Dedicated AK74 Optics
It shouldn't really be a
surprise if you're into AK's but the Russians have
produced a number of newer designs for the AK74 than
just the older PSO/POSP series optics that we are
familiar with. During the past twenty odd years they have built a few dedicated
5.45 optics which have modern features and interesting
concepts. While NPZ has been making some high tech and
interesting optics, BelOMO has seemed to stay a little
more traditional with their designs, at least with
what we have available in the US. Some of their
prototype optics are extremely interesting. Many of
the BelOMO concepts seem to be aimed at securing
military contracts and because of that there are a few
prototype models that have made their way to the USA
that are not in serial production.
Note that other than the similar Zeiss ZFK there are
no known versions of the PSO or POSP that are
calibrated in 5.45x39. There are ways to use these
optics with AK74 type rifles but none that are
designed specifically for them.
Being a 5.45 buff I've picked up a few of the
dedicated military style 5.45 optics and figured I'd
put out some observations and theories along with some
hands on experiences.
Originally there were four main optic types
calibrated specifically for the 5.45x39 round, but
around 2013 BelOMO introduced the PO4x24P2, and
recently in 2016 the amazing PO 4x17 was available in
the US
(Note that while I list 1P29 as a dedicated 5.45 optic it is actually cammed for various calibers and can be used with the SVD, RPK and PKM among others. Likewise PO 4x24P has a 7.62x39 version as well, and PO 3.5x21P comes in 5.45 and 7.62x39 as well as probably one version of heavy machine gun)
***
After many many years and lots of rounds down
range, in my opinion the best all around 5.45x39
optics are: (in order)
PO 4x17 (AK74 reticule)
1P78 Kashtan
PO4x24P2 (AK74 reticule)
Po 4x17 is better suited for civilian activities,
but Kashtan is going to be a tougher built optic (and
has also been formally adopted by the Russian Army and
VDV airborne units).
The only practical issue with Kashtan is that in order
for the BDC to work you must use the 400m zero
principle, which can make this optic trickier to use
in civilian settings. For real world shooting against
full-size or half-size silhouettes the 400m zero is
very practical and quite effective, but it is not
optimized for shooting small targets for fun. This
makes it great for combat but not as easy for civilian
shooting. Since the 400m zero equates to about a 10
inch difference between point of aim and point of
impact at 100m, you can see it can be harder to hit
something like a clay pigeon or coke can at those
distances.
By contrast the reticule pattern of the BelOMO
series AK74 optics is extremely effective and very
simple. The boresight cross gives you point of aim =
point of impact at 100m, making it very easy to shoot
any size target. For the AK74 there are range marks
from 100m all the way to 1000m for each 100m increment
which gives you a consistent point of aim and sight
picture for each target no matter how large or how
small.
It is hard to find a better reticule pattern, but it
is busier than Kashtan and not quite as fast compared
the 400m zero
PO 4x24 is BelOMO's equivalent of Kashtan and uses the
same AK74 reticule as PO 3.5x21P and PO 4x17, which
makes it on par with Kashtan.
All around PO 4x17 is the most useful and versatile
optic of the three. It is very lightweight, has a
highly effective reticule and can be mounted on almost
any rifle because of it's picatinny clamp. To me this
is a must have optic for the AK74 or 223 / AK101
owner. Kashtan is highly collectible and a very fine
optic indeed, but for the average shooter PO 4x17 will
be the better choice
If you are a civilian and can only pick one I would
recommend PO 4x17 with the RS Regulate side mount, or
a different quality US or Russian mount.
***
NPZ
1P78 Kashtan - Russian modern issue for AK74M and RPK74
(Includes 7.62x39 versions as well)
Classic 1P78 Kashan (top)
The new and ultra rare Picatinny Kashtan 1P (middle)
and the Picatinny Kashtan P1 (bottom)
NPZ
1P29 - Soviet copy of British Trilux/SUIT
BelOMO
PO 3.5x21P - 3.5x magnification with extremely wide
field of view
BelOMO
PO4x24P2
East German
Zeiss ZFK 4x45 - Former DDR cold war scope similar to
the PSO-1
PO 4x17 on RS
Regulate mount
I have not personally heard of a PSO or POSP type
optic calibrated for 5.45x39, but it shouldn't be
difficult to use any of them with a 400m
zero as long you realize the turrets and
additional chevrons won't compensate for bullet drop.
In a pinch POSP optics will work just fine as long as the proper AK or universal mount is used (SVD mounts do NOT slide on from the front and even though they may fit they will not hold zero unless by pure luck)
Top left: ZFK on SLR105 and PO 3.5x21P on AKSU
Top right: 1P29 on SGL31 and 1P78 on SGL31