<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/p4ebtj1jR7c&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/p4ebtj1jR7c&rel=1</a>

I will sell my soul for that weapon. Wait until these get on ebay or worse in the hands of the criminals of the world.

Imagine the cost of a day at the range with that thing. That thought alone is enough to keep me from scouring the earth for the next six months looking for one.

1) They'll never get on eBay -- they have strict "anti-gun" policies.

2) They will eventually get into the hands of criminals.  As was seen most pointedly during the US AWB of 1994-2004, criminals ALWAYS got "Law Enforcement Only" gear ("COPS" showed a raid where they hit a drug house and found a shipload of "Law Enforcement Only" stuff, still in the packaging, and showed them commenting on it on TV), so truth be told, they probably already have them.

HOWEVER...

There IS a happy medium.

Izmash arsenal of Russia makes the Saiga series of rifles AND SHOTGUNS.

Their "Saiga 12" is a 12-Gauge semi-auto gas-operated magazine-fed shotgun.  Magazine sizes come in 5, 8, and 10, with available 20-rd drums.

The drums suck and are expensive.  For heavy suppressive fire work, the 10-rounders are pretty much ideal.  For low-profile prone work, the 5-rounders are pretty darn good.

The action is Kalashnikov, and has two gas settings.  Most shells will cycle on the "Magnum" setting, which cuts the gas flow to half the diameter of the tube.  The "standard" setting should be used for GAME and BIRD LOADS only.

So, load up a few magazines with buckshot, leave the gas setting on "Magnum", and your Saiga 12 will put out a respectable volume of fire for defensive use.

And it's 100% legal, in most of the United States (except Commiefornia and New Yuck) and several OTHER countries.

And because it's SEMI-auto, not FULL-auto, you can control your ammunition depletion better without substantially affecting your effective firepower.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_XDNvSXP8W0&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/_XDNvSXP8W0&rel=1</a>
That's the Factory demo with the Version 30, a bit more "tactical" than the one available for sale here in the US.


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/zJRFqcukWCo&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/zJRFqcukWCo&rel=1</a>
This one is a couple of guys taking out their frustrations on an Epson printer with the Saiga 12.  This is the configuration most common in the United States.  Note the second guy, who looks a lot like me (but isn't) ripping off rapid-fire at close quarters.  Who needs full auto when you've got that?


They're a little hard to come by nowadays, because folks "in the know" are snatching them up and putting them away for after the election, when either candidate might decide to outlaw these awesome pieces of defensive equipment well suited for home defense or law enforcement against criminal predators.

But they're way cheaper than a full auto ANYTHING, and street legal without Class 3 paperwork (at least, for now).  This is great news for the honest citizen, who has to contend with bad guys who don't care about paperwork and already HAVE full autos.

An individual armed with a Saiga could reasonably expect to mount a more effective defense than just about anyone with a pump gun or even a traditional tube-magazine semi-auto, WITHOUT the full-auto price tag, and WITHOUT the full-auto ammo expenditures.

S

 

Dear Santa....

I'd rather stick with a Mossberg 590 and a couple of bandoleers of .00 buck. I thought about getting the Saiga, but then I thought about the numerous clips not to mention weird gun laws relating to a semi-auto shotgun. The "cons" of the situation start to overpower the "pros."

How much are those running for these days?  Last I heard they were getting scarce and just about worth their weight in gold, and that was before the panic buying after the election.

Saw it, there were some issues about how they cut around corners that I didn't like to much. In confined spaces, I guess you can't help it too much. I liked how they advised to check the spread pattern of the shotgun to figure out what it can do. It's worth the DL, I think.