Converting a Saiga

The AK-47 was designed by a self-taught arms designer named Mikhail Timofeevitch Kalashnikov.  He first conceived of the gun in a primitive form in 1941 while recovering from wounds during WWII.  He built the first prototype in the machine shop of his former employer during his recovery.  The final prototype, in carbine form and chambered for an assault cartridge was completed in 1946 and submitted for trials in 1947.  It was judged to be the most reliable and effective entry to survive the trials, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Cutting the Trigger and Grip Nut Holes

Once the sporter trigger plate is removed, your Saiga may or may not have the original military trigger hole in the receiver.  Some do, and some don't.  If yours already has the hole, go on to the next step.  Otherwise, keep reading.

The trigger hole has to be the correct dimensions and in the correct position.  The first Saiga I converted had no trigger hole, and I had to cut one.  Not knowing a whole lot about AKs, I downloaded the Ace Arms bent metal template to get measurements from.  Unfortunately, Ace does not distribute this drawing free any more, so I made one up for you to use.

The trigger hole must be centered on the bottom of the receiver.  The best way to make the cut is to draw the layout on the bottom of your receiver.  I have known people to draw the layout with a sharp pencil.  I have also seen people coat the receiver in Dykem Blue, a layout fluid.  I split the difference and colored the bottom of my receiver with a black magic marker and drew the layout for the trigger hole with a carbide scribe.  Use a caliper or a high quality rule to do the layout.  It doesn't have to be super precise, but it does have to be pretty accurate.

I used a 5/32" drill bit to drill 5 holes, one in each corner of the rectangle that makes the trigger hole, plus one for the trigger hook clearance cut.  Unless you have a quality drill press or mill, you will want to center punch these holes prior to hand drilling.  Be sure to use a backing anvil when center punching.

While I was at it, I went ahead and drilled the corners of the grip nut hole.

Once the holes were drilled, I chucked a cutoff wheel in my trusty Dremel, and "connected the dots" to remove most of the metal (this can also be performed with a mill, if you have one).  After that, I cleaned up the cuts with a triangular file.

When all the holes are cut, reassemble the fire control group in the receiver with the springs and check for function.  Then add the bolt carrier assembly and recoil spring and check for function.