Sighting in my Saiga 7.62x39.

[Nameless_Hobo]

What range is generally accepted to sight in 7.62x39? Just your regular 100 yards as would one with a .30-30?

 

[MD_Willington]

The notches are in meters not yards... so try 100 meters or ~ 109 Yards for 100 meters

 

[DMK]

I pull the rear sight all the way back and up, then sight it in three inches high at 100 yards, then I leave it alone. That gives you a +/- 3" out to 225 yards or so IIRC. I don't mess with the elevation rear adjustment or even care what the numbers mean.

Does anybody here actually shoot an AK past that with open sights?

 

[Nameless_Hobo]

I feel I didn't make myself clear enough, I'm using a red dot to sight in the AK, I should have mentioned that earlier.

 

[kcmarine]

Completely off topic, but,

Nameless Hobo, wouldn't you calling yourself "Nameless_Hobo" mean that you have a name?

Sorry, but a man has to wonder every once in a while.

 

[Kymasabe]

I set my AK sights for 100 yards, set my target at 25 yards, make some basic adjustments if needed, them move the target out to 100 yards for final adjustments. If using a red-dot, a laser bore-sight is great fun. SportsmanGuide has them for 7.62x39, just chuck it in the chamber and light up the red dots. Easy.

 

[DMK]

I feel I didn't make myself clear enough, I'm using a red dot to sight in the AK, I should have mentioned that earlier.

I'd still sight it 3" high at 100 yards.

If you have a large dot, remember to use the top edge of the dot when sighting(like you would a front sight post). Do not try and center your impacts behind the dot.

 

[Nameless_Hobo]

Completely off topic, but,

Nameless Hobo, wouldn't you calling yourself "Nameless_Hobo" mean that you have a name?

Sorry, but a man has to wonder every once in a while.

"Something about the duality of man..."

The gun is perfect, mucho thanks for the help.

 

[DMK]

I love that scene in FMJ.

 

[azhunter12]

Kcmarine, I was wondering about that too.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Sighting in the Saiga is simple.

Do this. Start at 25 yards if you can. At 25 yards, set the rear sight to "3" ..then adjust elevation of front sight post till you're on.

At 50 yards, you would set the rear sight to "2" ...at 100 yards, you'd set it to "1" ...

That's because a 50 yard zero is the same as 200 yard zero, and 25 is the same as 300 ...or close enough. Of course, it's always best to zero at actual distances, but for most people it isn't practical.


My Saiga only has notches for 100, 200 and 300 meters. Don't worry about meters vs. yards. The difference in trajectory will not matter one bit. It won't matter on this platform, with this accuracy, with the ammo used, at the practical range the rifle was intended for, or for the style of shooting it is meant for. You'll be zeroed well if you use a 25, 50 or 100 yard range.


The windage is just the front sight. You'll need a sight pusher for that. That you adjust normally. My Saiga was pretty much zero from the factory, so it shouldn't take much as they don't have canted sights and should be very close.


Good luck.

 

[Saiga39]

I don't have a public range near me so I used a laser bore sight and put a target out about 27 yards with my rear sight set on 1.

I'm going to have to reset my sights according to what "Don't tread on me" said above. That's the first explanation I've read that's easy to remember.

One piece of advice "Hobo" would be to get a good quality AK sight adjuster. Mine really got deformed during all the adjusting on my Saiga.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Whoa, I made a mistake! (I must have been thinking about one of my .223 loads) here's the correct sight in:

Name: 7.62x39mm

BC:             0.2600 (G1)     Temperature:     73.0 degrees   Cant Angle:        0.0 deg.
Weight:         124.0 grains    Humidity:          73 %         Sight-In Range:    200 yd.
Caliber:        .311            Pressure:       29.92 in.       Muzzle Angle:    8.333 moa
Sight Height:   2.00 inches     Crosswind:       10.0 mph       TargetSpeed:       0.0 mph
LOS Angle:      0.0 degrees     Altitude:          25 ft.       Target Angle:     90.0 deg.
Sect. Density:  0.183           Air Density:   0.0738 lb./ft.^3
                                Air Density:     96.5 % of Sea Level



 Range     Drop     Velocity    Energy    Momentum   Windage     Lead     Time   Elevation
(Yards)  (inches)   (ft/sec)   (ft-lbs)   (lb-sec)   (inches)  (inches)  (secs)    (moa)

    0     -2.00      2345.0     1514.0     1.2913      0.00       0.0    0.000      -----
   [B]25     -0.03      2266.3     1414.1     1.2479      0.10       0.0    0.033      -0.13[/B]
   50      1.51      2189.0     1319.3     1.2054      0.40       0.0    0.066       3.03
   75      2.61      2113.2     1229.5     1.1636      0.91       0.0    0.101       3.47
  100      3.21      2039.0     1144.7     1.1228      1.65       0.0    0.137       3.21
  125      3.29      1966.3     1064.5     1.0828      2.62       0.0    0.175       2.63
  150      2.81      1895.3      989.0     1.0437      3.83       0.0    0.214       1.87
  175      1.73      1826.0      918.0     1.0055      5.30       0.0    0.254       0.99
  [B]200     -0.01      1758.5      851.4     0.9683      7.04       0.0    0.296      -0.01[/B]
  225     -2.45      1692.9      789.1     0.9322      9.07       0.0    0.339      -1.09
  250     -5.65      1629.4      730.9     0.8972     11.39       0.0    0.385      -2.26
  275     -9.67      1568.0      676.9     0.8634     14.02       0.0    0.432      -3.52
  300    -14.57      1508.9      626.8     0.8309     16.98       0.0    0.480      -4.86

As you can see, a 25 yard zero is equal to that of a 200 yard zero (not a 300 like I said above, sorry!). So, set your rear sight to 2 when sighting at 25 yards! Or 27 yards if you want it to work in meters.


After that, the rear sight will be calibrated just fine. If you set the rear sight to 100, it will be perfect at 100. If you set it to 300, it will be on at 300. It's really simple. You just have to make sure that the rear sight is set for the proper range (zero) and everything else will automatically fall into place. The only trick is knowing which short-range zero matches the longer range zero listed on the rear sight. I screwed up and said 25 yard is 300 yard. It's not. You would have to sight in 1.25" high at 25 to make a 300 yard zero.


** the data above is from me. Lower altitude since I am in Florida, and I'm using seasonal averages for humid/temp. Velocity is the average of 20 shot strings for both Wolf and Barnaul which are the absolute most common 7.62x39mm on the market. Used a chronograph firing from the Saiga itself.

** for a reddot, measure the height of reddot over the bore by measuring the center of the bore to the center of the reddot optic's tube. Best way to do this is to remove the cover and the carrier and do it from the breech if using a side rail. Then use that height when calculating a trajectory. Only thing is, the reddot will not be adjustable for different ranges (unless it is a PKAS). So you would have to settle on one general all-purpose battle zero (like 25-200m) and call it good.

 

[rocinante]

I am going to have to really study and absorb this thread. I tried sighting in my red dot last night on my new saiga x39 and I was all over the place. Mostly me but I wonder if it was some of the scope and I hope to god not the rifle.

I did not really try the iron sights. Black on black is too hard for me to see.