AK300 Series Mount by RSRegulate - Review by Voron

MMW named Vavilov, logo

 





TX-Zen:
I have come to really really like the RS Regulate modular system and am particularly impressed with the extreme low weight and versatility of the design, and how many combinations of optics can be mounted. I'll let Voron's review speak for itself but did want to say that I think this is the best US made mount and one that is very much lighter than the excellent NPZ or Alpha rails. With lower weight and higher availability I think the RS Regulate is a fantastic rail system. RS uses the castle nut style of clamp, more details are here

Update: As the years have rolled by I am happy to say that I think RS Regulate is the best US mount on the market - bar none. I have 4 or 5 mounts now for various optics including the Trijicon TA31 and the Browe BTO, and have been very satisfied with them over the years. There are other decent US mounts but there is no question in my mind that in the US, RS is the best by far.


BTO and ACOG TA31GH




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 Russia. 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, its 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. 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 lets 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 a 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 replacements with Picatinny rails 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.

here is an quick example of various side-rail attachments


Examples of low-profile red-dot mountsPK01-V, Belomo 1x Factory integrated side-rail red dot (top)
RS Regulate 300 series side mount with Aimpoint (bottom)

 

 

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. Russians have been using side mounts for a very long time. From AKs to SVDs to 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 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 evolution of Russian side mounts I suggest you visit my good friend TX-Zen's website https://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 quaility 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 Aimpoints as well as US-made ACOGs 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.
The mounts were good, but the company decided that there is always room for improvement and was able to come up with a better intergrated 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 the 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 the your siderail, 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.
RS Regulate 300 series side rail with Aimpoint attached. Adjustment made easy.




 



 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 a unforeseen or sudden force? The only thing that is holding it to the lower piece of the rail system are 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 LLC and I were addressing via email. After hearing my concerns regarding the design he sent me the new prototype for a classic Russian field test abuse.

here is an example of NPZ made 1P78 scope with 3 rigid support bars


here is another example of a NPZ side-mount with additional ribs to make strong and rigid

 

300 series RS Regulate system can be adjusted not only ant-to-post (anerior to posterior) on the Picatinny rail, but left to right as well.

 
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.

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.










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.







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 have 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.



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 fourth 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.







and here are the pictures of the target. As you can see, the first cotrolled group #1







then I marked these shots and did second controlled group


5th round was hiding in the 8 ring


and final controlled group #3


overall look


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 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 to succesfully 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. 






Voron
January 2012


The older, original series 30mm tube optic mount that started it all:










Design downloaded from free website templates.