Saiga 5.45 Conversion: Help Me Pick a 74 Muzzle Brake

[medved11 71]

So, I'm in the process of doing a quick conversion on a Saiga 5.45x39 rifle. I'm not going to do a full front end conversion right now, so I'm not going to swap out the FSB for now, but I do want to put a real AK-74 brake on the gun.

I'm planning on threading the barrel and attaching one of these CNC warrior Saiga adaptors so that I can then attach a 24x1.5 threaded AK74 brake

http://www.cncwarrior.com/Saiga-M14X...er-p/24955.htm

As far as brakes go, I'm trying to decide between these two new ones:

https://www.k-var.com/shop/AK-141B.html

https://www.k-var.com/shop/AK-141US.html

 

And these two re-furbished ones:

 

http://www.apexgunparts.com/bulgarian-ak74-muzzle-brake-w-round-cut-g-vg-refinished.html

 

http://www.apexgunparts.com/bulgarian-ak74-muzzle-brake-w-zigzag-cut-very-good-refinished.html

 

I didn't consider the Tapco or CNC Warrior versions of the 74 brake since they supposedly don't work as effectively as the "authentic" brakes.

Which one of these brakes do you guys recommend? Is there another brand/mod that I should consider?

[carl_g 568]

Why not just do it correctly the first time and use a 74 fsb and a brake? 

[TokenEntry 293]

Seems like a lot of work and money to have something temporary. You can always convert it slowly over time.

[medved11 71]

I'm just not sure that my skills are up to hacking away at the barrel to remove the existing FSB and trying to install and pin the new one. It looks relatively straight-forward on some of the YouTube videos that I've seen; however, I never underestimate my ability to absolutely screw up the simplest mechanical task at times.

 

I'm also not sure what I'd really gain by replacing the FSB rather than just using the adaptor ? I'm not planning on attaching a cleaning rod to the gun, so I'm not sure what I'd be gaining by swapping out the FSB other than a) proving to myself that I can do it and b) having a more "authentic" AK. Neither of which is a bad thing, but I'm just trying to weigh out the pros and cons of each approach.

[carl_g 568]

I'm just not sure that my skills are up to hacking away at the barrel to remove the existing FSB and trying to install and pin the new one. It looks relatively straight-forward on some of the YouTube videos that I've seen; however, I never underestimate my ability to absolutely screw up the simplest mechanical task at times.

It's really easy.. Hack off the existing collar by tapping out the pins and score one side with a dremmel tool. Or just bring the parts somewhere and have it done.

[Schrödinger's cat 87]

I know that the chamber in the cnc warrior brake is smaller than the original, but I looked all over for someone that tested both and said it doesn't work as well and couldn't find one. In fact it was hard to find a review for the cnc brake at all. But I did call cnc warrior and they told me that that brake design is the most effective one they make.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

[medved11 71]

I know that the chamber in the cnc warrior brake is smaller than the original, but I looked all over for someone that tested both and said it doesn't work as well and couldn't find one. In fact it was hard to find a review for the cnc brake at all. But I did call cnc warrior and they told me that that brake design is the most effective one they make.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

I also looked around for a review of the CNC Warrior 74 brake and came up empty. I saw a few mentions of it on one of the AK forums and the general consensus is that it "works okay, but not as good as a "real" one".

 

I did some more research last night and I might actually go with a Manticore Arms brake instead of the 74 style brake.

[tattooo 220]

The kvar 141 us is pretty nice

[medved11 71]

I actually ended up ordering the CNC adaptor and the Manticore Arms Night Brake last night. I went back-and-forth on the standard 74 style brake for awhile and decided to go with something a bit lighter. The Night Brake gets decent reviews, so we'll see what happens.

[tattooo 220]

Cool....Post some pics when you get it all squared away !

[carl_g 568]

Mikhail Kalashnikov is turning over in his grave right about now..LOL!

[medved11 71]

Mikhail Kalashnikov is turning over in his grave right about now..LOL!

 

Ha! - If it will make him feel any better, I swear on my copy of "The Gun" that there won't be any TAPCO parts on any of my conversions - I'm just going a little "non-traditional" on this conversion

[medved11 71]

Cool....Post some pics when you get it all squared away !

Will do - I'm waiting on the Big Brown Truck to deliver my parts - I'll post pictures as soon as I can get things rolling

[medved11 71]

Before I go welding the Night Brake on my gun, has anyone tried one of these out?

 

http://www.cncwarrior.com/Compact-Brake-p/27388.htm

 

I know that they look a little like the end of a howitzer barrel and they're supposed to pretty loud, but I'm kind of interested to see if anyone's pinned one on.