scope mounting on my Saiga

[shootsmuch 9]

hey guys i have been looking at scope mounts and have looked at the top dust cover type rail mount (which has a neat clean look) but have my doubts about this because the dust cover is just not a solid piece on the gun, it looks like it can move, unless im missing something. so this leaves me with the side mount which looks pretty cool and appears to me like it would be solid. do the side mounts come back to zero when taken off and put back on the gun, and how well does a light work on the side rail of the side mount?

 

so i guess my final question is which one to buy? thanks in advance guys

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

I prefer the side mount with quick release lever. If my scope fails for any reason I can chuck it and use irons sights in matter of seconds.

 

The dust civer rail will not be solid, and zero will be an issue.

[pman 0]

Best bang for your buck is either a side mount, or an ultimak gas tube rail.

[Jaba1017 71]

My POSP always returns to zero. There is a ton of variation in quality between side mounted weaver rails. I would be surprised if any but the most expensive return to zero. Also check the height on those mounts because some of them are much too high. Kalinka sells a very low rail mount. It is 6 cm from the side rail to the weaver rail. The POSP measures about 6.5 cm from the rail to the bottom of the scope. So I would guess about 6 cm is as high as you want your rail if you want more than your chin on the buttstock when you look through it.

 

I just ordered one of these $159.99 specials with the T1 knock off red dot in a sight rail mount. I like the idea of getting the scope off the gas tube because of the heat there, and I like the idea of it not being mounted on the dust cover because of the instability there. I also liked the idea that this will be a lighter set up than a side rail optic all of which add over a pound to the rifle. Plus this mount is low enough to co-witness the irons and will permit a better cheek weld with my folder.

 

http://www.midwestindustriesinc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=421

[Johnny_BoomBoom 2]

_{I bought one from ebay from IWeapons(free international shipping), which in addition to the top rail has a side rail.....however, on intalling it (it tightens with two allen bolts) I noted that the top rail is offset to the RHS of the gun....so some modification will be requiered to the screw holes for the top rail securing screws to bring it back inot line! Through impatience (and that fact we have an outdoor shoot this weekend), I have also bought the BP-02 side rail to weaver adapter scope mount from the http://www.rusmilitary.com/images/223mag_saiga.jpg website. Will see how it goes!}

[Jaba1017 71]

Well I got the MI mini dot mount for the rear sight block. It was a fail. There were a number of things I could work with on the platform to make it a go, but the windage adjustment piece is so poorly designed that the product isn't usable. This feature isn't really a windage adjustment at all. I assume what it is for is to allow one to shift the base to line up with his FSB if he has a canted sight.

 

One there are no calibration marks on the windage piece so centering it has to be done by eye. Which wouldn't be so bad if you could adjust it with the optic mounted. But you have to mount the optic, check your center. remove the optic, tighten the set screw, mount the optic, check your center, remove the optic, readjust etc etc. And the piece moves around as you mount and de-mount the optic which brings you back to having to guess where center is again. And that wouldn't be so bad if you only had to do it once but that process will have to be constantly repeated because the set screw on the windage piece shoots loose before you can complete a magazine. Using loctite on the set the screw would help in preventing it from shooting loose, but then that makes even harder to adjust because you only get one shot to set it before it locks up. That's where I left mine. I had it centered. Removed the optic. Applied the loctite. Reassembled the windage piece. Remounted the optic. And it wasn't centered. And now it's loctite off center.

 

And I would continue to wrestle with it but the little aluminum thread holes on the optic are now all partially stripped out from the constant mounting and de-mounting and re-mounting of the optic which was necessary to set the windage. The optic's screw holes are not very durable. Certainly not durable enough for the constant screwing they are going to take in the MI mount.

 

Over all the system wasn't fully thought out.

1. There are no calibration markings on the windage piece

2. There is no mechanism to lock the sight down to the base and instead it relies on the competing tension of 4 screws pushing or pulling against one another. There are 9 screws total in this set up. The chances of no screws failing out of 9 is slim to none.

3. There are no dots on the rear sight to make it visible through the optic. It is suppose to co-witness but the rear sight is hardly visible.

4. Windage cannot be adjusted with the optic mounted making center impossible to find other than by dumb luck.

5. The screw holes on the optic aren't hardened steel, but are soft aluminum making them susceptible to stripping out. The constant mounting and de-mounting of optic which is required to set the windage makes stripping out the screws a certainty.

6. As designed the rear sight and the optic are not likely to co-witness except at extremely close range because the rear sight height when the base is mounted is approx equivalent to the point blank setting on a standard AK rear sight.

7. The rear sight leaf is not adjustable in this configuration severely limiting the use of the irons to point blank range.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Jaba1017

[Johnny_BoomBoom 2]

So tried out the Saiga with the BP-02 and a Leapers Bugbuster scope I had lying around.......was achieving a reasonable degree of accuracy at 200yds......still getting used to the gun itself though. Scope didn't take much zeroing in. No idea how readily the setup will retunr to sero if I take it off and put it back on yet though.