AK Sights

[danny.t.2414]

Hey, I'm new to the forum but I'm looking for information quality glass for an ak I want to have built for me. I am looking for a good red dot/reflex sight I don't think I want it to use batteries. What are my options?

I am also looking for a good way to mount it to my rifle. I think I want one of those side mount rails that makes the sight closer to my eye, more like an AR. What do you think?

 

[engineerbrian]

i had a great link for a side mount scope mount that attaches to the receiver, but i cant find it.:banghead:

thanks for asking the question, this is on my gun "to do list"

 

[prid93]

http://www.thecountryshed.com/ak47_scope_mounts.htm

Heres a link i found. Has a lot of different mounts, but has a few of the side mounts your looking for. I dont have any experience with them though so I cant give you an opinion on the quality :-/.
Hope this helps

 

[sprice]

check out krebs custom. They might have some parts... danny hehehe

 

[-v-]

BP-02 (from Kalinka optics) or ULTIMAK rail (various vendors) and a Trijicon reflex or a Merpolight reflex would fit your bill. Depends if you prefer your sight on an optics vs gas-tube mount, and both of those sights are tritium powered, so they will serve you well for 10-20 years prior to them starting to noticeably fade.

 

[briansmithwins]

Or, there is this option:

Aimpoint Micro on a side mount




Battery powered but with a 5 year constant on lifetime. Plus, when the battery wears out it field replaceable vs sending in a tritium lit sight to the factory. Also, the dot's intensity is user controllable.

BSW

 

[AK103K]

I'd go with the Ultimak and and one of the Aimpoint dots. Military grade sights and battery life isnt an issue. Iron sights cowitness with the dot with the proper mount, and the rifle shoulders and shoots naturally, with pretty much the same cheek weld as the iron sights.

 

[engineerbrian]

Does the scope hold its zero if you remove the gas piston cover?

I'd go with the Ultimak and and one of the Aimpoint dots. Military grade sights and battery life isnt an issue. Iron sights cowitness with the dot with the proper mount, and the rifle shoulders and shoots naturally, with pretty much the same cheek weld as the iron sights.

 

[AK103K]

You would most likely have to rezero if you were to remove the Ultimak. Theres no need though, the gas port is pretty much self cleaning.

If it bothers you, you can still clean the tube and access the port with M16 pipe cleaners. I do run a couple of wet patches of Gun Scrubber down the tube when I clean the gun. At this point, I've got many thousands of rounds through each of a couple of AK's with Ultimaks mounted, and have yet to remove them and never had an issue.

 

[Averageman]

I have the ultimak and it doesn't hold a perfect zero, but it is close. As stated earlier you can clean the gas tube with a 20 gauge bore swab and not worry about leaving it on.

 

[AK103K]

It holds zero if installed properly and left on the gun. If you remove it and replace it, I'm thinking youre going to have to rezero, as there is really no way to index the rail.

If you use lever mounts of good quality, they will rezero without issue, but most if not all of those type mounts will sit to high to cowitness the iron sights, or at least with the Aimpoint M series.

 

[sturmgewehr]

Another vote for the Ultimak. I have no issues with it holding zero.



I've since replaced the EOTech with an Aimpoint Comp M2.

 

[Girodin]

Ultimak with a T1 micro is widely considered the best RDS setup for an AK.

 

[AK103K]

The Aimpoints have definitely gotten smaller and better, which is a good thing. The latest models are still a little pricey though.

I've had M2/ML2's on my guns since they were the "current" model, and they have a lot of rounds and use on them, and they've never skipped a beat. I've never found one with a dead battery yet either, and they are "on" 24/7. The new ones are supposed to last almost 10 years on one battery. The M2's are supposed to last a little over a year (I change mine once year with the smoke detectors), and so far, they seem to be correct.

 

[benEzra]

My recommendation, if it's in your price range, would be an Aimpoint Micro (H-1) on an Ultimak forward rail. That's the route I'd go if I had it to do over again, and the route I will probably go eventually.

Right now, I'm running a gen-2 Kobra on the factory siderail mount (which I like), but I miss the ability to cowitness with the irons, and the Kobra sits too high to allow a cheek weld.

Same setup with the original fixed stock:

 

[Girodin]

Yeah, I cannot stand to shoot guns I can't get a proper cheek weld on. Lots of people like the cobra optics but it just doesn't work for me.

The Aimpoints have definitely gotten smaller and better, which is a good thing. The latest models are still a little pricey though.

While not cheap, double what I paid for my saiga (not counting the conversion parts). It is a buy once cry one thing to me. Also compared to the price of ammo an optic that will give you many many years of service starts to seem less expensive.

 

[sprice]

Welcome to the forum btw.

 

[Kymasabe]

buy this.

http://texasweaponsystems.com/ and add the rear peep sight.

 

[Girodin]

Bold recommending a product not even yet available. I am a beta tester for the TWS rail. It hasn't even arrived yet (it should have but hasn't). Time will tell, but it is as of right now not even available and totally unproven product. I plan to run a magnified optic on it and a RDS when I get it to test it out. If I can make it work I will run it on my S308 as well as a .223 a 7.62x39.

 

[AK103K]

That TWS rail looks a lot more usable than their first one. It "looks" to be low enough that you'll be able to cowitness too. Could be promising for those who like rear mounted sights.

One observation/suggestion right off though, from someone who shoots with their head down and forward, with their cheek and nose at/along the top cover, round the back of that top cover off and get rid of those sharp edges. While it looks to be a lot better than the old style for shooters like me, it still looks somewhat painful.

 

[ak74nut]

can you weld the side rail onto the rifle or not?

 

[AK103K]

I suppose you could, but all the ones I've seen are riveted.

 

[kwelz]

Ultimak is the way to go. Another option over the H/T-1 is a RMR from Trijicon.

 

[atlanticfire]

I just used a Leapers scope, with a umac rail.

 

[briansmithwins]

can you weld the side rail onto the rifle or not?

You could, but the aftermarket plates are usually attached with screws (use bearing and stud mount locktite). The factory plates are riveted to the receiver.

BSW