Red dot?

[73dodgedart]

I want to put a red dot on my AK but Im not a rich man. Are there any good ones to be had at a resonable price(200 or under)? Also what is the difference in the kind that look like a scope and the kind that is just one lens? Which is better?

[cheygriz]

Depends. The Russian "Kobra" is a pretty good red dot if your AK has the side mounting capability so that it can be mounted soidly.

[wayne in boca]

Bushnell Trophy is a good one.I have one on a Daewoo Dr200 and another on a .45 ACP FAL carbine and they work well.Around $100.00

[FS2K]

Hello!

Hakko Makes good sights for a reasonable price. Their "Blueline" Aimpoint ML2 copy is a good solid sight.

NC Star makes a good holographic sight that has very good battery power usage, I have one on my Bobcat.

You can mount any sight solid on an AK when mounting it to a side reciever mount. You also have the option of using a Ultimak forward "scount mount".

As for which is better, both types are good and it is up to personal preference. Oper holographic sights are easy to pick up on targets quickly, maybe even faster than the 'scope' type red dots.

[AK103K]

I've got Tasco, BSA, Hakko and Bushnell dot sights. They all now ride on paintball or airsoft guns, or sit in a box somewhere. I also have Aimpoints. They have replaced all the others.

The Hakko is one of the "heads up" type sights with the projection type reticule. It works fine, and held up well, the problem for me is, I always feel like I have to look for the reticle then the target. Its not natural to shoot with. It also sits to high, as do most of these type sights. They tend to block your field of view and force you to keep your head to high.

The el cheapo BSA(cost me $35 and everyone bad mouths them) has actually worked very well. It has a mount attached to the tube, which helps keep it low and you dont have to buy a ring. I've had it mounted on everything from .22's to my MP5 and its still going strong. Its riding on my Airsoft MP5 now.

The Bushnell was the more expensive "cheap" dot sight. Its a Trophy with the multiple reticles. Works OK if you leave it set on one of them, but the zero changes when you change them. Its in a box.

The Tasco Pro Point actually did pretty well, until the AK it was mounted on took a spill to the car port floor. It was sighted and cowitnessed with the irons and it was instantly noticeable that something was wrong when I checked it. Shooting verified it, and also showed that something else was wrong. The dot would go out when the rifle was fired and you had to fiddle with the knob to get it back on. Its now doing duty on my kids paintball gun.

The Bushnell, Tasco, Hakko and BSA all did duty on AK's at some point. The BSA and Tasco could be cowitnessed, the Bushnell, only at the 400M setting and up. The Hakko could not. The lower the sight sits, the more natural the rifle is to shoot with and snap shots are very natural and fast. The Hakko sat to high and pretty much sucked.

I've shot the Kobra's and personally didnt like them, but thats just me. I know a number of people that have them and use them. They worked, but most all the rear mounted sights of this type sit WAY to high, and are right in your face, making fast, natural shooting tough, if not impossible. With low, forward mounted sights, the rifle shoulders like your shooting iron sights and you get the same cheek weld.

Battery life on all of them (except the Aimpoints) sucks. If you forget to turn it off, it most likely will be when you next go to use it. You need to carry a couple of extra somehow on the gun. None of the ones I've used (except the Aimpoints) offer a carrier for a spare.


I know your looking for a "cheaper" sight, and we touched on this in another thread, but I'm going to lead you toward the more expensive Aimpoints again. :)

They do cost about three times as much as most of the others, this is true, but its money well spent. The Aimpoints are rugged and built to take abuse. They are waterproof to something like 75 feet, not just a rain shower.

Their battery life is something to marvel at. The M2/ML2 has a 10,000 hour life, and the M3/ML3 has a 50,000 life. Thats about 1 year or 5 years, of full time, 24/7 on. I dont even bother to turn mine off any more. Just in case you forget, Aimpoint, as well as some of the mount makers, offer on board spare carriers.

The Aimpoints also have no parallax(other than very close distance) and are available with 2 or 4moa dots. I have no troubles at 200 yards with the 4moa on standard IPSC targets, but beyond that the dot is a little big.

For the AK, if you use a Ultimak mount and an Aimpoint with a low ring, you can cowitness you sights to the dot. If you use one of the AR lever mounts, you can pop it on and off, with no loss of zero, but its to high to cowitness. It still sit low enough to get a good cheek weld and shoot naturally with.

For the money I've spent trying the "cheaper" dot sights, with not real great success, I could have bought another Aimpoint and a lever mount. Like I said before, its better to knuckle down, buy quality, and cry once. Only a rich man can afford cheap stuff. :)

Bushnell on the left, Tasco on the right.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid131/pc22f603a9c3128a3550bd8178f1b7d8e/f7abfeb5.jpg


Same guns, Aimpoints.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p21e2cd55b287026d5f755df9cd721533/ec4ebf3e.jpg

BSA on the airsoft on the bottom, Aimpoint on top.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/p7888b33c7ce3d0e587de7a75845c8e1f/ebccefc8.jpg

[hossdaniels]

ultradot is a great choice for around $130. Very well built with a long battery life.

[UniversalFrost]

Aimpoint CompM or M2 all the way!!

I have both and they beat all the others hands down.

Also like the previous post, I have had good results with the cheap BSA red dots. I have a couple mounted on various .22's and they have never let me down yet.

the tasco red dots have only been a let down for me. poor battery life, breakage under normal conditions, poor glass, etc... waste of money!

spend a few extra bucks and get the best.. I bought my latest COMP M on gunbroker for around 200 with all the accessories brand new (army surplus I think, becuase of the NSN's and sealed in army issued box) and shoots the same as my COMP M2 for half the price.

[Jpelaston]

Kobra... basically made for the gun

[73dodgedart]

Thanks for all the great advice I want the aimpoint so bad, and I think I might just have to save my pennies to get one. The only problem is everytime I get my pennies saved my 73 dodge dart sucks them up.


PS: I love the all black AK thats exactly what I want to do with mine. :)

[grimjaw]

I have a Millet SP1 on a 9mm carbine that has been great. I don't know what battery life is like overall, but I've accidentally left it on the highest setting overnight (twice) and it's still moving right along with the same battery. It's held zero under recoil from that gun; don't know what it would be like on an AK, although the SAR3 doesn't really generate that much more perceived recoil to me. The SAR1 I have seems to bang quite a bit more.

I have an Aimpoint clone on the way that was given good reviews over on AK47.net. The word on it was that it would be fine for range use, but you wouldn't want to go to war with it.

Both the options I mentioned cost me less than $150 OTD, including mounts.

PC9/Millet in the middle.

http://www.grimjaw.net/mig/albums/theboomgoesthere/longgun/1894c_pc9_camp45-1.jpg

jm

[AK103K]

...everytime I get my pennies saved my 73 dodge dart sucks them up.
I know that one, we used to have a 72 Dart Swinger. :)