Side-Rails Suck

Side-Rails Suck!
The RS Regulate AK-300 Review
by anton Voron
The Kalashnikov platform has seen rather a substantial overhaul of its ability to successfully mount and attach red
dots, collimator sights and other
optics. The original design that
allowed the AK series of rifles to
accept optics was developed
nearly 70 years ago by the Russian engineers in Soviet Union.
During the process of the
projectile exiting the barrel of an
AK-type weapon, the avtomat
exhibits much flex, starting at
the anterior end of the receiver
and ending at the end of the
barrel. If anyone reading this
has never seen AK fired in slow
motion, consider visiting your
favorite Internet video site to
watch this in action. Yes, the AK
does exhibit vertical flex that
puts a substantial amount stress
on the barrel and its components. When the developers
were looking for a solution to
properly scope their rifles, they
decided that one of the only
places on the avtomat that did
not exhibit substantial amount of
vertical as well as lateral flex
were the two lateral sides of
receiver. Does the receiver flex?
Well sure it does....but not
enough to make a difference for
a scope mount.
This is one of the
reasons why the stamped
receiver was chosen over the
milled receivers back in the late
50s. It was economical, steel
extrusion was finally perfected
and tooling was set up to mass
produce a receiver that would
survive high pressure as well as
stress from the detonation of the
round and the projectile traveling through the barrel. After all,
it’s the receiver's ability to
slightly flex that gives it a long
working life and earns a reputation as a dependable weapon
that is possibly the best assault
rifle in the world.
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I have read numerous times in US magazines and blogs that the "original" milled receiver is what makes
the rifle more accurate and dependable when compared to the cheap stamped one. This is simply not true. One
might ask- why the hell is the author trying to convince me of this phenomenon? I thought this was supposed
to be an article on the new RS Regulate scope mount? The reason will come in the next few paragraphs when
you will see what flexing allows to do to a piece of properly machined 6061 T-6 billet aluminum.
So let’s get back to the mounting solutions that were brought to life in the USA. We have seen gas tube
replacements, dust cover replacements as well as mounts that attach to front trunnion of the AK. These gadgets are equipped with a Picatinny rail that enables shooters to attach optics of their choice onto the avtomat.
Personally, I never understood why anyone would replace the gas tube of the AK with an aftermarket gas tube
that has a Picatinny rail for optics. First, the gas tube gets very hot, and second, you have to take the gas tube
apart to properly clean the rifle. Will it keep zero after re-attachment? Perhaps. On top of that, the optic sits
nearly 16 inches in front of the shooters eye. Keep in mind, this is just my perspective. When I look though an
optic, I like it to sit as close to my eye as possible to eliminate parallax and have proper eye relief. I also understand that some of these elements are absent when in use with a red dot, but I never found it comfortable
anyhow. I have little experience with dust cover rerails for mounting solutions outside Russian factory Izhmash
or Molot AK series of shotguns. Once again, I am not crazy about replacing a factory part with a newer aftermarket piece that has not undergone military testing or been proven through decades of battle use.
So what other options do we have? Like many of you I have read about the horrors of the side rails that
were attached to the left side of the receiver by the Russians (and other countries of AK manufacture). Drunk
Ivan installed it crooked, sideways and too high, so it was out of spec. I can’t even get this cheap commercial
MTK-83 mount on it. Oh... and the cheek weld is poor.
Relax, there is always a solution.
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Russians have been using side mounts for a very
long time. From AKs to SVDs and Romanian manufactured PSLs; side rails have proven themselves to be
reliable, robust and holding zero when properly adjusted
to the scope mount's base. The quick detach design
allows the shooter to remove the optic within a matter of
seconds and switch to iron sights in case the lenses
were broken or scope was toast.
Currently on the US market there are a few different side mounts that allow you to mount a scope onto
your rifle. Some are worth your time, others are not. This
is where its gets a little difficult for an ordinary US
shooter to have to make a decision on getting a proper
mount. There simply isn't a lot of information on this subject that is easily obtainable outside Internet forums or
other firearm-related blogs. Even there, the information
may or may not be correct, so I can see why so many
people chose to go the other route to solve their scope
mounting solution.
The purpose of this write-up is not to get the
reader familiarized with many different examples of
quality side mounts, but rather concentrate on a new
design, that was inspired by standard Russian ideology,
but perfected and tailored to the US market. For those
eager to learn more about the evolution of Russian side
mounts I suggest you visit my good friend TX-Zen's
website http://www.russianoptics.net/ or Doug Fords
http://www.avtomats-in-action.com/index.html
There
you will find more in-depth info on Russian methodology
of scoping the AK.
I have been using standard Russian side mounts
for many years. These are very high quality mounts that
are cast from a metal alloy and then pinned and screwed
to a solid metal base. Each country of origin may have a
slight variation in size and style of the side rail; that is
why it is so critical to properly adjust scope base to
YOUR side rail.
In this article we will focus on a new product by a
company called "RS Regulate." The company isn't new
to the side mount game; after all, it was this company
which first successfully adopted a side mount to a series
of Swedish-made Aimpoint® optics as well as US-made
ACOG® scopes using a proprietary clamp.
