10/12/10

So, when I got home from the gun show on Sunday I loaded up the factory eight round magazine and the after market twenty round mag with .308 ammo. I swapped the scope, mount and all, from the 7.62x39 Saiga to the .308 then installed the mount which came with the .308 on the 7.62x39. Next I took the red-dot holographic sight thingy off of the Auto 5 and installed it on the 7.62x39 Saiga. Fortunately this mount sits high enough that I can look under it and use the iron sights. I did that and “sighted in” the holographic thingy asbestos I could and sat back to look at my stuff. I think once I have the collapsible stock, pistol grip, and tactical fore end, the 7.62x39 is going to be pretty bad ass. Of course I'll have to retire the Russian-made five and ten round magazines due to (tee hee, I said doo doo) 922r compliance. Speaking of which, I started wondering if the twenty round .308 magazine was legal. I do not believe it is. I immediately unloaded it and put a piece of tape across the top. I wrote, “Not 922r legal. Do not load!” on the tape and put the mag in the bottom drawer of the dresser. I think all my 7.62x39 mags are legal right now since they are all ten rounds or less, therefore it is not an “Assault Weapon.” See, the way a Saiga is configured, as long as you don't use “high capacity” magazines (more than ten rounds for a rifle), it is considered a “Sporting” rifle and is exempt from 922r compliance. However, once you use a hi-cap mag, you have added an “Evil” feature and turned the gun into an “Assault Weapon.” To be in compliance, since they are going to be US made hi-cap mags and therefore count as three 922r compliance parts, you must replace at least one more foreign made part with a US made part. Of course there are specific parts Juan has to choose from, you can't just replace stuff Willy-nilly and be legal. As for the 7.62x39, once I replace the butt stock and fore end (and add the “Evil” pistol grip making the gun an “Assault Weapon”) I will still be two US made parts shy of compliance, unless I use US made magazines. I have four ten-round US made mags now so I'm OK. I'll probably buy a couple hi-cap mags when I do change the furniture. Speaking of furniture, I found a really cool wood stock and fore end set I want for the .308 rifle. It wasn't too expensive either. I probably won't do it any time soon though. No, I think the first thing I'm going to do is buy a couple five round, and maybe some ten round, .308 magazines. Of course to play it safe I ort to just get a few more factory eight round mags and call it a day. I'm not going to go hog wild buying magazines for this gun because ammo to keep them full (as I'm wont to do) is so damned expensive. I think a couple more eight round mags ort to do me just fine for hunting. OK, I think I've gassed on long enough. I'll let y'all go now. Have a day.