Author: BigSal

Galil ACE Micro

~ BigSal
I wanted to take a moment to discuss the fitment of the Galil Micro handguard on the Galil ACE frame. As you can see from the picture, the handguard will fit, but when securely attached to the front sight base and receiver, it will have a slight upward cant. The handguard feels fantastic, despite the odd angle.

Attero Arms Mount for Trijicon RMR

~ BigSal

Guys, a lot of people ask me what the best way to run a traditional red dot sight setup is on an AK if one happens to have an astigmatism. As it turns out, my eyes are bad… really bad, and I constantly get the starburst effect from most major collimator sights. My go to when running an AK is a prism scope, or LPVO, but I’ve had fairly decent results with the Trijicon dual illuminated RMR. A really great way to mount this optic is using the Arrero Arms RMR mount. Here are some pictures. Apologies for the lighting differences, I am not the best photographer. Armacon handguard pictured, but not discussed.

Zenitco B-33: The KING of optic mounting solutions on the AK platform

~ BigSal
People are always asking what the most stable mounting solution for LPVO or large-frame prism scopes on the AK platform is. Without a doubt the answer is the Zenitco B-33. The unit is held solidly in place by four separate tension/ connection points and will return to zero each time you open the dust cover to access the inside of the rifle. I am aware that they are hard to come by, but given the choice, I recommend taking the time to find one.

AK12 Acquired!

~ BigSal

After picking up an AK12 kit last year and waiting for the good folks at InRange C2 to have time to put it together for me, I was extremely happy when this thing showed up on my porch! I will be shooting it next Friday if time allows. Vickers sling attached as well.

UPDATE: I finally had a chance to shoot this machine and it is a surprisingly light rifle to wield, with less felt recoil than my 74m-pattern rifles.

Zenitco DTK-2 Style Brakes

~ BigSal

I wanted to compare the various DTK-2 Style brakes available for the AK platform at the moment. The original design is credited to Zenitco of the Russian Federation. Several U.S. Vendors have copied the design.

From left to right in photo one: Copy made by Dnepr0mike on theAKforum w/ 24m threads, Original Zenitco w/ 24m threads, Copy made by Palmeto State Armory w/ 24m threads, and Original Zenitco w/ 14m threads. The Palmetto copy is featured in photo two on an AK104-type firearm. Original pictured below the firearm for reference. We will take each of these for a whirl, and report back at some point in the future.

~ BigSal
Sorry guys, I’ve been away for a bit on business. I will try to update this blog more regularly. Speaking of updates: I added an Ultimak gas tube rail and a M-13 Short booster to the AKS-74U pistol build. I’ll take it out to shoot sometime this week.

Hungarian Modernization Efforts (From 2016)

~ BigSal
An interesting video dealing with a now-defunct Hungarian modernization effort of the AK-63 model from 2016. Who knows how far they would have progressed if this company had continued their work. Sadly, the Hungarian’s have adopted a non-AK platform service rifle not long after this video was made.

Palmetto State Armory Waffle Magazine

~ BigSal

I was able to run a few different colored PSA 7,62×39 waffle magazines this weekend. We are impressed with the quality of these products, and at $9.99 a piece, they are an absolute steal! These are near clones of the Bulgarian circle-10 magazines (which were designed by the famous Bulgarian engineer Ivan Kolev). There are some differences between these and the originals, including a slightly shorter steel reinforcement plate on the spine, and a gigantic (and obnoxious) logo that PSA placed on the left side of the magazine (See picture above).

***UPDATE: I had a chance (on the ar15 dot com web forum) to ask the owner of PSA if these things were still available, and he mentioned that they were designing a second generation magazine that will be “cooler”. I let him know these were his best product, but I hoped the second generation has a smaller, less awful looking logo.