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whats the best budget optic for a 7.62x39 saiga?


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Okay. I just broke another red dot and was wondering if anybody had what they consider "the best" budget optic for a saiga that can withstand the recoil of a 7.62x39.

I have been looking at various "sightmarks" and haven't seen any good reviews of them from people that put them on an AK-type.

They seem to hold up good for 223/5.56 but this was a claim made by my 2 dead red dots.

I have tried them on a beryl mount and a side mount and they all last no more than 100 rounds before they fail

If anybody has a sightmark or red dot/sight that holds up and costs under $200 please respond!

I've had an NC star 4-9x scope stay zeroed in but I do not want anything above 2x as I am a both eyes open shooter.

Open reflex of tube red dot suggestions welcome. Even quality copies will be considered.

Pictures are extremely welcome.

Please guys help a fellow saiga-owner (on a tight budget) out.

Also... if anybody has anything used that holds up throw me some numbers and I'll consider it.

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Bushnell TRS25 - $45-$55 when they run the rebate. Wont cowitness with Midwest Industries products.

Primary Arms Micro - $80

Vortex Strikefire - $120

Vortex Sparc - $150

 

All prices are sales prices, since you are price sensitive I assume you will do some shopping.

 

The SPARC has mount issues because of where they placed the diopter, and im not sure why its so much more than other microdots. Rumors are the Vortex have a design flaw in the battery compartment that leads them to crap out at 1k-1.5k rounds.

 

I grabbed the TRS25, which I like, but im going to get a PA Micro sooner or later. They are supposedly almost as good as a $400 aimpoint, and like the aimpoint have more mounting solutions than the TRS25.

Edited by mostholycerebus
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I've heard good stuff about all vortex stuff. I'm ran a UTG accuscope 1-4" on a .300blackout pistol with a 9" barrel. Besides the scope being heavy ( means it's built strong) it was great. I put it on my 5.56 midlength and other than weight love it. You can get it with a cross hair or "dounut of death" reticule. It's also illumated red or green. It cost me 120 local. It's sweet. As a 1x it's almost as fast as a reddot on 4x it's a scope. Best of both worlds. Now I have an eotech. It's the freaking nuts.

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The failures are as follows.

The first one was a 40$ and it was a trulgo. It worked fantastic and held zero for probably close to 200 round after the initial sighting in. The sight picture was great and while it held I loved it but eventually just kinda popped out of zero and sloped way down and the adjustment wouldn't work. Threw it away.

The second one was an open reflex of an off brand but it had decent reviews and I got it for 25$ on sale. It still holds zero from left to right but the elevation adjustment stopped working after about 100 rounds.

It was a "*somthing* and sons" brand. Didn't expect much. Just at only 20$ it was worth a try.

The sightmarks are looking good now that I've heard back from a few of you that own them. I haven't looked into the others mentioned but I certanly will now.

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For under 200 your best bets are the Bushnell TRS series, specifically the TRS25, and the Vortex Strikefire and Vortex SPARC. These are all quality optics and will easily withstand recoil from 7.62x39 (which isn't really that bad in the scheme of things).

I have a strike fire and I've taken it hunting. It works very well and combined with a UTG fifth gen detachable mount it's held zero perfectly. IT's not parallax free below 50 yards but neither is the bushnell. Primary arms makes some good aimpoint clones I'm told.

 

I was originally going to get a bushnell TRS but when I went to order I was told there was a recall and I'd have to wait. So I went for the strikefire so I wouldn't have to wait.

Edited by Tool_of_Society
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I highly recommend Primary Arms. They are based out of Pearland, Texas, and really have a quality product. I was skeptical of a dot for less than $100, so I tried one out on my M&P 15-22. Then tried one on an AR, and now I have one on my Saiga 7.62. They really are good optics, and you can choose your mount and order it all for less than $200.

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Semper, which primary arms optic do you have experience with. The more I see of them the better they look. I like the multi-reticle model and/or the aimpoint clone.

Have any pics of your saiga setup?

Thanks for the P.A. review of sorts as nobody else has posted one.

I'm probablly going to end up getting one of them. Or a vortex. As I like that they come with a 2x magnifier & are only about $160ish. But magnification is not too important. And the P.A.s look great.

 

Also somebody mentioned the "parabellum mount"

How much do those run? And I no longer use the saiga stock sights. I trimmed my barrel past the FSB and decided that in save of remounting the stock sights i'd just add magpul mbus sights as my beryl mount and quad rail make a pretty decently even (and long) sight plain.

