Arsenal SGL21 by James Grant
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f you’re a hunter and you live in the United States chances are you’ve run into the ubiquitous 30-30 cartridge before. What you may not know is that there is a cartridge that has very similar ballistics with dozens of firearms chambered in it. In fact it is universally more common than 30-30 and in total numbers probably outnumbers world wide availability of 30-06, 30-30, and .308 combined! It is substantially less expensive than 30-30 and can even be purchased at your local sporting goods store. What is this miracle cartridge I speak of? It was called .30 Russian short back in the 70s and 80s, but is more common known today as 7.62x39. You may have heard of it before, the round that fills the magazines of millions upon millions of AK-47’s, SKS’s, and Ruger Mini-30’s around the globe, which brings me to the rifle I’m going to be reviewing for this issue’s article, the Arsenal SGL21. The SGL-21 is actually a Russian Saiga-7.62 modified in Arizona by the folks at Arsenal to more closely resemble an AK-47. Arsenal replaces the shotgun-style Monte Carlo grip with a more aggressive pistol grip, shortens the gas tube and modifies the receiver to utilize traditional (and inexpensive) AK series magazines, and applies a thicker, more durable finish on the entire gun. The result is as close as a civilian can get to an AK100 series rifle without enlisting in the Russian military. What this means for the average white-tail enthusiast is that he can get his hands on what is essentially a semi-auto 30-30 that he can use for deer, boar, and home defense. (with proper ammunition) Don’t get me wrong, with handloads the 30-30 can out-perform the 7.62x39 hands down, but at 4 to 5x the initial investment cost. One of the issues with most auto-loaders versus their bolt-action or lever-action counter-parts is reliability. Thankfully this is not an issue with Arsenal’s SGL21, as the AK’s reputation for reliability is legendary. If you are planning on using this rifle to hunt anything though, you should invest in some soft point ammunition; full metal jacket and even hollow point 7.62x39 tend to severely over-penetrate without proper expansion/ dispersion of force into the target. Mounting optics on the SGL21 proved to be more a chore than say putting a scope on an AR-15 or Ruger 10/22. This is because the dust cover where the Chinese tend to mount scopes, is not very solid. It tends to move around, making any zero you obtain next to useless. The Soviet solution was to create a mounting rail on the side of the receiver that allows an “L” shaped mount to raise a scope above the dust cover and allow the user to securely and reliably mount a telescopic sight. Standard Russian scopes aren’t as cheap as they once were, but with a Belarus-made weaver conversion you can mount your favorite scope on your SGL21 in no time flat. Overall I’d say while I’m certainly not going to be selling my Winchester 30-30 anytime soon, I wouldn’t feel under-armed in the slightest perched up in a tree stand with the SGL shouldered.
Fall 2011
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SCOREBOARD Accuracy – 3.5/5: The SGL21 is limited by a short 16.5” barrel and piston action, despite that it still managed to achieve 2MOA (minute of angle) groups.
Reliability – 5/5: I experienced no feeding issues whatsoever with the SGL with any of the 5 main Russian brands (Tula, Wolf, Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Golden Bear) or the 2 American manufacturers. (Winchester and Hornady) Ergonomics – 2.5/5: The rifle feels front heavy with a low capacity magazine, the magazine release latch is cumbersome and requires the user to take his firing hand off the grip, magazines must be rocked into place (front to back) which made rapid magazine changes difficult, and the safety was designed for Hercules.
Value – 5/5: With an MSRP of $805 the Arsenal SGL21’s price is well above entry level AK rifles such as the WASAR and Draco Pistols, but falls substantially short of the cost of custom AK rifles of similar quality from companies such as Kreb’s Customs and AK103.net.
Overall Score – 4/5 If you’re looking into getting a Kalashnikov style rifle but were afraid of some of the quality issues that arise from distributors like Century Arms and Royal Tiger imports, the Arsenal SGL21 fits the bill. DUDE PROFILE: James Grant, Age: 26 Personal Interests: Competitive Rifle/Carbine/Handgun shooting, varmint hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, wood-working and gunsmithing. I have participated in competitive shooting since 2005 and have placed in the top 3 at several carbine side matches. I enjoy collecting antique military arms and teaching new shooters about the sport. In my spare time, I hunt white tail and coyotes, with the majority of my experience being in the latter.
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