So, I was reading this thread: http://ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=56&t=98099 and I thought, I have to be able to do something until ML gets his AK mount built.

The wheels started turning... I had some stiff to order from Tantal, and I had him throw in a BP-02. I was going to have my smith mill off the mounting nubs for the rail, when I started thinking; What if I just drill 2 holes after I pull the rail off? I already had a PK-23 red dot in a fake ARMS mount to play with. It's low, but it still doesn't co-witness. I could get it about 2mm lower if I had my smith machine off the raised part of the ARMS ring, but I probably won't do that for a temporary solution.

About 3 hours later, here it is. Haven't had a chance to go shoot it yet, but everything is solid. BSW

Excellent!  In fact, you inspired me to modify my BP02 mount, which I just finished.  It was an easy and very worthwhile mod!  If ML's mount co-witnesses, I'll go for it.  Otherwise, the newly modifed BP02 fits the bill nicely.  

The BP02 mount comes with a long rail mounted on top.  The rail is held on with two screws and two pins.  The rail is long enough to install a traditional scope with two rings.  I only wish to mount an Aimpoint Comp 3 so I cut the rail down in length.  This was better, but the AimPoint still sat higher then I would have preferred and was not perfectly centered over the bore.  Following the idea posted by Brian, I cut the rail down so it would sit bewteen the two ears on top of the mount, the ears to which the rail was formerly mounted to.  I carefully cut and filed the rail so it fit snugly between the ears.  I then placed the mount back on the rifle and sighted over the top of the rail and through the iron sights.  Doing so, I was able to tap the rail into perfect alignment with the iron sights. Once the rail was perfectly centered and aligned, I placed a c-clamp on it to hold it firmly in place.

The next decision was to figure out the best way to secure the rail.  The ears on the mount provide all of the recoil supported needed, so I only needed to be concerned with holding the rail in place.  My first thought was to drill and tap the top of the mount and secure the rail with machine screws.  However, the mount is very thin between the ears, not leaving much to thread.  I figured the strongest way to secure the rail would be with machine screws and nuts, but I didn't want it to look like a Billy-Bob rig either.  I decided to go with the screws/nuts secured with LocTite for best strength and do it in a such a way that it wouldn't look like a hack job.

The mod came out perfect!  The mount is strong, looks nice and keeps the Aimpoint  lower and centered over the bore.  Now I'll need to hit the range and get it sighted in.

Thanks to briansmithwins for the idea and inspiration!    

Here are a series of pics of the BP02 modification with comments following each;



Photo 1; View of the finished product.  The rail was cut to fit snugly in the recess between the two ears on the mount.  The rail was formerly mounted on TOP of the ears - you can see the tapped holes on each side where it was attached.



Photo 2; A view from the top.  Notice how the new rail position is shifted to the left, which brought the AimPoint into perfect alignment with the bore and iron sights. The tapped holes in the ears is the centerline of where the rail was formerly mounted.



Photo 3; A bottom view.  The round head brass machine screws were filed down to provide clearance to the receiver cover, of which there is plenty.



Photo 4; BP02 and Aimpoint Comp 3 mounted on rifle.  It is almost impossible to see the brass nuts under the Aimpoint.



Photo 5; Aimpoint now sites lower and in alignment with the bore.  See the "before modification" photo below for comparison.

Now here are some innovators with brass nuts!

Quoted: Now here are some innovators with brass nuts!

LOL - good one!

Range Report

Amazingly, the Aimpoint was only off by about 3 inches at 100 yards on the modified mount (all windage).  After re-zeroing, I fired an 11 round group as follows;

Fire 5 rounds, removed BP02/Aimpoint from side rail and then remounted.
Fire 3 rounds, removed/replaced as above.
Fire 3 rounds, removed/replaced as above.

The 11 rounds were well centered on the target, with 9 of the shots coming in at 2-7/8 inches and the other 2 shots taking the group size out to 3-1/2 inches.  Considering it was under bright mid day sun with the Aimpoint cranked to maximum brightness (and the usual "blossoming" of the dot at that setting), I am pleased with the performance.

So now let's see what Larue comes up with!

I'll get up with Larue when they get their wares out until then it looks you guys got the solution.

Excellent work gentlemen.

Brilliant.

Update from this Sunday's shooting: Sight zeroed just fine. I zeroed it at 50 yards and was able to get good (3.5MOA) groups at 100 yards. Repeatability was within 1.5 MOA after I switched scopes and replaced the red dot. All in all I like it and am going to try it at this weekend's rifle match.

