Fleeting Survival's Strike Industries AK Rail review

Nice review here.  They too found it a solid, lightweight solution.  One issue they did come across that didn't surprise me but I didn't have was that the gas tube lever couldn't be thrown.  I think on the Draco carbine that I reviewed it on had a looser lever and I was able to get it thrown.  I really hope SI comes out with a optic specific one.

Strike Industries PARA and Dura Grip

Strike Industries has came out with another interesting product for vertical foregrips (VFG).  This time it isn't just AK oriented but has a major selling point to tactical AK owners.  Using an traditional VFG on an AK is problematic since it can block the rock in magazine loading process.  Strike Industries' new PARA (Pyramid Angled Rail Adapter) will angle back any standard VFG to 17 degrees, which is about the same grip angle as a Glock.  This improves the ergonomics of a standard VFG.  All of our grips on pistols and rifles are angled, but yet few foregrips are as well.  The other times I've played around with VFGs, I've never liked their perpendicular angle.  While VFG use isn't quite in vogue as it used to be, I do personally like angled VFGs if you are going to use them as an actual grip and not just as a large handstop.

While this feature is great for AK owners that want to put a short VFG out far on the a railed handguard, the PARA can also allow a new tactical twist on a AK classic, the Romanian pistol grip handguard (often referred to as a certain part of a donkey's anatomy): 

(Thanks mikeplan14 of INGO for the photo!)


With the PARA you can angle a VFG forward like the Romanian grip and still have room to rock in a magazine:




I coupled the PARA with a Strike Industries Dura Grip.  They make quite a combo, both are solid, high quality aluminum just like their AK mount. Also like the mount, the PARA and Dura Grip have robust black anodizing. As you can see, I was able to mount the PARA pretty far back with the full length Dura Grip and still have enough room to rock in this 5.56x45mm magazine.  More curved 7.62x39 magazines may require a little further forward placement, but it will still be further back than a regular VFG of this length.  If you like the Romanian pistol grip handguard but want something a little more modern, this is definitely the way to go. It will allow the most rearward positioning of a AK VFG and I think still feels more comfortable than a perpendicular VFG.  For comparison, knives will often sweep somewhat forward in their handles, which is an ergonomics feature that obviously works in a lot of cases but is rarely used in firearms.  In the end, the swept forward PARA still feels like the traditional Romianan handguard, but gives you the modern capability and looks.

This combo is pretty versatile.  If you are one that likes to mount VFGs as far forward as possible, you can take advantage of the PARA's improved ergonomics if you use a "stubby" VFG.  This is probably my personal favorite PARA configuration just because I like the more similar feeling between the foregrip and the pistol grip.  The nice thing about the Duragrip is that it has a screw off extension that allows it to be a stubby VFG as well.  This does take the water resistant compartment capacity down to 2 CR123 batteries instead of 3 though.


The Dura Grip is built like a tank and is great quality.  However, due to it's clamping groove cut in the top of the grip, it isn't waterproof, although the bottom cap is O-ring sealed.  If you require that or a light tape switch cutout and want to stay with SI, there is also Strike Industries' Dura Grip Pro version

One other interesting thing I was able to do with the PARA is add a handstop to it.  This made it very similar in profile and feel to Magpul's Angled Foregrips.




Overall, the PARA is a neat little piece that gives you a lot more flexibility in mounting foregrips to your AK.  While I know not everyone likes VFGs on AKs, if you are in this crowd, I definitely recommend the PARA.  One other use Strike Industries suggests but I didn't get to try is using it to angle down a light for trail navigation or search and rescue work.  The PARA weights just 1.3 ounces and has a screw-on clamp that doesn't require sliding it all the way down the rail to position it.  It lists for $30.

The Dura Grip is a excellent quality VFG that weights in at 3 ounces in stubby configuration and 4 full size.  Note that the Dura Grip does require you to slide it in place and then screw in the cross-bolt.  So if you do have anything else on the rail you would have to remove it before installation (or get even better, mount it to a PARA first).  Its list price is $40.95.


