I have a Saiga in .223, and I have talked to quite a few Saiga owners since I got it. The only people I hear complain about it got the 7.62x39. So, if you want to get into that caliber, either the Ruger or SKS will be better. A guy I shoot with is seriously into the Russian firearms, and he likes the Yugo SKS best. The barrels are for the most part not chrome lined, but they are the most accurate SKS.