Probably, every experienced hunter or just a shooting lover heard about the Saiga-9 hunting carbine 9x19 millimeters. He uses a cartridge very unusual for rifles, but it is thanks to this that he receives a number of important advantages that are highly appreciated by experts. So to talk about its features, advantages and disadvantages in more detail will be very useful.
Design
At first glance, the Saiga-9 carbine 9x19 millimeters (in no case be confused with the Saiga, which uses a powerful 9x53 mm cartridge for firing) in general resembles the Boar. The same short barrel and Picatinny rail for installing optics really make them pretty similar.
In fact, in many respects the design and device of the Saiga-9 was received from the Bison submachine gun used by special units in carrying out combat missions. In turn, the design of the "Bison" was developed on the basis of a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
When shooting, the world's most common pistol cartridge of 9 millimeters is used. A huge number of pistols (Glock, Beret, Zastava, Walter, Zig-Sauer) and submachine guns (OTs-22, Uzi, Agram, Daewoo) were developed for it. But still, the creation of a carbine based on a pistol cartridge can be called a very bold and even risky step.
The weapon is equipped with a folding butt, which makes it more compact and easy to carry. However, you can’t shoot with the stock folded - the carbine is equipped with a special lock.
Appointment
Although officially a weapon is called a hunting carbine, it is very rarely used in hunting. The reason for this was the used cartridge 9x19 millimeters. Yes, you can shoot them on the hunt. But in general, it is absolutely not suitable for this. When shooting at ducks or hares, the probability of hitting a target is quite small, after all, a bullet is not a fraction that covers a fairly large area due to scatter.
However, weapons are not suitable for larger production. The light weight of the bullet does not have a sufficient stopping effect, and damage when hit is obviously not enough. Therefore, taking a carabiner, going for a bear, an elk or a wild boar is also not a good idea.
Therefore, usually "Saiga-9" 9x19 millimeters is bought for shooting at shooting ranges and just self-defense. In this regard, he is really good. A massive pistol bullet inflicts serious wounds, causing pain to the attacker. But, unlike weapons of 12 and even 20 caliber rarely leads to his death.
Main advantages
The weapon has a number of important advantages, thanks to which it receives mainly positive reviews.
One of the advantages is the low return. However, it is difficult to expect otherwise from weapons using a pistol cartridge. This makes the carabiner an excellent choice for beginners who are learning to shoot. Still, a powerful return on a 12-16 caliber weapon could well repel the love of shooting, leaving a powerful bruise on your shoulder for several weeks and forever - the fear of a shot. So, it can be recommended for shooting women and adolescents.
Weak recoil provides good accuracy of fire. Nevertheless, thanks to a weak pistol cartridge and a decent weight of the weapon, each shot will not throw the barrel up, which positively affects the accuracy of shooting.
The design of the weapon is also worked out wonderfully. Still, the base was the Bison submachine gun, the development of which the designers approached very seriously. It is nice that a person who is used to working with a Kalashnikov assault rifle (for example, in the army) can easily get used to the Saiga-9 carbine - the main components are almost exactly copied from army weapons.
Finally, in the basic version, the carbine is already equipped with a Picatinny rail, which has to be installed additionally on most Saiga guns. So, there is a certain scope for tuning - we will tell you more about it a little later.
Shortcomings
Alas, any non-standard solution that brings important advantages will inevitably bring disadvantages, which are very important to know. However, they have already been mentioned.
Of course, first of all it is a weak cartridge used. On the one hand, it provides good accuracy due to low recoil. But this also has a flip side. A small weight of gunpowder leads to the fact that the power of the shot is quite small. Therefore, the use of a carbine on the hunt becomes almost impossible. And the ultimate battle distance here is not too great - much less than, for example, Saiga-12.
In general, the shortcomings on this can be considered exhausted. At least technical. But also do not forget that the weapon is rifled. Therefore, to acquire it is as easy as a smoothbore, it will not work.
User reviews
Talking about the hunting carbine "Saiga-9" 9x19, it will be useful to provide feedback from experienced shooters so that the reader can make a more objective picture of this weapon.
In general, most owners agree that the carbine is highly reliable. Which is not surprising - because his "grandfather" was the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle. The weapon is unpretentious, withstands even a very careless attitude from the owner, rare cleanings. The design is as simple and practical as possible - to study it as easy as possible even for a person who has never before held a weapon in his hands.
Negative reviews are quite rare. Not everyone likes simple stamped parts without traces of drawings and other aesthetics. But what can I say - this is a weapon, and quite practical. Therefore, beauty fades into the background here.
Some shooters are unhappy with the power of the weapon, but this was already mentioned above - the standard pistol cartridge allows you to get certain advantages, but you have to pay for this with some disadvantages.
Tuning Opportunities
Now it’s worthwhile to briefly talk about tuning “Saigi-9” 9x19. Needless to say - they are quite extensive.
Of course, the very first thing that comes to mind is the ability to install various optics - mainly collimator sights. Thanks to them, you can significantly increase accuracy. Moreover, the time spent on aiming is significantly reduced - there is a great opportunity to shoot almost offhand at a fairly large distance - about 40-60 meters.
If desired, you can also install a new muzzle brake compensator instead of the standard one. Thanks to this, firing is further stabilized - powder gases leaving the barrel spread more evenly, which contributes to even less tossing of a weapon during firing.
Some owners install a barrel-mounted flashlight - also a good solution if there is a need to shoot in the dark. This is especially true for security guards and owners of private houses who buy weapons primarily to protect themselves and their property.
How to buy it?
Buying a Saiga-9 carbine in our country is more difficult than any smooth-bore weapon. After all, this is a rifled weapon. Therefore, by law, only people who have a certain length of experience with smoothbore can buy it - at least 5 years. Usually, problems with obtaining a license do not arise - with the exception of cases when a person abuses alcohol or admits violations when storing or shooting weapons.
So, if you have been the owner of smoothbore weapons for 5 years (you need continuous experience) and more, and also belong to the category of disciplined, responsible citizens, then there will certainly not be any problems getting a license and buying Saigi-9.