Disclaimer:  Strike Industries provided the PARA free of charge and the Dura Grip at cost.  The more is see from them, the more I am excited to see what they are bringing out. I do feel they offer great quality gear at good prices and wouldn't partner with them if I didn't. Hopefully they will extend their AK line soon!

Strike Industries AK Rail Range Report

I finally was able to get out to the range with the Strike Industries AK Rail.  It performed great!  While sighting it in, I wasn't really understanding the distances from the bullseye that my spotter was calling.  I was just happily firing away and he finally says "I don't know what more you want to accomplish, that looks great" followed by "for an AK" (he's a bullpup guy). Throwing out called flyers, I had about a 10 round 3 inch group at 40 yards off not the world's best rest.  I'm sure I could tighten things up some with a better rest and smaller strings, but it was evident that the mount was not limiting the accuracy at all.  In snap shooting, the Primary Arms Micro Dot was quick and not too high.  The mount itself is rock solid.  The only way I could see this mount having issues is if the set screws started to work out but that didn't and shouldn't happen with the Locite.

I think the steadiness of this mount compared to the Midwest Industries and even LaRue rear sight mounts is that it has two points of contact on the rear sight block that are on either side of the connection point.  This makes more of a bridge effect that reduces the chances of the mount shifting vertically.  Both of those other mounts do not have a true point of contact forward of the rear sight pin holes.  Like a loose plank flipping up as you walk on one end of it, only having that single point of contact gives a fulcrum point of the rear sight pinholes and the other mounts tend to bounce up under recoil.  I now have a Midwest Industries rear sight mount that I hope to directly compare to if Strike Industries do produce one for the Micro Dots as they have eluded.  While normally Midwest makes some great stuff, their rear sight mount has undergone one redesign and some people still have issues.  If Strike Industries keeps the same basic design of having 2 contact points forwards and aft of the sight pin holes, I believe future optic specific mounts will be winners.

One of the other interesting things this mount features is the backup rear sight channel.  It was effective enough for backup use, although it definitely had a limited FOV with the optic on. Still, it would work in a pinch of the red dot going down.  I did find that removing the optic changed the point of impact vertically even though the mount did not shift at all.  This was due to without the Micro Dot on the rail you can see more of the front sight in the rear channel and you basically end up using two different points of aim.

At $45, it is a great low profile way to mount that won't break the bank.  The Strike Industries AK Rail is a perfect fit for my Draco carbine that doesn't have a side rail or a factory Ultimak option, both of which would be more expensive options if available.  It's closest competitor price-wise would be a side mount like the BP-02, which requires a side rail, doesn't have the option of still being able to use irons with it, and actually sits at about the same height.  If you require the QD feature like a side rail, you can always get a QD base on your optic.  The height of the Strike Industries rail is still lower than most side mounts/optics like the MTK-03, Kobra, and the PSO/POSP.  To go lower you would need to go for something like an Ultimak gas tube, Midwest Industries railed handguard, or RS Regulate side mount.  While all of these are great options, they will set you back more than the Strike Industries'.  That's also not mentioning the two other similar competitors of the Scoutscope and Samson mounts that seem overpriced now compared to this new mount.    Overall, this is a excellent entry into the AK market for Strike Industries and I look forward to their new product line!

See part one of this review- First Impressions

Disclaimer:  This mount was provided free of charge from Strike Industries for this review.  I hope to keep working with them to give more information about their new products.

Strike Industries AK Rail First Impressions

A couple weeks ago I did a post in reply to The Firearms Blog's announcement of the Strike Industries AK Rail.  After getting in contact with them, Strike Industries was gracious enough to send one to review.

Despite seeing it and other similar mounts pictured before, when it arrived I was a little surprised by how lightweight and compact it was.  My first thought that it was something that would in fit well on a minimalistic AK. The package includes the rail, 3 set screws, one cross screw with nut, and installation guide.  The rail seems to be of high quality aluminum and good black anodizing.  The guide is in a small booklet and well done for the part of the getting the rail on.  However, it is a little lacking on how to get the AK rear off and if you should remove the rear sight leaf spring. Other similar mounts differ on if to keep this spring in or not, and according to Strike Industries, this mount works best if you remove the leaf spring. 

