Sighting The Kalashnikov

[Pict]

I have been using a similar method with my SKS for a long time. The front sight is protected by a circle, I just surround the target with the circle and fire. It works well out to about 50 meters.

I practice this method back in Brazil with my air rifle, snap shooting a 3 inch carbide cutting disk from 15 meters, it is very fast.

I'm looking forward to practicing with the AK this month as I'm back in the US for a time. Mac

[Roger Phillips]

I use "continuum shooting". That means I learn to see what I need to see and do not lable or freeze it at any one point.

CHA-CHING..... exactly so!

I have been playing with the continuum shooting of a long gun, and it is the exact same concepts as has been applied to the handgun.

From hard focus on the front sight to underarm assault, to shooting from the hip.....and everything in between. My goal is the same with my long gun as it is with my handgun....any position, any angle, anywhere throughout the mount.

It is all about hand/eye cordination. Start with what you know and take away more and more visual input and more and more of the myth of the stable shooting platform. Once you know what you need to see and physically do, the long gun just becomes an extention of your mind.

If you can see it you can hit it.....in the very least amount of time as possible.

I am really seeing the advantages of this is reactive shooting, shooting with dynamic movement, and shooting where the "field of vision" is a huge concern (room clearing)........ not bad for those old eyes either.

From line of sight, past underarm assault, to where you are shooting from the hip and everything in between that is over two feet of continuum, before we even get deep into the sight continuum.

Facinating study!

[Rusty Phillips]

Im curious - just [edit] what diameter [/edit] does the AK front sight ring cover at 50 or 100 (or ?) yards?


anyone know?

[John Chambers]

Just tried to paint my ChiCom AK and for some reason as soon as the bright orange paint touches the steel it turns brick red. Weird. So, I filled the dots on the flip up night sights on my Yugo and all I can say is WOW! The front sight is just wonderful but the rear dots may be too close and too small to be of use. I am really looking forward to running some drills with it this weekend.

JC

Very cool stuff indeed.

I am experimenting w/ painting the ring on the FSA day glow orange to help with quicker acquisition when the sight comes into the field of view. Kind of like a caveman simple 6.5 MOA red dot on the EOTECH.

FAST, TIGER FAST!!:D

[Destro]

I have been using a similar method with my SKS for a long time. The front sight is protected by a circle, I just surround the target with the circle and fire. It works well out to about 50 meters.

I practice this method back in Brazil with my air rifle, snap shooting a 3 inch carbide cutting disk from 15 meters, it is very fast.

I'm looking forward to practicing with the AK this month as I'm back in the US for a time. Mac

Please let us know how it works!

[ACME - Weapons Division]

Just tried to paint my ChiCom AK and for some reason as soon as the bright orange paint touches the steel it turns brick red. Weird. So, I filled the dots on the flip up night sights on my Yugo and all I can say is WOW! The front sight is just wonderful but the rear dots may be too close and too small to be of use. I am really looking forward to running some drills with it this weekend.

JC

When I painted the site ears on my AK, I first used brush-on white primer. Putting a bright color on top of black causes the color to look darker, but if you put down a base coat of white primer first, the orange will appear brighter when you paint it on. I used Citadel brand wargaming lead miniatures white primer, followed by a coat of Testors model paint in bright yellow. The yellow really jumps out now.

Hope this helps,

[CB3]

Of course, whatever works for you is fine, but I notice a number of people adding white to their sights for contrast.

White and black (the original Russian sight color) do contrast well, until you have to shoot in winter conditions, fog and snow. White can then disappear, especially if it is on your front sight.

Whatever color you choose, it should be light, so in dim light it does not tone down to a less visible color. It should also be a color that probably would not exist in your target environment. The bright orange, greens and yellows certainly come to mind for this.

I removed my front sight post and cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. I then dipped only the top of it into fl. orange paint. After letting it dry over night hanging upside down, I reinserted it being careful not to chip off the paint.

The first time I painted the rear of my front sight ring, it chipped off. I took a fine file, filed the rear of the sight gently to get to bare metal, and painted fl. yellow.

With a 1/16" drill bit I made small depressions on each side of my (slightly widened) rear sight notch, up toward the top corner of each side of the cut. I filled these w/fl green. I did not make them so large as to catch my eye and interfere with front-sight-only fast sighting. These are oil based paints, not water based.

I have done the same thing now to my SKSs and Mosin M44. All have similar sights so they are all similarly familiar.

I have 58-year-old eyes and usually prefer optics, but this colored set up is more than adequate for the AK/SKS type shooting.

CB3

[scbair]

I'm not generally a fan of painted sights; my Yugo M70 is an exception. As previously noted in this thread, the flip up night sight is just too much to resist! I used white auto body paint, from the local auto parts store, after degreasing thoroughly. Just dabbed a couple of coates into the circular recess on the front night sight.

Best of both worlds! For bright lighting conditions, the standard sight, all black & zeroed at 100 yds. For low light, flip up the front sight & there's a bright white ball! Great for rapid acquisition at close range.

[Razorback]

I ended up going all orange ont he front sight hood and post. For whatever reason, my eyes can't pick up the bright green as well. The fact that the blazing FL sun on light green vegetation is common around here probably contributes to the factor, and white would wash out on the sand.

Another thing I did was pain a vertical stripe under the notch in the rear sight. That way, if I see a horizontal black line between the post and notch, I know I'm aiming high, if the post is below the level of the top of the rear sight, I'm aiming low. Seems to be a good quick reference.

[Decado]

I am going to have to try painting my front sight now that I have ditched the EoTech. ACME, glad to see that there is another wargamer on WT. :D

Decado