These had a Belomo style lower clamping
mechanism with a custom top piece that allowed shooter
to mount the optic low above the dust cover for proper
cheek weld. The side mount sits at the center of mass
with respect to the rifle, so the additional weight is
evenly distributed and does not affect the balance of the
rifle. These first generation RS Regulate mounts were
quite successful, as they allowed US shooters to easily
mount favorite optics they were already used to.
An example of NPZ made 1P78 scope with 3 rigid support bars
An example of a low-profile red-dot mount:
PK01-V Belomo 1x Factory integrated side-rail red dot
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RS Regulate 300 series side
rail with Aimpoint® attached.
Adjustment made easy:
The RS Regulate mounts were good, but the company decided that there is always room for improvement
and was able to come up with a better integrated system
that was a bit refined, more modular and more robust. The
new design had a better locking mechanism that allows the
shooter to secure the mount to any AK's side rail. We
already discussed that depending on the factory that
produced your particular AK, side rail dimensions may vary.
The new RS Regulate design is vaguely reminiscent
of the SVD locking mechanism, where the castle screw is
pulled up to allow loosen or tighten the bracket. Once you
have the mount attached to your side rail, you simply
unlock the tab, adjust the screw and secure it in position.
The new design of the lockup mechanism is solid and easy
to understand and use.
The new RS AK-300 modular system adds the capability to change upper optic mounts as needed and to position optics not only directly over-bore, but front-to-back.
When I first saw the new design, I was a bit concerned about the structural integrity of the superior (top)
piece of the mount. I thought what if the scope itself was
bumped from the right to left side by an unforeseen or
sudden force? The only thing that is holding it to the lower
piece of the rail system is the two screws. What about the
two rails that connect to the top round clamp which secures
the actual scope via four screws? Will they be able to withstand the pressure that could potentially crack them and
snap off?
`These were the questions that Scot Hoskisson, the
man behind RS Regulate and I were addressing via email.
After hearing my concerns regarding the design he sent me
the new prototype for classic Russian field test abuse.
Following simple guidelines of the scientific method,
I decided to put the mount through a series of tests that
would determine whether it would survive the harsh conditions of low temperature and heavy stress.
Early January in North East Pennsylvania typically
exhibits mild temperatures lingering around -10 degrees
Celsius with little snow. We setup our initial target at 100
meters and established a proper zero using a 1x Aimpoint®
red dot that I received with the mount. After this, I made the
necessary adjustments for the bullet drop at 300 meters for
the 53 grain 7N6 out of 16 inch AK-74s using the provided
Aimpoint® red dot. My target consisted of a standard silhouette with an orange 8x11 piece of paper stapled to the
center of mass. A five shot group was established and
recorded.
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The Test:
First things first: a simple drop test that would land the rifle directly on the optic, exerting stress vertically
on the mount. It took about six times for the rifle to finally land directly on the optic to yield desired outcome. The
field was frozen solid, so instead of some of the force being absorbed by the ground it was redirected straight
back to the mount itself.
Beginning the physical test after confirming initial zero. The drop test, or in this case: throw test
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I then proceeded to do ten standard pushups on the scope, once again directing the applied force directly
onto the mount. Right before going through with the following exercise I thought for sure that the two arms on the
mount would snap, or the screws would go out first. Wrong. Flexing is what kept this mount alive and solid; the
exact flexing of the stamped receiver is what keeps it going strong after thousands and thousands of rounds on
select fire.
Modularity
The new RS AK-300
modular system adds
the
capability
to
change upper optic
mounts as needed
and to position optics
not
only
directly
over-bore, but frontto-back.
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The
mount
has
survived test #1, but did it
retain zero? We went back
the 300 meter mark and
fired another 5 shot group to
see the aftermath.
I recorded and marked the
first 5 shots and compared
the 5 after the test. Please
keep in mind; this was not
any kind of bench-rest
shooting under comfortable
conditions, but rather practical approach in low temperatures and strong winter
wind. Very surprisingly, the
scope mount retained zero.
My 5 shot group was in line
with the previous 5-fired
rounds
and
impacted
directly in the center of mass
of the silhouette.
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The next test was to simulate a sudden
"bump" or a "hit" from left to right side of the
mount. With my right foot on the magazine and
the left foot on the optic I pivoted my body back
and forth to see how much pressure the mount
can absorb. Once again, I was wrong about
the original design. The mount endured, holding up a 6'1” 175 pound man. After the final
test we wanted to check the zero at 300
meters to see if the previous exerted force
would cause the shift in the scopes' POI.
Another 5 shot group was fired and compared
to the last string. Both scope and scope mount
retained their zero under these extreme conditions.
The Result:
I rarely add/replace factory parts on any of my
AKs. I tend not to slap all kinds of unnecessary
gizmos that only add weight and make the
avtomat bulkier and more difficult to wield.
This particular accessory will be added to one
of my rifles in the near future. For those who
seek a simple and reliable solution that will
allow you to successfully scope your AK without compromising its reliability I strongly suggest you look for these new side mounts from
RS Regulate and give them a chance.
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The Proof:
Here are the pictures of the target.
The first controlled group of 5 shots:
Close up of first controlled group:
I marked these shots and did 2nd controlled group:
Close up of second group after throw test:
Controlled group #3 after hit test:
The overall look:
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