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Posted: 2/4/2008 2:35:00 PM EDT
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I've read all the posts on "how to fix" canted sights, but my situation is a little different. First off, my sight post must be adjusted a good amount to the left to be on. The FSB does not look canted to me, but the front sight post look like it may be slightly leaning left as well. The gun is a Poly Legend, with milled receiver. The barrel is the heaver AK 47 (Chinese), not the AKM thinner barrel. As far as I know, there is no way to fix this. If I adjust the FSB to center the post the front sight base (FSB) will definitely be canted left. The rear sight looks straight/level. The only thing I can think of is why my sights are as they are is because: * The barrel is slightly bent * The barrel in receiver is somewhat off. The amount my front sight is off still leaves me some room for adjustment left, so it is mainly a visual thing to me. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix something like this? I guess I could always get one of the adjustable rear PRK sights, but I don't think that looks "correct" on a regular AK. |
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Following the above comment you could just poke yourself in the eye and make it so you don't notice it any more or try to straighten it. While a picture speaks a thousand words a video speaks more. Depending on how it is tilted you could fix this by knocking out the pins on the front sight and correctly the grooves in the barrel. If everything on the barrel is off you may need to just get the whole barrel to twist. Good luck and don't accept anything less than your best when building/working on an AK. |
| I thought i had the exact same problem as you. I failed miserably at drifting out the FBS pins, the rear one would not budge. But i went back and re examined the problem. I set the rifle in a vise and used a straight edge and a string line. I lined up the FSB, rear sight notch, and the recoil spring push button. I decided, that with the FSB drifted to the center of its windage, that the rear leaf spring was my problem. I chuked up a dremel carbide cutter, and removed the rear leaf. I ran the cutter through the holes in the Rear sight base just to clean them up a little and line them up a little better. It might have moved the top of the holes up a tiny bit. After reinstalling the leaf, i checked with the string and everything lined up much better. After a range test, and a little adjustment with the sight tool, i wa banging the 8" gong at 100 yrds. |
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I will use your idea to line everything up using a string and straight edge to see what may be off. I'm thinking it is my rear sight in some manner as well, but could not think of a way to modify it where it might help. Obviously, being a Poly Legend, I don't want to modify it too much or screw anything up. To the one reply, yes, I could just accept it (as I have done for more than 20 years). I have two other AKs and everything is in alignment, so this bothers me everytime I pick up the Legend. If I can fix it without a major project I'd like to try. As I mentioned, another option is the RPK rear adjustable sight, which makes a lot of sense, but... just doesn"t look right to a purest. Thanks for all the replies.  |
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I have found that on a few of my factory and personal builds that sometimes the barrel points in "weird" directions. IE on a norinco the barrel seems to curve to the right. On one of my romanian builds the barrel curves left. After checking with straight edges and strings and such, I am convinced that some aks trunnions are drilled out slightly off. When the barrel is pressed in it then appears to be going in a direction other than straight. That being said, mine are all fairly accurate. I assume this is because the rear sights are above the trunnion and the front is , well , on the barrel. I do wish they were all straight though, but these rifles were designed for fast easy production. |
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I think cetme1 is right. I have a Polish AKM that had everything straight. But the sight post had to be off to one side to print on target. That messed up the sight picture. I finally settled for building in 1/8" of cant into the front sight so the post would be almost centered. That made the sight picture better. I felt bad having to cant it like that. But for the life of me I could not figure what might have been crooked in the rifle. I once had a Yugo kit with the rear site smashed off to one side. Those aren't braced on the sides as well as Euro AKMs are. So I had to smash it back to even it up. This Polish one had me stumped. After a couple weeks I forgot all about the cant. It is slight and barely noticeable. But I prefer the better site picture from having the site post centered so it was the best correction for me. |
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Probably easiest fix is the RPK rear sight (if I can find one in stock). To me, it does not necessarily "look right", but makes practical sense. Keeping the old sight, nothing would be permanently changed on my Polytech Legend. I would have thought by now that someone would manufacture an adjustable AK rear sight that looks "close" to the original. (I did find one made of plastic and there is just something wrong with that!). It seems there is the market for a quality steel one. (PS: I know there are "peep" sights and such, but I'd want it close as possible to the regular AK rear sight in design). |
Someone already has. Quality windage adjustable rear sights with tritium inserts. Tritium front posts are also available. www.championgunsights.com/products.asp?cat=29 EDIT: add photo, compliments of Champion Gun Sights.  
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