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I received and mounted my Texas Weapon System Gen 2 dust cover/pic rail earlier this week and got to hit the range today and zero an Eotech on it.

 

The mount was soild and there was a very miniscule amount of side to side twist in the dust cover when it was on. I'd bet is was the dust cover itself twisting and not the hinged portion in the rear sight block moving around.

 

I took it out today and easily zeroed, opened it up, closed it shut, fired again, rinse and repeat through 75 rounds; both off of a rest under the front hand guard and then standing once the Eotech was zeroed.

 

There was no noticeable POI shift and the rifle kept groups in the same location and of the same size that I have ever been able to do with it.

 

Only issue I saw arise was once I got home and broke it down for cleaning. I noticed an area of the rear piece of the recoil assembly (the one provided by TWS to give you a smooth surface as opposed to the textured factory one in order to facilitate "tool free" opening and closing of the dust cover) had what appeared to be contact marks from the bolt carrier (BC).

 

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As you can see, the metal was bashed into submission from the BC. This hasn't occured with the factory, rear piece of the recoil assembly and I believe this is due to the factory part having a much more aggressive angle than the TWS piece. By this, I mean that the factory piece has an angle closer to 90 degrees compared to the longer and shallower angle of the TWS piece. There was no apparent function issue as all 75 rounds were stripped from the magazine, fired and extracted without issue during the firing sequence.

 

After breaking down the recoil assembly to get the picture I reassembled and went about cleaning the rest of the rifle. When I went to reassemble the rifle I noticed the rear portion of the recoil assembly was bent out of its normally straight angle. Upon further inspection it appeared that the top rod of the rear recoil assembly piece (the one provided by TWS) had popped out of the portion of the piece to which the dust cover was secured.

 

I can not be sure but I would say that while I was putting the recoil assembly back together the rods were bent (as seen in the photos below) and the top rod popped out. I snapped some pics and straightened the two rods as best I could, re-inserted the top rod back into the catch and reassembled the recoil rod assembly.

 

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It didn't look right and I wanted to see what TWS recommended before firing the weapon in this state so I put the factory rear portion of the recoil assembly back on and the only problem (and it isn't really a problem in my book) is that you have to push the "button" of the recoil assembly in deeper than you normally would with a standard dust cover in order to get past the serrated texture on it with the fixed/hinged dust cover. I see no substantial side to side twisting movement with the completely factory recoil assembly in the weapon and think I'll give it a try next time I go to the range to see if there is any noticeable difference between the two rear portions of the recoil assembly; factory vs. the one provided by TWS.

 

I really like the options this hinged dust cover gives and will most certainly be putting them on other AK-style weapons I purchase in the future. I have 2 of the Krebs Rear Sight Rail System (http://www.krebscust...ledLocked.shtml) on other AK-type rifles (WASR 1 and a S308) and while they are very well built, the Krebs system addds a good deal of weight to the weapon while the TWS hinged dustcover adds only 1.4oz, as stated by a TWS rep on this very forum.

 

The only issues presented were in relation to the BC contacting the TWS provided rear portion of the recoil assembly and the two rods of said assembly being bent while I was reassembling the recoil assembly after cleaning. I think an angle closer to 90 degrees on the trigger group side/inside porion of the TWS rear recoil assembly part will alleviate this as would the addition of a recoil buffer on my part. The solution for the bending rods may be a more rigid steel as the factory rods seem more substantial than the TWS ones.

 

Besides this minor issue the overall concept, weight and ease of installation of this piece make it an absolute joy in my book. As I stated earlier, I plan on buying these in the future for other AK-type weapons I purchase.

 

Please feel free to ask questions/tear holes in the above review.

 

Thanks

 

Eric

Edited by towerofpower93
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I just received my TWS Generation II Beta Test dog leg rail last week. Had to modify it a bit to get the thing to fit right. The top rod of the rear recoil assembly also came out of my release latch , but inside under the cover, unleashing the spring into a ball after following the instructions to pull back the bolt handle a few times while closing the cover, to get the spring button to seat into the rear trunnion, and make the button come out of the cover hole. Had to really fight to get the rail cover off (after the modifications). I had to use a couple of vice grips to hold the spring down, and with several hammer blows (rubber deadblow hammer) to the carrier spring latch included from TWS, I got it back together.

I had to dremel cut the front of the dust cover a good 1/8" in order for the rear of the cover to seat down properly. I also had to cut off 3/16" off the length of rail area where the safety lever meets when the cover is closed on the rifle, in order for the bolt to be racked back. The latch hole also had to be filed down a little on the bottom so the latch would push in and out (too tight of a fit I think due to the angle of included carrier spring button latch). The cover closes very nicely, but the button latch needs to really be pushed all the way in (further than the factory latch due to it being slightly longer in length) to get the cover open.

