DIY Saiga 12, part 2 – Facilitating Mag Changes for Slug Changeovers

It’s been a couple of months since I posted about building up my DIY Saiga 12 and attending my first shotgun action match.  Since then I’ve had a chance to shoot it some more, and again at a match and I have modified my gun based on what I thought could be improved for use (primarily in competition).

One of the first things that I wanted to improve was speed and ease of magazine changes for slug changeovers.  Changing from shot to slug and back to shot using an AK-type shotgun is one of the greatest time sucks when on the clock.  To better accomplish that task I first wanted a mag coupler.  Having read on the internetz that a .308 MagCinch would also work for Saiga 12 mags, I bought one only to find that the ridges and bumps on the AGP magazines prevented proper contact of the mating surfaces which meant no matter how tightly they were joined, the magazines still had a fair amount of independent movement (i.e. ‘slop’).  Using a white crayon, I marked the MagCinch brackets where they needed to be relieved and then, carefully (with lots of trial fitting) used a Dremel tool to grind away where needed to allow solid contact.  This was a complete success and resulted in two magazines joined solidly.

.308 MagCinch on Saiga 12 mags from AGP. The staggered heights allows free access to the charging handle.

Now I keep shot loads in the right magazine and slugs in the left allowing me to change between the two as needed.  I was concerned that the recoil of a 12 gauge might cause rounds to dislodge on the open topped ‘jungle clipped’ magazine but that has turned out, thankfully, to not be the case.  For several hundred rounds now I have not had a single shell on the open mag dislodge or even move in the slightest for that matter.  However, changing between the two magazines still requires a particular technique.  Since S-12 magazines will not easily seat on an unmodified closed bolt, I also added a Tromix charging handle and a JT engineering extended magazine release which I thought would help with the method I use to more quickly change magazines.  That technique (the “Iraqi method”) can be seen in this video.

Proper combat technique or not, this method allows me to (1) fire a shot, (2) change my firing grip to grab the charging handle and pull it fully to the rear, clearing the chamber and holding the gun level against my shoulder, (3) reach up with my left hand to grab the magazines, (4) thumb the magazine release with my left hand to release the shot filled mag, (5) move the slug mag over two inches and lock it in place [and thereby not have to seat it on a closed bolt], and finally (6) release the charging handle to chamber a slug round and (7) reacquire a firing grip.  The knurled charging handle does help me perform this action with more control and comfort; the extended mag release does not.

Charging handle and mag release; magazine for shot loads

One of the reasons I chose JT’s single sided mag release was so that I could still use my left thumb for some mag changes and my trigger finger for others. Having my gun modified to allow loading on a closed bolt would largely eliminate having to do the manipulations above.  Another note regarding the extended mag release: It works well but I find that I have to shift my grip to use my index finger to release a magazine.  Maybe I need to look into an extended, extended magazine release.  Either way until I have the gun modded to load on a closed bolt, the extended release isn’t particularly useful because I’ll still have to use the “Iraqi reload” technique or lock the bolt back to load another magazine and both actions require two hands, negating the benefit of having an extended mag release.  However, the magazine coupler, the charging handle and the change in technique have significantly reduced the time I take to change from shot to slugs and back.

Charging handle and mag release; magazine for slug loads

Stay tuned for “DIY Saiga 12, Part 3 – Optics and Freakin’ Lasers!”