briansmithwins
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BSW
AK red dot setup
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BSW
Hizzie
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Ultimaks seem to cook Eotechs for breakfast if used in a rifle class with high volume of fire. Aimpoint T1 seems to be the optic of choice.
AK103K
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I've had everything from a $30 BSA up to the $480+ Aimpoints that are on there now on mine, and heat has never been an issue.
The rail is made of aluminum, and dissipates heat very rapidly, unlike some of the others. It may get warm, but I've never been burnt by mine, even when the barrel on the gun is hot enough you dont want to touch it.
Even with the rails that do retain heat, at least with the Aimpoints, it still hasnt been an issue. I had a Springfield SOCOM that had a steel rail, which did get and stay very hot when shot even just moderately fast, and the Aimpoint I had mounted on it never seemed to mind.
The rail is made of aluminum, and dissipates heat very rapidly, unlike some of the others. It may get warm, but I've never been burnt by mine, even when the barrel on the gun is hot enough you dont want to touch it.
Even with the rails that do retain heat, at least with the Aimpoints, it still hasnt been an issue. I had a Springfield SOCOM that had a steel rail, which did get and stay very hot when shot even just moderately fast, and the Aimpoint I had mounted on it never seemed to mind.
DMK
Member
Arsenal put a Midwest Industries rail on that rifle. It's a decent rail, nicely made, but it sits of top of the gas tube like most of these do. The Ultimak rail is unique in that it replaces the gas tube, allowing it to sit a little lower, which allows the irons to co-witness in the lower 1/3 of a low mounted red dot (like an Aimpoint). As far as I know, Ultimak is the only company to use this design and that gives them the edge on their competitors.
I'd imagine that you could replace that rail with an Ultimak on your rifle if you wanted to. Just get a standard AK-74 type lower handguard (like the one from K-var with the heat shield), the Ultimak top rail, and sell your Midwest Industries setup to recoup some of the cost.
DMK
Member
The other drawback to the Eotech on an AK is that it sits so high.
Nice optic on an AR15, but not so good for an AK IMO.
DMK
Member
If you don't care about the color or need a Russian sling for authenticity, the blue/gray East German sling is just as good and a bit cheaper.
http://aa-ok.com/ak-sling-blue-gray-east-german.html
http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?cPath=79&products_id=361
AK103K
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unit91,
While the heat didnt seem to be an issue with the cheaper dots, their life overall in my experience was still pretty short lived on my AK's. None seemed to take the beating the Aimpoints do, and that goes for the "not so cheap" ones too. If your going to spend $150 or so on one you might as well go all the way, knuckle down and suck it up, and spend the money for a good one, and only cry once.
The E. German slings are very serviceable and would probably be my second choice if the Russian werent available. Overall they are OK, just not as heavy in construction, especially material wise, as the Russian slings, or at least the ones I had werent. When you compare them side by side, the difference is pretty obvious.
The worst ones I've seen have been the green nylon slings that used to come (and perhaps still do) with the early SAR's and WASR's.
Your best bet with any of them is to loose the rear hook and metal, and just thread it through the rear swivel. A short piece (about 4") of the skinny bicycle inner tube, the "road bike" type, 700c x 21-23 size, stretched over the hook and metal tab on the end of the sling will deaden the noise pretty much completely at that end.
While the heat didnt seem to be an issue with the cheaper dots, their life overall in my experience was still pretty short lived on my AK's. None seemed to take the beating the Aimpoints do, and that goes for the "not so cheap" ones too. If your going to spend $150 or so on one you might as well go all the way, knuckle down and suck it up, and spend the money for a good one, and only cry once.
The E. German slings are very serviceable and would probably be my second choice if the Russian werent available. Overall they are OK, just not as heavy in construction, especially material wise, as the Russian slings, or at least the ones I had werent. When you compare them side by side, the difference is pretty obvious.
The worst ones I've seen have been the green nylon slings that used to come (and perhaps still do) with the early SAR's and WASR's.
Your best bet with any of them is to loose the rear hook and metal, and just thread it through the rear swivel. A short piece (about 4") of the skinny bicycle inner tube, the "road bike" type, 700c x 21-23 size, stretched over the hook and metal tab on the end of the sling will deaden the noise pretty much completely at that end.
Can I just replace the upper handguard with the Ultimak and keep the lower midwest industries handguar or is this absurd?
I took a look at ultimak prices and the upper handguard will run me about 98 bucks, not too bad. How much do you think that I can seel my midwest picatiny rail for?
Do i need a gunsmith to replace the gas tube with the ultimak?
sarduy
Member
what cheap dots you were using?
i have a tasco reddot that i first got for my AK and it work great, then i try it in a R700 30-06 just to see how good it was... and it held zero very well, finally it's in a mossberg 500 that i only shoot slugs..... it have hold zero very good, and it only cost me $30.00
DMK
Member
I'm not that familiar with the Midwest forearm setup. Are the upper and lower units screwed together, or do they attach to the rifle separately? If the latter, then you probably could use the Ultimak upper and Midwest lower. Only one way to find out I suppose, and that is to try it. If it doesn't work, then just buy a regular lower handguard.
