Tac47 kept in touch, advised me on some of my initial selections, and worked with me to avoid unnecessary delays... like a flash hider I had requested was not available so they upgraded me to a Chaos Warthog and barrel nut. Throughout, they represented their business partnerships with King Armory, Chaos, and others well. I felt their level of communication with me was appropriate and timely. The FFL transfer to my gunshop went easily. The process could only have been better if I could have gone in and worked with them on the conversion. It's too bad I don't have customers in Texas or I might have found an excuse to head out and do an AK course with them or Suarez.

So, lets get into it. How is the Tac47 gun different from the gunshop gun? In no particular order...

* It's a different color. I think Tac47 refinished the entire thing so that it not only looks flawless, but (specifically) the Izmash paint job that looks like some wino emptied a can of Rustoleum in the gun's general direction is all missing. To quote my wife, "It's beautiful." It's also more of a matte finish. The pictures probably don't show it, but there's a shade of earth tone in there.
* Cosmetically, Tac47 also redid the rivets and pin holes. There is no wasted space and the overall result is a weapon that looks like it got some TLC.
* The feel is unimaginably better. I knew that the conversion would do wonders over the sporting configuration and trigger/lever mess. But wow... what a difference!
* The gun's balance is better. I'm going to attribute this to experienced hands knowing what they are doing. My first Saiga did not ever feel balanced, not even a little bit.
* Tac47 checked out everything. There are numerous things that bugged me about my first. I went over all of them and found them completely missing in the TCS. An example? The 2.1 gas ports on my first Saiga are clear (and enlarged) ports on the TCS.
* The bolt, carrier, and action... my first Saiga gave me the impression that these parts are made from recycled beer cans that got kicked around a junkyard. TCS? Not so at all. Like everything else, they've been smoothed up and refinished. Parts that stuck on my first Saiga are satiny smooth on the TCS.