Saiga-12

Saiga-12 icon

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The **Saiga-12** (Russian: **Сайга-12**) is a powerful fully automatic Shotgun that uses the 12 gauge Ammunition.

## Background

Saiga-12 is a 12 gauge shotgun available in a wide range of configurations, patterned after the Kalashnikov series of rifles. Like the AK Assault Rifle series, it is a rotating bolt, gas-operated gun that feeds from a tilted box magazine. All Saiga-12 configurations are recognizable as Kalashnikov-pattern guns by the large lever-safety on the receiver's right side, the optic mounting rail on the left side of the receiver, and the large top-mounted dust cover held in place by the rear of the recoil spring assembly

## Info

It fires five quick rounds, making it commonly thought of as the most powerful Shotgun in surviv.io, along with the USAS-12 and the Super 90. It is also one of the rarest guns in the game, coming in eighth to the PKP Pecheneg, M249, AWM-S, M4A1-S, CZ-3A1, M1 Garand (All Golden Airdrop exclusive weapons) the SV-98, and the USAS-12, but it is possible to find more than one Saiga-12 in a match. It is a great weapon to use at close range battles.

The Saiga's high fire rate combined with the overall stats makes it one of the strongest weapons in-game, offering high DPS at close and mid-range. It is preferable to other Shotguns such as the MP220 and the M870 as it has both a high fire rate and a mag size of 5, yet it has the same damage and range as them.

## Pros and Cons

### Pros

* High ROF of 2.5 rounds per second, with full auto firing mode
* High damage per shot
* Fairly common ammo

### Cons

* Cannot reload shots individually
* Very rare
* Relatively short range

## Strategies

### Using

* With a shotgun-only play style, it's recommended to pick this Weapon up along with an MP220 or an M870, depending on your skill level.
* The Saiga-12 is a Shotgun to deal a high amount of damage in a single shot. It is good for mid-range and close-range battles.
* It usually can kill average-geared players in a matter of seconds, so it is a very useful item for rushing into buildings.
* Use the Saiga-12 with any highly dangerous automatic/semi-automatic weapons. Start with the Saiga-12, keep firing until you run out of ammo in your round. Switch to your secondary. Fire with it and finish off your opponent. This should be more than enough to kill a player.
* Due to its high DPS, use the Saiga-12 for tearing through high-armored enemies.
* Though the Saiga-12 can kill a user without all five rounds, it is good to think/use the remaining rounds after the first 2 or 3 as a backup in case you miss or fail to kill them, and fortunately, they will fire quickly, so you should have them down in no time.
* Using this and a Sniper Rifle and Quickswitching can wipe out most players on a map if you have a good enough scope and skill.

### Countering

* As is the case with most shotguns, the Saiga-12 lacks any adequate range to deal with even assault rifles at mid-range. If you see the Saiga's characteristic barrel, back up and engage from a distance if possible.
* At close range, you can rush Saiga-12 users with an MP220. The MP220 has a faster fire rate than the Saiga-12 and can deal lethal damage in a short amount of time.
	+ However, if you miss or fail to kill them, the user may kill you with the remaining rounds, so it is a good idea to carry backup shotguns.
* You could use Sniper Rifles/DMRs (SV-98, M1 Garand) or a highly accurate pistol/assault rifle (P30L, OTs-38, DEagle 50/AN-94/M4A1-S) at a long-range to outgun the Saiga-12 user before he even gets within your range. 4x or higher scopes are recommended for this.
* With sufficient cover, you can constantly peek and retreat to waste your opponent's bullets. While they are reloading, you can use an assault rifle or Dual Peacemakers or MAC-10 to whittle down their health, and then repeat when they've finished reloading.
* Don't go in range as it will kill you in seconds before you can deal enough damage to kill them. Rushing Saiga players will work, but if they have decent armor, they can still survive. The best counter is to keep your range or hide behind an obstacle, then peek out and shoot, but this is risky since the Saiga can tear through most obstacles in 2 hits and still have three more shots, which is more than enough to kill you.
	+ Make sure you have a lot of adrenaline when fighting Saiga-12 users because the adrenaline will be crucial in avoiding attacks and wasting their ammunition.
* Be aware that if you see this Weapon on the ground somewhere, the odds are good that someone is using it to bait people into a trap because of it's rarity and usefulness. Look around for areas other survivrs can hide before you rush towards it.

## Time to Kill (ms)

*Note: Headshots are not included in TTK values.*
## Rarity

The Saiga-12 is rare and can mostly be found in Air Drops and very rarely in Crates or as ground loot.

## Sounds

* Firing
* Reloading
* Swapping To

## Links

* https://surviv.io/img/loot/loot-weapon-autoshotgun.svg
* https://surviv.io/img/loot/loot-weapon-saiga.svg

## Trivia

* The Saiga-12's loot image is lacking an ejection port and selector switch, has an optic mount on the dust cover, and a non-standard muzzle device, like to accommodate for the non-standard 12 gauge ammunition.
* In real-life, many Saiga-12's are semi-auto only. However, many full-auto conversion kits for the Saiga exist (although a real-life converted Saiga-12 would have a higher fire rate than its in-game counterpart). This is likely to balance the gun in-game.
* Saiga shotguns are based on the Kalashnikov series of rifles.
* The United States sometimes uses the Saiga-12 in SWAT teams.
* The magazine for the old Saiga-12 seems to be much larger than an actual 5-round Saiga magazine, possibly holding 8 or 10 rounds at most. It could just be an extended magazine pinned to only accept five rounds. This is likely to balance the gun in-game.
* The current Saiga-12 image appears to have a folding stock.
* As of v0.7.1 "*Danger close*," the icon and overworld sprite for Saiga-12 was changed.
* The old Saiga-12 image looks similar to the Vepr-12, a semi-auto shotgun similar to the Saiga-12. The old icon also lightly resembles an AK-47, and this is due to both the Vepr-12 and the Saiga-12 being patterned after the Kalashnikov rifles, of which the infamous AK-47 is a part.
* The Saiga-12 has had three weapon sprite reskins. The very first one resembled the second long-serving sprite, except more simplified. The current one is the third of its kind, and it is more detailed.

## Gallery

A Saiga-12 as ground lootThe old Saiga-12 as a dropThe very first version of the Saiga-12's spriteA fellow survivr holding the Saiga-12 and firing it (old)A Saiga 12 as ground loot during 50v50A saiga-12 found in a containerA Saiga-12 found in a containerTwo Saiga 12'sA Saiga-12 as world loot in the Alternate Barn