You shouldn't unless you're one of those who could screw up changing a flat tire on their car. The Ultimak comes with pretty clear instructions.
It could be screwed in. Try twisting it counter clockwise as you pull it down and forward.
AK103K
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No, its easy to do yourself.
BSA, Tasco, Bushnell, Hakko. Only the BSA was really "cheap", at the time the others ran around $150-200+.
The BSA actually still works, and I have it on an old Airsoft MP5 we use from time to time.
The Bushnell, would not hold zero.
The Tasco didnt survive a minor spill when the gun slid out of my truck. After that, you had to fiddle with the knob on a constant basis, as the dot would go out when the gun was fired or jarred.
The Hakko wasnt actually all that bad, but I really didnt use it for long. It just seemed very fragile, and I didnt like the way they worked.
They all had a very short battery life, and I found all of them dead more than once when the switch was left on.
Not sure. It depends on how it bolts up, as DMK said. Looking at the pictures on the link, I don't think so, but I might be wrong.
What I would do is get your optic first. You can always put it on the existing rail and see if you like it. If you do, you're done. If not, THEN you can spring the extra $100 for the ultimak and you can fiddle with it and see what will work. I imagine you'll probably have to buy a lower handguard as well, because I don't think it will bolt up right, but try it and see if you go that route.
Mike
I think you misunderstood what I was saying here. I have the rail, and I am going to put a nice optic on it. Currently, I'm in the classic toss-up between Aimpoint, Eotech, and Trijicon and I was wondering if you'd experienced any degradation in service life due to excess heat transfer through the tube. What I was NOT saying is that I don't value quality optics, nor was I saying that quality optics are cost prohibitive; only that I want to get the best product for the intended purpose.
slightly off topic again, for which I appologize...
Is the Brown/silver Bear line of russian ammo any good??? I live in a FL and read recently that huminidy ruins Russian ammo. Is this the case with all of their stuff like Wolf etc?
Is the Brown/silver Bear line of russian ammo any good??? I live in a FL and read recently that huminidy ruins Russian ammo. Is this the case with all of their stuff like Wolf etc?
briansmithwins
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azboerboel
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And now for the eternal cop out - everything is personal preference. There will always be "online experts" who recommend a specific optic over another. This one's too high, this one eats batteries, this one costs too much, and on and on.
If you are thinking about a certain optic, check it out ahead of time on a buddy's rifle or at the gun shop. Then shop around for what you want. Make sure your optic will fit your mount of choice.
Aimpoints are great sights as far as durability and battery life. They are rugged as all get out. However, I don't like them because it seems to me that I am looking down a scope tube. That being said, they are still awesome. Just an example of personal preference.
How to mount the optic is another personal preference. Again, don't let "online experts" influence you too much. Sure there is something to be said for real world experiences, but let's be honest here - much of what you read in blogs is just people's opinions, circulated rumors, and blanket statements generated from a single one-time experience. I don't see a lot of former Delta Force operators blogging here.
Bottom line - get what you want and be happy with it. If you buy anything of quality, it will be fine.
If you are thinking about a certain optic, check it out ahead of time on a buddy's rifle or at the gun shop. Then shop around for what you want. Make sure your optic will fit your mount of choice.
Aimpoints are great sights as far as durability and battery life. They are rugged as all get out. However, I don't like them because it seems to me that I am looking down a scope tube. That being said, they are still awesome. Just an example of personal preference.
How to mount the optic is another personal preference. Again, don't let "online experts" influence you too much. Sure there is something to be said for real world experiences, but let's be honest here - much of what you read in blogs is just people's opinions, circulated rumors, and blanket statements generated from a single one-time experience. I don't see a lot of former Delta Force operators blogging here.
Bottom line - get what you want and be happy with it. If you buy anything of quality, it will be fine.
lvcat2004
Member
anyone heard of binocularsmart??
So I was looking for a Kobra and found this website.
The price is right and says it ships from Michigan, but their phone number is not in Michinga and can't find anything about this place.
I'm a bit spooked about ordering from a vendor that I have NEVER heard anythign from.
Anyone heard of these guys?
So I was looking for a Kobra and found this website.
The price is right and says it ships from Michigan, but their phone number is not in Michinga and can't find anything about this place.
I'm a bit spooked about ordering from a vendor that I have NEVER heard anythign from.
Anyone heard of these guys?
philpost
Member
At the risk of being flamed for my cheesy set-up: I was on the fence about optics for my SGL-20, and just didn't know if I wanted to make the commitment ($$$ + installation) of an Ultimak- Eotech/Aimpoint/Trijicon set-up. At a recent gun show, I was able to pick up a UTG quick-detachable sidemount and an NcStar red/green reticle scope for $100 total. No large outlay of cash, on & off in a second, and accurate for the price. I know you get what you pay for, but I hit what I'm aiming at, and I think it's an excellent introduction to optics. Based on my experience, I could see investing a little more down the road in something a little better, but I didn't want to commit a small fortune and then have buyers remorse.
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