I have a Vortex Strikefire optic with the tall scope mount mounted on the top. I like the fact that the rail sits a little lower than the TWS Generation I dog leg rail. I had to file 3/16" off of the bottom center of the scope mount see through area in order to be able to see the front sight post through the rear peep sight on the Generation I rail. I have another Strikefire on my recent build with the TWS Generation II, and can see clearly see the front sight post through the rear peep under the scope. The peep sight hole appears to be be slightly smaller in diameter then the Generation I peep, making it easier to center the front sight post when viewing through the rear peep sight.

The rail is ROCK SOLID with absolutely no side-to-side movement WHATSOEVER! I haven't been able to get out to shoot it yet,(I just finished a new Saiga 7.62 restore a few days before the TWS rail came) so after a hundred round break-in and cleaning, I'll post a range report with fresh FMJ Wolf ammo.

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Eric,

 

Thanks for the feedback and the detailed pics. I'm working on a solution now and will send you the update as soon as it's ready. Hang in there a little bit as it may take a week or so.

 

 

Rafaga

 

No worries man, just let me know if you need any additional pics or want the recoil assembly piece mailed back to you guys.

 

I went back out to the range today to get a zero at 50m. I used the completely factory recoil assembly and the only difference was that when it came time to open the dust cover I had to use the scraper/screwdriver/front sight adjustment tool in the cleeaning kit in order to push the "button" in further than I can with my finger in order to get the dust cover past the textured/serrated portion of the "button" on the factory recoil assembly.

 

I opened the dust cover a few times while re-zeroing and at 50m I put all 60 rounds on a 6" "Dirty Bird" brand target. Not too shabby for a non-magnified Eotech on an aK74 in my opinion and well within the capabilities I normally bring to the range. I'm sure this mount and a magnified optic will have no problems returning to zero after the cover is opened for weapon maintenance and re-secured.

 

TWS has been stellar throughout this whole process, from ordering to shipment and now to product review they have been involved and forthright with this customer. As I stated in my initial post; I will most certainly be keeping this product in mind for any future AK-type weapon purchases.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...

I have used several of these TWS Gen II rails. I feel like they are too soft. The button assembly they provide is made of weak material. Aluminum, perhaps? It bent putting it together. Not near as tough as the stock part. The bolt makes wear marks on the inside of the cover. After just 200 rounds I think this may lead to other issues, as it may start to break. The railing on top seems sturdy enough. However, I am greatly concerned as I have heard from a buddy of mine who shots far more than me that the joint where it fits into the sight block previously home to the leaf sight, say it wears out there and becomes unstable, making it hard to maintain zero. He also says he noted warping around the same area of the rail where it connects to the old leaf sight. I am not surprised, as I see this product is soft. I'm afraid steel might have been a better material to build this with. On to the button.... The newer version of the rail comes with a metal buffer by the button. It is said to be there for Saiga AKs, as the top covers have had issues with coming off. I have noted that these buttons have a pin that holds them in. After 200 rounds you will note as I did that the pins starts walking out. I just got rid of them. I no longer am hyped up about this product, and I no longer have confidence in them. I called their phone number and left a message about my concerns and have not heard back. That was about 2 months ago. I also went through hell trying to contact them when my order was in place. They basically dropped off the map for a week a while ago. As a result of my observations I cannot recommend this product but would instead recommend the AKARS, as I have heard tons of great things about them. Sturdy and true. Reinforced around the leaf sight area.

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  • 1 month later...

I am running a TWS Gen 2 rail on my S-308 and I have experienced none of the problems described above. The only issue I had was the special rear button that is supposed to be made just for the .308 would not work in my rifle; the swinging horseshoe thingy wouldn't let the button travel back far enough to lock the cover down securely. I ended up switching to the standard button and installing a Blackjack Buffer to overcome the S-308 specific issue of the carrier jumping the rails.

 

The buffer is not an optimal solution, but it IS effective. I fired quite a bit of ammo through my rifle thus configured over the course of the year, and never had any trouble with it returning to zero or any other issues other than the one with the ".308 button" that didn't work right.

 

I'm running one of the Leupold made Redfield 3x9 scopes in Burris extra high rings on it. This leaves the scope mounted higher than I would prefer (in order to clear the dog leg), but the silver lining is that they are are a see-through design, so I retain the use of my iron sights. I just had to build a stock with an adjustable comb height so I could make use of both scope and irons.

 

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