Geneleo I see by your profile that you are a LEO so first, sincere thanks for your service. I'm curious though. Do you own a Saiga 12 or have you fired one? For reference sake I own both a Benelli and a Saiga 12.
If we are talking about self defense/combat situations my definition of "a decent" weapon is one that is 100% reliable. Capable of being fired fron ANY position after almost ANY kind of abuse. My plain jane unmodified Saiga meets these requirements. My Benelli, as much as I love it, does not.
Like AK's, Saigas are ugly as ****. Their finish is rough and the manufacturing tollerences can be sloppy but in my humble opinion they are a damn fine weapon. If I was a cop on a budget, responsible for buying my own weapon and wanted an auto it's exactly what I would buy.
Sorry......rant over