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14e9w5k.jpg

 

There are flip up covers on the front and back but in this picture I have them closed. Mine came with a magnifier that screws in and is helpful with +100 yard shots. Naturally your field of view is diminished some and it's kind of weird to shoot with both eyes open but it works.

 

I hope to be able to get a classic wood AK sometime in the future.

Edited by Tool_of_Society
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Beautiful setup tool!

I love that stock. It was my 1st choice when I was looking but nobody had them. So I ended up with a scorpion armaments stock. And it has suprized me with its rugged sturdiness.

I have yet to figure out how to post pictures on threads but I have a near-current picture of my S762 on my profile album.

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Finishman2000, I already have magpul mbus sights on a flat plane. Also tech-sights (rear only) requires the ak front sight. I no longer have the stock front sight.

So as nice as the tech-sights might be I have no use for another set of iron sight and if I did use the money on new irons they'd have to be front and rear as my front sight is no longer on the gun.

I have back up flip up iron sights.

I'm in the market for a glass optic.

No batteries required is a good idea but if that was extremely important there are $400-500 mako tritium reflexs or for $220 I can get a 1-4 meuller red dot scope with a back up no battery required crosshair reticle.

Thanks for the suggestion and I'm sure these sights look great on your gun but I'm going a different direction with mine.

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I have the Vortex Strikefire, and, the Primary Arms multi-reticle that takes AA batteries.

That PA sight is da shit!

I've had that thing on for weeks on level 3 setting, and, the battery is still good to go.

The Strikefire is an amazing red dot.

The only disadvantage is the sight is fairly easy to turn on accidentally.

Not a serious problem because the battery life on it is fairly long, too.

The Strikefire also has a night vision brightness option, if your using night vision.

Oh! And that 2x screw in magnifier is an awesome extra! It can be used with the PA red dot too.

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John u. Thanks for your post! That's the kind of "reviews" I wanted to hear. I kind of like the idea of a red dot running AA's. I can fit 4 in my mako pistol grip alone. That's a big selling-point for me.

I've read about the "accidentally-on" problem with the vortex sights. That doesn't sound like a huge problem but the Primary Arms doesn't have that issue.

So maybe I'll look for the P.A. sight and a vortex magnifier.

Awesome that you added that they work together!

Only question I have now is which mount do you run with the P.A. and how high does it sit? I prefer a low-profile mount.

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John u. Thanks for your post! That's the kind of "reviews" I wanted to hear. I kind of like the idea of a red dot running AA's. I can fit 4 in my mako pistol grip alone. That's a big selling-point for me.

I've read about the "accidentally-on" problem with the vortex sights. That doesn't sound like a huge problem but the Primary Arms doesn't have that issue.

So maybe I'll look for the P.A. sight and a vortex magnifier.

Awesome that you added that they work together!

Only question I have now is which mount do you run with the P.A. and how high does it sit? I prefer a low-profile mount.

 

When you select a PA optic, you can choose which mount you want. For example, on my AR15 midlenght, I chose the high cantilever mount because that is what works best on that platform. With the AK, I have just the regular mount that is built into the bottom of the optic.

 

I have three PA dots, one on an AR, one on the converted Saiga, and one on a M&P 15-22. When you go to their site, the first three on the red dot store page are three I own. I love all three of them, but the third one on the page is my favorite.

 

PAM3M-1.jpg?1333119794

 

https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_Arms_MultiReticle_Red_Dot_Sight_PAM3M_p/pam3m.htm

 

 

The thing about "budget" red dot sights is that some are difficult to see in the daytime, and they often fail to hold zero for anything larger than a 22LR. The PA dots are very bright, and have very positive windage and elevation adjustments for sighting in. I am very impressed at how well they hold zero on the 7.62 and 5.56. One piece of advice if you get a PA dot....put some blue locktight on the threads when you tighten it to your rail. It will keep it nice and secure without overtightening.

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Semper... do they have an option for a quick detach mount? If so have you had experience with it? And finally... some people seem to dislike or not trust quick detach mounts. Is there really warrent for that distrust?

I have only ever had 1 quick detach anything and it worked great... it was a ak side mount. But I haven't had enough experience with them to really have an opinion.

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Semper... do they have an option for a quick detach mount? If so have you had experience with it? And finally... some people seem to dislike or not trust quick detach mounts. Is there really warrent for that distrust?

I have only ever had 1 quick detach anything and it worked great... it was a ak side mount. But I haven't had enough experience with them to really have an opinion.

I have seen the quick detach mount offered at PA, but I cant remember what it was offered on. I have no experience at all with quick detach mounts. Sorry.

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