New Arsenal AK Shoot 14" to Left @ 100 yds - Need Advice

[Kurt_D]

See that's just it, the rifle isn't defective. It works fine and is within tolerances, assuming it can be zeroed, which it should. You'd be surprised how little you have to move the sight. HOWEVER, the OP doesn't like the fact the front sight isn't going to be centered in the FSB. That is purely his preference.

Arsenal will "fix" it under warranty but you have to pay to ship it to them and wait a few months. Yes, I don't agree with the buyer paying return shipping for a actual defect but this is for a cosmetic issue.

 

[goon]

We don't actually know yet whether or not it will zero.
But a cosmetic issue is still a flaw (and I'm not sure sights are totally cosmetic).
If you bought a brand new sporter and there was a huge scratch in the stock right out of the box that would be a cosmetic issue. It wouldn't affect function.
But it would still be a defect and you would still be right to want it fixed.
And it's still something that never should have left the factory.

 

[strambo]

The sight is designed to drift adjusted for zero...what is all the fuss about? Drift it and go. If it won't zero after actually trying...sure, send it in, it will even be covered then as it would at that point be defective.

 

[LeibstandarteAdH]

ditto

 

[AK103K]

Anywhere in the front sights window is acceptable and considered within spec. If they will correct it, good for them, but I dont see that they would be required to under warranty, or for any other reason.

The AK's are not the only guns to have this issue. I've had M1's and M1A's that required you to move the front sight off center if you wanted to use the witness marks on the rear sight for a mechanical zero. I also have an FR8 that has an offset front post when zeroed. Not to my liking, but I have to live with that one. Its really not a big deal unless you want to make it one, but I well understand the annoyance, and it does bug the crap out of me. Function wise, its a non issue.

The windage adjustable rear sight is the easiest solution, and probably the cheapest.

 

[chris in va]

I still don't understand what the issue is here. He hasn't even adjusted the sight yet, but is still complaining about a 'problem' that has just been calculated but not physically verified.

Drift your sight over, shoot it...get back to us.

 

[plateshooter]

I have an Arsenal/Global rifle which shot to the left several inches with the front sight adjusted all the way over. The barrel was misaligned with the receiver. When I put a cleaning rod through the barrel, and let it touch the back of the receiver, it was obvious that it was an assembly problem as it was off the center of the receiver.. I sent it back and they sent me a new rifle. One way freight is better than a rifle you can't use or that just torques you off every time you pick it up. Hope your problem is not this severe, but if it is, I would recommend sending it back. Then everytime you look at it, you will like it instead of getting a knot in your gut.

 

[benEzra]

Assuming everything is fairly well lined up, and adjustable rear sight would be the ideal solution if you don't a front sight that's slightly off-center.

 

[rangerruck]

if it is buggin younow, it is never going to stop bugging you...
send it back. Allthough , i will say, you would be surprised how much your group will move when you adjust that front site. i move a group over to the right, about 5 inches at 100 yds, with about a half twist with the front site tool, on my saiga.

 

[Archibald Tuttle]

Jeez, I also own a SAM7R and I'm now just coming to terms with this problem. For a long time I thought it was just my shooting. I'm waiting for my front sight tool to come in the mail. I'm going to do the adjustments and if it doesn't produce the results I want then I'm sending it back to Arsenal. I wonder, you know, why is it that these AK variants all seem to have this issue? How do they zero in the rifles before sending it out? How do they pass inspection? Is there an inspection?

 

[goon]

Actually needing the sights adjusted isn't a defect. Most any rifle or handgun that you buy could need that - you'd be luck to not have to adjust the sights in some way due to just how many different kinds of ammunition are around for most calibers.
The thing that I do consider a defect is when your front sight is so far to one side that you get it mixed up with the ears of the front sight post when you are trying to shoot. That isn't just cosmetic and no one should have to add a $50 adjustable rear sight to a brand new rifle just to get it to shoot like it should have when it left the factory.

BTW- I have used a cheap little CTD sight adjustment tool to adjust the sights on about a dozen AK's and SKS's. It works fine but you will probably eventually break the elevation "ears" off of that part of it. No sweat though because there is one of those in the cleaning kit. For the $12 you pay for it it should serve you fairly well.

 

[strambo]

you know, why is it that these AK variants all seem to have this issue?

Because that's how Mikhail Kalashnikov designed them? I always zero every firearm I buy by adjusting the sights ('cept fixed sight handguns), I'm still confused why this is an issue?

