I’m thinking about mounting an Ultimak and a red dot on an AK. I’m mostly a casual shooter and don’t have really have any hard use needs.
So spending $500 for an Aimpoint doesn’t really make sense in my position and I would prefer a test drive with a cheaper optic to see how much I like the forward mounted optic on an AK.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Primary Arms aimpoint clone for around $80. But it seems to be that cheaper optics are cheaper for a reason. I was wondering if there are any other choices available that are better than the Primary Arms but not quite as good as an Aimpoint.
I’m looking to maintain the 1/3 co-witness. Do I have many other options?
I haven’t tested the RMR, but I have an ultimak/aimpoint setup as you refer to and find it works well for me. Assuming the RMR survives the heat, I’d think it’d work well as an alternative.
As mentioned before, the heat issue is the primary concern for optics mounted on an ultimak. I know eotechs are reported to have issues placed on one, and while untested by me, I’m sure most cheap clones of either the eotech or the aimpoint will suffer issues.
Sample size of (2), but I have had a SPOT MkIII and a Bushnell TRS-25 on my Ultimak-equipped AK-105. The SPOT has been on longer and has been run much harder than the Bushnell, but neither has shown any heat-related issues.
The two concerns with optics on the Ultimak are heat and overall durability.
Anything other than a high-end, high-cost optic is taking a gamble with durability. If you’re life will depend on it, get the Aimpoint. If not, all you’re risking is the money. For casual use, I think the Primary Arms red dots would probably work fine, but I haven’t tried one myself.
Heat is another issue. For the most part, the components that will be affected by heat are the batteries, and anything plastic or glued. If you have plastic coming into contact with the Ultimak, forget it. If the batteries are right on top of the mount (like Eotechs), I’d say forget it as well. Any clones of the Aimpoint C2 or C3 will keep the batteries high enough off the Ultimak that they shouldn’t be affected by heat. Micro clones are a different matter, you’re back to the gamble.
I’m in the same boat, I can’t justify $500 for non-professional use. I’m playing with a cheap C2 clone that’s working ok so far, but no hard use yet. It takes recoil, but I’m afraid to drop it. I’ve heard good things about the Vortex red dot. It’s not quite a clone, it’s a legitimate product. But it has a rubberized switch housing on the side, and I’ve heard anecdotal reports that they will not last long with the heat from an Ultimak. I’d have the same concern about the new micro Vortex as well. I may try a PA micro clone myself, but in the meantime I really need the iron sight practice anyway.
For these sort of economically driven optics decisions, I find the Aimpoint 5000 to be an outstanding solution. You can pick these up on the used market for usually around $100. It doesn’t have all the modern electronics upgrades that the newer ones have, but the’re still a durable, well made unit. I’ve had a 5000 on my ultimak set up for awhile and it handles the heat admirably. Using the low rings that come with it, I get the lower one third cowitness. I also had one on my M1A Scout for a bit before I decided the M1A scout mount just wasn’t doin’ it for me. Didn’t seem to be affected by the recoil.