Saiga semi-automatic rifle

Named after the Saiga Antelope, the Saiga series of rifles is based on the AK-47 weapon system originally designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. The series was developed for shooters who wanted the reliability of an AK pattern rifle in a non-military package. Originally designed in the 1970s, the first rifles were chambered for.220 Russian (5.6×39mm). The project was not a success and only about 300 rifles of this design were produced. The Saiga was reintroduced in the 1990s and was marketed as a rifle that was capable of hunting medium-sized game. Improvements were added to the initial design from the 1970s which made the rifle capable of handling stronger cartridges such as the.308 Winchester/7.62×51mm and the more prevalent.223 Remington/5.56×45mm, 5.45×39mm, and 7.62×39mm calibers. These improvements contributed to the modern line of the Saiga rifles being adopted by various hunters. The rifle is currently made in the Izhmash factory in the town of Izhevsk, the same plant that makes Kalashnikov military AKs. The Izhmash factory is the very place that Mikhail Kalashnikov worked at for a number of years.

The Saiga uses the same type of gas system that the AK series rifle uses: Long-stroke piston. A piston is pushed by the force of the gases from the firearm when a round is discharged, and it keeps powder residue and carbon from impeding the action of the Saiga. It is widely accepted that this type of action provides greater reliability than most other semi-automatic actions. This piston is located inside the gas tube. As gas is siphoned into the gas tube, the gas piston is sent rearward. While the gas piston is sent rearward, the bolt, attached to the gas piston, is unlocked from the trunion and ejects the spent casing. When the bolt and gas piston reach the rearmost position of the receiver, the recoil spring pushes them forward again picking up a new round and chambers it, and the cycle repeats when the trigger is pulled. Another key feature cited in the reliability of the Saiga is that the rifle is designed to have loose tolerances between moving parts. These loose tolerances allow more space between the moving parts of the rifle, and they let the rifle push any dirt and debris out of the way when the action cycles. All Saiga rifles have a hammer-forged chrome-lined barrel, which influences the Saiga's reliability by making the inside of the barrel more resilient to corrosion and enabling the rifle to withstand more rounds to be fired out of the barrel without an adverse effect on accuracy. This allows the firearms barrel to be cleaned easier than that of a non-chrome lined bore.

Saigas were sometimes called "true" Kalashnikovs, since they were made under license in the same Kalashnikov Concern Izhmash factory where Mikhail Kalashnikov worked. Many Kalashnikov-pattern rifles produced in the world today are unlicensed.

The Saiga line was initially exclusively imported into the United States by Russian American Armory and then Russian Weapons Company (RWC). Some rifles were imported by the FIME group (Arsenal) for conversion and resale under the Arsenal SGL line. On 16 July 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order banning the importation of Russian-made firearms (which include the Saiga) into the United States in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. RWC (originally from Tullytown, Pennsylvania) then changed their name to "Kalashnikov USA" and has started manufacturing their own AK-pattern rifles in Florida. Kalashnikov USA is now manufacturing the Saiga (now called the US132) and other Kalashnikov rifles in the United States, independently of the Kalashnikov Concern in Russia.