TweetSaigas are made in aAmerica. The receiver shell comes from the Izsmash factory, but that's it. Izhmash produced a manay-a true AKs in it's day. The only reason Saiga says Izhmash on the receiver, though, is because that sheet of metal was stamped to shape by the Izhmash factory. So you have a Russian stamped piece of metal in a Saiga. Not to be confused with a Russian AK. A Saiga is a "sporter" variant rifle based on the Kalash platform. I have never owned a Saiga. I do know people that have them, and are very satisfied with them. You can get a Saiga for a very reasonable price, and have a gun that will function, and shoot like a champ. Anyone that tells you that you can't make a tac-driver out of an AK platform rifle does not know what they're talking about. The Saiga you're looking at probably has a longer barrel than 16", correct? Take it out, and see how accurate it is against any AR. .223 vs .223. Next contest. Run the shit out of each rifle and see which one jams 1st. You most likely won't witness a jam in the AK platform because the receiver stays clean. The AR will accumulate all that dirt and grime from the direct impingement system as opposed to the AK's piston driven system, which doesn't allow for the gases to get past the piston and into the receiver keeping a clean receiver round-after-rd-after-round...
The Saiga is a good sporter rifle with a little extra. And if you want. You can modify it to have a more combat-rifle look. You can get a different stock and pistol grip. You can also get rid of that fore-end they sell on them, and go with an AK upper and lower fore-end.
As for the how power .22 caliber. I'm not the biggest fan of the .223 varmint round. Unless I just planned on plinking with it. I would be much more comfy with more than a .22 if I were depending on it for my life. The 7.62 is a much more capable round. The .223 and 7.62x39 cost the same, but perform much differently. So, as far as cost. The 7.62 is a great plinker round too, but when it comes to life or death, which would you rather?