It would be mega awesome if the PK-23 would co-witness, but I don't see that happening without a major rebuild of the BP-02. The BP-02 sits just a little too high. OTOH, the BP-02 is too low to allow the dust cover to be removed with the scope mount in place. BSW

Excellent work!!

I followed you guys lead also, and here is the result.

Quoted: Now here are some innovators with brass nuts!

Ditto...I like that

edwin97,

Tell us how you made the QD sling swivels bases in your fore arm and butt stock.  (On the right side) Interested minds want to know

Thanks,

Mick

Quoted: edwin97, Tell us how you made the QD sling swivels bases in your fore arm and butt stock.  (On the right side) Interested minds want to know Thanks, Mick

Mick, here are the directions I posted on another forum.


Yes, Uncle Mike's QD bases.


The front is easy, just locate where you want it and drill a center hole in the hand guard.  Then open it up to get to the size of the QD base.
Then drill a hole in the heat shield for the mounting bolt and bolt it down.
I had to grind the nut a little thinner to get clearance with the barrel, but it'll depend on your particular setup. Keep in mind you may get some interference with the heat shield and the receiver when you put the lower hand guard back on if you're not careful where drill the hole for the retaining bolt (ask me how I know!).

The rear is more difficult, you have to be careful to mount it between the "legs" of the sling swivel retainer inside the stock.  
I just took off the sling plate on the left side of the stock, put the bolts back in to hold the retainer in place, then drilled exactly between the two screws completely through the stock, retainer, and out the other side, paying attention to the angle.  
Then opened the hole up a couple of drill bit sizes at a time till the QD base was a tight fit. You'll probably have to remove a little material on one of the "legs" of the retainer for it to fit properly.
You'll also have to space it out a little from the retainer so it will protrude a couple of mm from the stock so the swivels will lock in place (ask me how I know!).
Some of those nylon tubular spacers work fine, I had the right length but you can cut them to fit.
Then you must secure it with a pan (??) head bolt through the swivel and into a nut on the other side.
You can relieve some of the material under the sling plate so the nut will sit flush, then remove the loop and bolt the bare plate back down over your handiwork.

The left handed sling setup removes my major complaint about the  AK rifles. In the past, like on my old NHM-91, or M-78 Valmet, I would put a swivel stud at the bottom of the stock and another in place of the cleaning rod in the front hand guard retainer.
I guess the lefties are the cooks or tank gunners or ordinance disposal guys in the old Soviet Union!

Quoted: I followed you guys lead also, and here is the result. i192.photobucket.com/albums/z238/edwin907/Aim.jpg i192.photobucket.com/albums/z238/edwin907/Aim3.jpg

That's one fine looking AK!
Great pictures, too!

Brian Smith is the guy I got the idea from!  Edwin and I went to a slightly lower ring, and I added a SAW grip to mine;

.

Quoted: ...I added a SAW grip to mine

How do you like the SAW grip? Is it a worth while upgrade?

BTT for future reference.

ost

Sorry, I am an AK newbie...will this BN02 mount work with my Saiga?  Looks like a great option!

You mean BP-02?  I sure hope so, since I ordered one for my Saiga.  I didn't get it yet.

If you Saiga accepts standard AK type (slide on from back) optic mounts like the Kobra of PK-whatever, the BP-02 will work. If the Saiga takes SVD type (slide on from front) optic mounts than it won't work.

I don't own a Saiga so I can't tell you for sure. BSW

this is my saiga, will it work?

Quoted: this is my saiga, will it work? i184.photobucket.com/albums/x124/jackal2001/ak103d.jpg

Yeah, what he said!


(my humble Saiga)

The Saiga uses the ak type mount that slides on from the rear so yes the BP02 low mount will work.

Quoted: You mean BP-02?  I sure hope so, since I ordered one for my Saiga.  I didn't get it yet.

Yes, BP-02!  My bad.

Quoted: Quoted: ...I added a SAW grip to mine How do you like the SAW grip? Is it a worth while upgrade?

Since G17C hasn't answered you yet...i've got a SAW grip on my Saiga AK. It improved my accuracy & handling of the rifle. The grip gets fatter further to the bottom, and that seems to make it easier to bring up & down from the shoulder pivot point when on the range.

I also seem to spend more time shooting with this rifle because it just feels more comfortable with the SAW grip.

BP-02 scope mount modifications done by a good friend of mine.

What kind of optic is that on your saiga?I like the looks of your set up.What type battery does it use?I've been thinking of getting a kobra but this looks good.Where to purchase one?Thanks for any info.

PK-23 optic on a modified BP-02 Mount in a brownells 30mm optic mount.

