I don't own a Saiga myself, but I've handled a couple, and they struck me as rather nose-heavy because of the synthetic stock. To me, they're not as visually pleasing as a Mini-14.

Owners of Saigas praise them highly for their accuracy and reliability--word is that they're good little rifles. Over on The High Road (www.thehighroad.org), there's been a fair amount of discussion about Saigas (do a search in the Rifle Country forum).