To remove an AK rear you should use some object like a screwdriver to push down on the leaf spring in the gap between the sight and the muzzle end of the rear sight block.  Setting the elevation of the sight all the way forward can help with the removal.  As enough pressure is applied you can pull the sight out with your other hand or even pop it out with the right pressure/tool.  Then pull the leaf out towards the muzzle.  On this particular rifle my spring was a little tough to pull out, I needed to get it high enough to clear the bevels inside the rear sight block.

Once you get it out the install becomes very straight forward and as described by the booklet.  The cross screw goes horizontally through the mount and the holes in the rear sight block.  Use a 2mm hex wrench for this screw and 1.5mm for the set screws. One nice touch is that the cross screw's hole is threaded which will allow the sight to be adjusted for windage.  However, adjust this screw first, once the set screws are tightened the mount is solidly in place.  Sometimes mounts like these can have problems with tilting forward or back, but since the set screws are on both sides of the fulcrum (the cross screw), this seems to make it much more stable.

  

By adjusting the set screws you also have some ability to change elevation, but they should be adjusted on both sides so that the mount does not freely move up or down.  As always, don't overtighten and use threadlocker, there are many mounts that have been trashed by overtighting! 

 I plan on using a Primary Arms detachable base Micro Red Dot Aimpoint clone with this mount.  While it definitely is not as good as the Aimpoint, it does have a solid reputation that should allow me to give this mount an honest test out at the range. Also, Strike Industries has eluded to adding other similar optic specific mounts to their product line.  I'm hoping they will come out with an Aimpoint Micro speicifc one that should let me use this optic as well.

Some of the comments on this rail have been that results in a high mount.  Honestly, many AK mounts have this problem, especially most of the imported side rail mounts.  Through my dry practice and measurements, the rail actually has a quite usable cheek weld and still sits lower than many side rail/mount combos. Yes, it is still higher than an Ultimak railed gas tube or a TWS Dogleg, but the Strike Industries rail is less than half their prices and debatably requires less changes to the rifle than the other two.

For my measurements, I used the line between the receiver and the front trunnion.  I found that this gives a nice solid line that allows for easy and consistent measurements.  The standard AK rear sight at Battlefield Zero sits at about 1.7", while the Strike Industries mount only sits just .2" higher at 1.9".  Mounting the Primary Arms Micro put the bottom of the rear lens at about 2.2" high.  When compared to my Romanian M10-545 side rail with one of the lowest Eastern European mounts out there, the BP-02 side mount, the Strike Industries rail is actually a slightly lower height.  It has another advantage over the BP-02 as well in that the iron sights can still be used.

Strike Industries put a channel through the rail and added two dots that can be painted in to give a basic rear sight picture.  Although the channel is wider than standard rear sights and has a limited field of view with the optic mounted, it seems to be usable and I feel it will serve well in the backup sights role.  I'll definitely be doing some tests of the rear sight both with and without the optic at the range.

For the price, the Strike Industries AK Rail looks to be a simple yet effective method to mount a small red dot.  It is also an interesting entry into the AK market for the company.  I look forward to getting some range time in with the rail and Strike Industries new AK line of products as well!  Part 2 to follow as soon as I can get out to the range. (Here it is!)

Disclaimer:  This mount was provided free of charge from Strike Industries for this review.  I hope to keep working with them to give more information about their new products.

Rear Sight Rails

Steve at The Firearm Blog has a post up about Strike Industries's rear sight rail.  These are similar to the Iron Dot style mounts that Midwest Industries and Attero Arms currently produce, but they differ in that they have a more universal Weaver/Picatinny rail and do not co-witness.  If you are interested, Strike Industries looks to be the most affordable.  However, Samson makes one with an under rail tunnel for the rear sight that usable with the optic on but it is pricey.  The Scout Scopes mount is lower and also offers a rear sight for use when the optic is removed.  Polytech also makes/made one that is available at a few places but I'm not sure of it's current production status due to the Chinese import ban here.  It looks not to have a rear sight option.