Saiga 12 Guage Shotgun... Woah!

Talk about your street sweepers! The Saiga 12 imported by Russian American Armory is a lot of firepower! This is an AK-47 style shot gun! You can get a 12 round magazine if 5 rounds of 12ga 00 Buckshot isn't enough for your needs. It comes in two barrel lengths, 19 and 22.4". You can dress up the gun with many of the accessories that would fit an AK-47 style rifle, and there are more and more kits made just for this firearm as its popularity rises.

To the numbers...

Usefulness...2... The one thing you can't do with this is bird hunt. Or at least you can't do it well when the law requires you to only have three rounds in your gun. Even if a two round magazine existed, reloading would still be cumbersome.

However, this gun is starting to enjoy a lot of popularity in "3 Gun" competitions. The large mag capacity and reliable action make it a great choice for the scatter gun portion of the match. If we gave partial points the consensus at Fat Boy HQ is that we would award another half point for the success the firearm is enjoying in the shooting sports. But, we don't.

Satisfaction... 3... Loading up and emptying a 12 round magazine at a target 10 yards away is not only a satisfying experience, but also a spiritual one. Around round 7 or 8 your mind and body start to appreciate the sheer dominance you are wielding when you take this firearm through its paces. Max Points!

Durability... 3... While HQ would count this as a quality firearm, there are some durability issues. The gun is a bit "plasticy". This could be fixed quickly with one of the many upgrade kits available. As well the receiver isn't as durable as we would like even though fit is not an issue out of the box, 2000 rounds down the road it could be.

Further, this gun hates cheap ammo. You will need hot loads with at least 1oz and an 1/8th of shot. Keep it clean and well lubed or you will experience feed issues.

Overall... 3... What this gun misses in some categories it makes up in cool points. Sure it's a bit of a novelty gun, but it is also enjoying practical success that evinces longevity.

Saiga 12 Gauge you are Approved! 11 of 14 points!!!

The Ruger SR 9 Pistol...

While we at Fat Boy love Ruger and consider them a consistent brand you can rely on, we don't particularly love the SR 9.

Usefulness... 1... Because the SR 9 only comes in 9mm (hence the "9") and 9mm is a great target round but a poor personal defense round we have to mark off two points. The SR 9 is not a target gun. It is a personal defense gun. It also has a poor trigger pull and rough action. The action is not terrible but it could be better.

Satisfaction... 3... The weapon fires well. There is ample "gear" to go with the SR 9 like holsters, mag pouches, etc. It is not too heavy and will conceal reasonably well enough in the Winter months. Fat Boy HQ was impressed with the smooth cycling between shots and a reasonable muzzle climb. Very satisfying!

Durability... 4... This is a Ruger quality gun with all the fit and polish you would expect from Ruger. We take off one point because the SR 9 did suffer from a recall in the past. In another year Fat Boy will be willing to give back that one point when we are satisfied there are no more recall issues.

Overall... 2... Comparing this gun with the Smith and Wesson "sigma" series I have to award the trophy to S&W. The Ruger costs more but delivers the same performance. It also only comes in the 9mm caliber. (Bullet speed coupled with low bullet weight make it a poor defense round.) While this is a quality firearm it is not a great value comparatively. And Fat Boys want a heavier round, 180 grains minimum. I think the saying goes, "never show up to a gun fight with anything that doesn't start in '4' ". (44 mag, 45 acp, 40 S&W)

Fat Boy HQ searched for ways to give this Ruger product the nod. We just could not. It came down to the S&W "sigma" series being generally $50 cheaper and having strikingly similar performance. Denied!