SAR 1 inaccurate

[billcameron]

I purchased a SAR 1 some months ago- a 2002 model. It is not very accurate with wolf ammo, maybe a foot at 100yards. Have only put about 250 rounds thru it so it may need some more rounds to smooth out barrel. I shimmed with gutter flashing between stock and receiver and this helped screws from working loose, but did not seem to improve accuracy. Don't want to get into a lot a radical modifications until I have shoot a bit, but interested in things I might try that would be "safe" and not damage rifle. Also have you found that shooting makes SAR 1 more accurate as things smooth out. This is my first AK and I am not impressed with accuracy. Thanks for any ideas.

[torque65]

The SAR's are never (rarely?) going to give tight groups. They weren't designed to be "Match guns", but to put large amounts of ordinance downrange rapidly.
They DO get better with shooting. I "accelerated" the process by polishing the burrs off from the bolt & carrier with a Scotchbrite disk on a die grinder (CAREFULLY!), and then a Dremel and buffing attachments.
An aftermarket FCG helps with accuracy A LOT, as will better sights, or a scope. (IMHO, the RSA FCG was the best improvement).
My muzzle looked like the barrel was cut off with a bandsaw. Crowning helped some, too. Don't defeat the crown job by installing some muzzle thingy; Most of these do nothing for accuracy.
Your rifle might not like the ammo you are feeding it. Try other loads and brands. (Mine LOVES the Wolf HP, tho.)
Mine's gone from 12 MOA to 5-6 MOA after about 1K rounds, an extra $125, and about 6 hours of my time. I'll keep it, but the next one that I buy will be an Arsenal.

[cyberdyne systems]

are you shooting your rifle with a good rifle rest or sand bag? because 12 MOA is un -acceptable accuracy for any AK at 100 yards? maybe your sights need some adjustments? your rifle should be capable of hitting a 9" inch paper plate at 100 yards or something about the size of a steel army helmet.

[billcameron]

Thanks for ideas so far, appreciate more. One thing I noticed is I got a lot of black, black stuff on patches when cleaning. I suspect this is from ammo, but I wonder if it could be from new barrel wearing in. Any opinions?? I am a bit out of practice from the bench as I recently moved and unfortunately don't know any good bench rest shooters around here to let try rifle/ammo combo in lieu of me shooting. But I don't think I am that out of practice. However I have an SKS/ammo combo that gave service grade accuracy 3-4" so I will have to give that a try to ascertain if I can still shoot decently from the bench with similar iron sights. I am holding back on trying radical solutions until I get a 1000 rounds thru the AK, hoping that may help. Thanks again and more ideas/opinions appreciated.

[LuckyNed]

The black patches are normal if using most imported military ammo. It's a smidge dirty..so what..it's cheap and I love the smell it.

Accuracy wise? Well- I must admit I didn't buy my AK to 1-hole targets but I do remeber my Russian SKS being cable of 3" groups at 100 but that might be due to my old eyes now and the fact I don't try as hard. I can say my Saiga will drop rounds into a 100yrd target without really trying. I aim at the top of a B27's head and let 'em go as fast as I can. After doing the postal match..I'm real pleased with my 16" Saiga and its stock sights. I wish I had time to reload again just to see what it really might do but with the bent necks and hunting lost brass..(insert deflating ballon wav.). I stick to just accuracy thru superior fire power. :P

I changed out my Sar-1's wooden furniture for synthetics cuz I wanted the forearm with heat shields. I hope to do some comparisons between the 2 if I can get past just making them watermellons duck-stage.

[Packrat]

The acceptance test for an AK is 15cm (6") at 100m (110 yds), so your SAR is unacceptable. On the other hand, what Century does is not intended to increase accuracy. Trigger work (on the stock trigger, or the replacement FCG if you believe the common mythos) will help, and truing the muzzle and recrowning it will help more. And try different ammo, especially if you can get any of the Bosnian or Yugo brass-cased stuff. (But be warned it's corrosive, so clean your rifle before you go to bed.) If you could find some Cheetah brand, it's supposed to be good, but at about $160 a case (1440 rnds) it's a bit pricey, especially if it turns out not to be helpful.

If you're not concerned about tactical use, a red-dot sight (especially the Kobra) seems to be a great help. In the postal match, the groups fired with the Kobra sight are 1/3 the size of open sights.

As a matter of interest, I saw a target (2 bulls) that was fired by a Saiga .308. At 265 yds, the farthest bullet from the bull (not the group size) was less than 1.5"; the group size was about 2.5". This rifle had been re-stocked; I'm not aware of any other modifications made to it. The trigger may have been polished, but the original trigger was used.