AK Optics Options

Introduction:

When the AK rifle was first introduced, there was no need to mount an optic on it. The rifle was designed to be cheap, simple, and able to be distributed in large numbers. As the decades went on, and Russia's army turned from a peasant army into a professional army, force multipliers like optics have become much more of a necessity. The problem the Russians found though was that they couldn't put anything right on top of the rifle because of the dust cover. This led to the development of the side-rail mount. Since this, there have been a multitude of different options for mounting optics. There are now products for pretty much everything on the top of the rifle to allow for mounting optics, including dust covers, gas tube mounts, and rear sight block mounts. These, along with the side rail mount all have their advantages and disadvantages. I'll try to give a brief overview of each, so hopefully you learn something.

Details:

We'll start with the optics mounting solution that was designed by the Russians, the side-rail mount. Sometimes called the "Warsaw Pact Rail", this dovetail mount was designed in the mid 50's for limited use with early nightvision optics. The rail concept really took off with the development of the SVD Dragunov. It provides a quick way of mounting optics, with the ability to return to a consistent zero. All a user has to do is slide the sight on, and use the lever on the mount to lock it down. 

Source: https://zenphotos.net/file/Online/SVD/RAKURZ/SGL31-61_RakurzLeft.JPG

The issue with these optics, at least the ones from the Eastern Bloc, is that the optics and mounts are integrated together. This means that the optics are large and limited to only AK variants. This contrasts with any optic that can be mounted to a picatinny rail. These optics can be mounted on anything with a pic-rail and it doesn't matter as much what firearm it's on. Even the Russians see the shortcomings of the side rail. The next generation of Russian service rifle, the AK-12, incorporates a railed dust cover for mounting modern optics.

https://cms.sofrep.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ak-12.jpg

Railed dust covers come in many shapes and sizes, but they are not all created equal. Having the dust cover as a mounting platform presents challenges due to the nature of how an AK is designed. The dust cover is designed to be removed, or at the very least lifted off. This makes it difficult to make the dust cover a platform that allows optics to maintain and return to zero. One interesting solution comes from the Israelis in the Galil ACE.

Source: https://cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_2619.jpg

The Galil ACE is probably the most modernized example of an AK variant that is widely available. In order for the railed dust cover to allow optics to return to zero, the dust cover utilizes three different locking points and has very tight tolerances. The dust cover locks into the rear of the gas tube, there is a deep locking surface in the rear of the receiver, and the tab on the rear of the recoil spring is extended. Combined, these features allow the rifle to field strip more or less identically to an AK, while also providing a solid surface for mounting modern optics.

One semi-permanent mounting solution utilizes the rear sight block. There aren't many manufacturers of this style of mount, but they all work generally the same way. The rear sight gets replaces with the mount itself, either dedicated to a certain optic or a small section of rail. Because this is where the rear sight is mounted normally, it provides a sturdy platform for mounting optics. Theoretically, optics should not lose zero any more than a rear sight would. The downside to this is how limited it is. Unless a small section of rail is mounted, the mount itself is designed for a particular sight or style of sight, for example, a micro Aimpoint. I chose this for my rifle because I wanted a mounting solution for a red dot that would not have a high height-over-bore. A red dot is sufficient for my use of the rifle, so I don't have any issues.

Source: http://ultimak.com/gallery/img07.jpg

Last, and probably least, is the gas-tube mount for an optic. This is the most limited mounting solution and the most prone to potential issues. First off, due to how far forward the optic has to be, a shooter cannot really mount anything but a red dot. Most magnified sights would not have the eye relief so as to allow it to be mounted so far forward. Second, the gas tube suffers from similar issues as the dust cover mount. The part is designed to be removed and cleaned, so tolerances on it aren't incredibly tight. This means that an optic would have its zero shift every time the gas tube is removed. Lastly, the heat. The gas tube gets incredibly hot after any amount of shooting. This heat would very quickly get sunk into the optic on top. Some things may be able to handle this, but many optics will suffer damage to electronics as a result of being overheated.

Conclusion:

The AK has been evolved and iterated to remain combat effective into the 21st century. Innovations in providing solid optics mounting solutions have allowed AK users to remain on par with users of other platforms such as the AR. I think it is interesting to see the different solutions in use throughout the world. One can find examples of most options in use by AK users from Ukraine to Iraq, with some very interesting customization's coming out of the Middle East in general. It jsut goes to show that an optic is truly a force multiplier, and it is worth the effort to fins a way to be able to use it effectively.