step one: If you wish to keep the bolt hold open function, take your twine and run it through the BHO spring. Thread both ends of the twine through the BHO lever opening. Step two: Fit the BHO lever into the reciever MAKING SURE that the twine stays between the lever and the wall of the reciever. Step three: Seat the new hammer into the hammer spring (for 922r compliance) and slot the hammer assembly back into the receiver. Step four: Line the hammer assembly up with the hammer pin slots and replace the hammer pin. Make sure you thread the pin through the BHO lever if you are retaining that function. Step five: Assemble your new trigger by placing the trigger spring into the catch and placing the catch into the trigger assembly. Holding the pieces in place slide the trigger pin sleve through the trigger assembly. Step six: Place the trigger assembly in the receiver and replace the trigger pin. Check to make sure the hammer pin is still fully engaged. If you are replacing the BHO lever, line the short arm of the BHO spring with the shelf in the lever and pull with all your might to line the center of the spring loop over the trigger pin slot, and push up slightly on the BHO lever when inserting the trigger pin. When the pin eventually slots into place, just pull one end of the twine out through the BHO slot. NOTE: check that both pins have been fully re-inserted and that the grooves of the pins aren't sitting on the receiver before continuing. Step seven: Undo the bread tie holding the hammer spring in place and re-seat the hammer spring arms Step eight: The trigger kit should have come with a half moon plate with a couple of notches in it. The notch in the end should fit into the notch on the hammer pin and the center notch should fit into the notch on the trigger pin, the hole on the far end should hover over the notch for the safety. This replaces the shepherds hook, which is a royal pain in the ass to reattach. Step nine: Slot your new AKM safety lever into the receiver making sure it goes through your new crescent shaped pin retainer. The new safety lever is required because the .308 Saiga safety lever won't engage the Tapco G2 trigger kit that comes in this conversion kit. The bar on the AKM safety extends out a bit further. I've seen other trigger kits with the extended catch for the .308 Saiga safety, but this is something to be aware of. Step ten: Replace the gas tube. Step eleven: Replace the bolt carrier/piston assembly. Step twelve: Replace the dust cover. And there, that's how you "convert" the .308 Saiga.
Sorry, i've been busy, here's the goods. Here she is in the original configuration, I've marked out the rivets, spot welds, and that damn BHO Here's the stripped out inside of the receiver, here you can see the proper trigger slot between the spot welds and the front rivet, the "original" trigger slot is behind the spot welds. Here's the new trigger group all put together. Here's some details of the markings, and no, the BHO lever doesn't interfere with the trigger. Finally here's the whole rifle. I believe that the muzzle break and foreguard are both from SGM tactical. Not sure about the adjustable foregrip, but it doesn't feel very good in the hand in any position.
I promise I'm not trying to bust your balls, but it's a modified reproduction of an AK clone. You expected anything "good?" If you want a great .308, you can get a great deal on a used Browning BAR. If you want an AK clone, get an AK clone.
I prefer my .308 in bolt action form, this rifle belongs to my father. I tried to get him to get a 5.45 VEPR but he wanted this.
For .308 AK-style rifles, I've always liked the Valmet M76 like Robin Williams used in The Survivors.