Every soldier promptly zero's their M4/M16 too. They don't come zeroed from the factory. Sometimes the front sight sticks up or down quite a bit and doesn't look as nice...and the rear can be over to one side and not perfectly centered. I never have thought to care.

The AK front sight tools are a PITA sometimes, not the manufacturer's fault, blame Kalashnikov.

 

[Pete409]

Rocketfish, your calculations are correct about how much the front site needs to be moved, but it appears that you are blowing that amount of movement (0.06") WAAAAY out of proportion.

Stated in fractions, 0.06" is a little less than 1/16 of an inch. Man, 1/16" isn't very much. It certainly isn't anywhere close to being as wide as the "ears" protecting the front sight post. In fact, 1/16" is narrower than the width of the front sight post itself. So if you made the adjustment to the front sight, it would hardly be noticeable at all. I would say that the adjustment would be about one-half of the width of the front sight post, and that certainly isn't very much.

 

[rocketfish]

Well Pete let's take this a little further. I just measured the front sight post with calipers and it is about 0.07", so I would need to move the post a distance about equal to its width. The tops of the "ears" have about 0.32" between them. So if I moved my post, which is now centered between the ears, one full post width, the post's centerline would then be .09" from the top of the left ear and 0.23" from the top of the right ear.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't like the front post to be that far off center (as stated in another's post - it's my "preference"). It ruins the sight picture for me. I want open space around my post. I don't want a sight base ear obscuring what is to the left of my front sight post. If it doesn't bother you, well then by golly that is great. I don't like it though. And neither did nearly every American combat rifle designer I assume, given that they put the windage adjustment on the rear.

Further, the adjustment is not limited by the ear itself, but but by the hole through which the sight post protrudes from the adjustment drum. By my measurements, the hole seems to allow 0.06" to either side of the post (total width of the hole is .19"-.21"). Don't you think it a bit odd that I must use all available adjustment (.06" to left) to get on target? I think 14" off at 100 yards is BS.

I just want to say thanks to everyone for their input on this thread. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am going with a windage adjustable rear sight and keeping my front post centered. Problem solved. I don't really need anymore input - it has been covered by the gracious and thoughtful members of this forum.

 

[mrmuffcabbage]

I don't understand why most people automatically assume that they wouldn't have to zero out a rifle to get it to shoot straight. Everybody seems to think its a manufacturer defect. I bought a century ak 47 off a guy who claimed it was junk cuz it shot to the left and jammed up. It was quite a surprise that once i cleaned it and zeroed it out, it shot straight and stopped catching spent cartridges in the extractor. A little common sense goes a long way i guess.

 

[briansmithwins]

What does the sample target that came with the rifle look like?

BSW

 

[Stack]

I'd fix it with a new AR

 

[Sky]

Had an AK that came to me with the front sight canted slightly to the left approx 3 degrees.
Bugged me to no end.

I took a rubber hammer and whacked the sight a couple of times and centered it up both by eye ball and by measurement. Went back to the range later that week and with a very minor adjustment of the front sight I was very pleased with the accuracy of the AK.

Easy, quick, and it worked...priceless.

 

[JDGray]

If the front sight is visibly canted, that there is reason to return the rifle, especially if its not a Century.

 

[HKGuns]

Funny, but just yesterday I drifted the rear sight of my Winchester Model 94 30-30 because it was shooting to the left. I burned some extra ammo because I over drifted initially, but I got it into acceptable range pretty quickly.

OP, recommend you move to a 50 yard range if you have one available. It will be less frustrating for you, at least it was for me.......

 

[grilledcheese]

I took a rubber hammer and whacked the sight a couple of times and centered it up both by eye ball and by measurement. Went back to the range later that week and with a very minor adjustment of the front sight I was very pleased with the accuracy of the AK.

Easy, quick, and it worked...priceless.

And that's the winning suggestion right there. I've done this in the past with two of my Kalashnikovs. I had more than enough room to drift the front sight post over enough to get each of them on target, but even a slightly canted front sight was driving me crazy every time I looked at them. So I got out the rubber mallet and gave each one a few good whacks until the sights looked straight.
No need to get too complicated. It's an AK. It can take it.


Jeffrey

 

[Averageman]

If you cant adjust it out far enough to zero, you can drift the front sight pins out and move the whole front sight assembly and put the pins back in.
They arent that difficult to work on, however I woud agree it should come to you zeroed.