Got it from Tantal here:
www.avtomats-in-action.com/bstakoptics.html

Quoted: BP-02 scope mount modification i184.photobucket.com/albums/x124/jackal2001/scoped_saiga2.jpg

Holy Cow, that looks awesome!
And even more, it looks Russian.

I wonder how many of those mounts were modified by Russian military personel themselves.

I wasn't sure at first, but great choice on the scope!

Yep it looks pretty sweet.  Hey Edwin, you need to clean out you IMs again.

Same picture after some Photoshop.  Now it is more Russian

OK I got a question.  
Is the rail low enough now to see the irons over it without an optic on it?  More specifically if I mounted an optic with some medium height see through rings could I use the irons through the holes in the rings?
Or should I just get a side mount that's high enough to see under to begin with?

It may be but I don't know.  The 30mm mount I used is now locktighted to the rail, so I would need to remove the whole mount instead of just the optic.

If you want to use both at the same time, it would probably be best just to use the high mount.  I am selling my old mount that the optic came with if you want to buy it, over Here in the EE.

If you definitely need to co-witness sights you can make an adapter plate for the bp-02 so that the rail comes at the receiver from the side rotating the mounting ring 90 deg. clock-wise you would be able to move the optic down to almost touch the receiver cover.

A question for you guys.....Why the hell is the mount made off center in the first place? Nice job on the mod by the way , I may have to do the same.I just wish that there was a good quality low profile mount out there for us,I just can't bring my self to put a UTG or Ultimak thingy on a 900.00 gun (SAM 7A1R)

Quoted: If you definitely need to co-witness sights you can make an adapter plate for the bp-02 so that the rail comes at the receiver from the side rotating the mounting ring 90 deg. clock-wise you would be able to move the optic down to almost touch the receiver cover.

I don't have a machine shop, so I actually can't make an adapter plate. If you can do it, they would sell like hotcakes. BSW

You wouldn't necessarily need a machine shop.If you cut the mount off just where it starts to bend over the receiver you would have a flat surface to bolt a 1/8" thick piece of aluminum.On that piece of aluminum you could bolt on a weaver rail and you could use spacers under the rail to adjust the centering of the optic over the receiver.A drill, dremel, and maybe a hacksaw.

I tried to take another pic outside today since it was sunny.  I kept stepping in the shadow.  Oh well....

tap

burst

This may not be the best thread for this, but what the heck!

A little background: I bought a Kobra from Tantal a little more than two years ago and had it on my "tactical" AK for just short of two years when it died on me.  I've shot a couple times since then with the irons, and while I do okay with 'em, my aging eyes don't handle irons nearly as well as they do an optic.  I wanted to get one, but was a little turned off the Kobra thing as a result of mine dying.  (No disrespect here for Tantal, the Kobra was clearly out of warranty.)

I've been waiting for the LaRue mount, but after the above, I just couldn't take it anymore.  I'd been out of work since October and started a new job two weeks ago.  Time to upgrade.  

I finally bit the bullet and ordered a PK-23 from Tantal yesterday, along with a BP-02 low mount.  Also on the way is an Aimpoint 30mm ring from Brownells.  I got confirmation from Tantal that the red dot and the BP-02 are on their way.  I'm stoked.  I'm not the handiest with machining, but after reading about modding the BP-02 to get the optics lower I'm pretty sure I can handle it with the tools I've got.

Just had to share.  My wife isn't into guns and just nods her head and says "That's nice" when I talk about stuff like this.  

Quoted: My wife isn't into guns and just nods her head and says "That's nice" when I talk about stuff like this.

LOL!  Same here...bought my wife a RRA middy for our anniversary three years ago.  I put it in her hands and she says,

"Whats this?"
Me, "It's your new AR....isn't it pretty?"
Her, "It's mine?"
Me, "Yup, all yours."
Her, "I can do what ever I want with it?"
Me, "Yup."
Her, "OK, sell it." as she hands it back to me.
Me, "NO! NO! NO! OK!   It's not yours anymore."

Great idea.  Thanks for the fix.  Got me where I wanted to be with my AK.

Can you guys who have mounted as above with the low Aimpoint single rings point me to a source for them?

Is the BP-02 Weaver or Picatinny Spec?  Is it part #10818?
I'd also like to find the clamp style shown above...

Quoted: Can you guys who have mounted as above with the low Aimpoint single rings point me to a source for them? Is the BP-02 Weaver or Picatinny Spec?  Is it part #10818? I'd also like to find the clamp style shown above...

Tantal at avtomats-in-action.com/ has the BP-02s and much Comblock sighting equipment, among other things. I can't recommend him enough.

BSW

tag for later.

Quoted: My wife isn't into guns and just nods her head and says "That's nice" when I talk about stuff like this.

Yep.