Well after many years of not having one I am getting back into the AK world. Just bought a WASR. I know not the best but hey it works. My question is has anyone had any experience with the samson rails for the ak? I know of the quality of the ultimaks (which is my other consideration) but not the samson rails. Messed with some guys samson rails on a couple of AR’s and they seemed great. If anyone has any experience I would love to hear, is it a go or no go. I am particularly interested in the long rail (model:K-Rail-Model-1). Thanks
All I can say is that I have a Samson rail on an AR and it is stout enough to use as a jack handle.
Copy that. I’ll take that as a, go! 500grains, any problems with seeing the irons with the samson and is your receiver milled or stamped?
Oops, disregard, just reread your post and misunderstood it.
Thought I would bump this thread. Will be buying AK rail soon.
No experience with the Samson rail but I picked up a Midwest Industries rail last year for a milled Arsenal AK and have been happy with it.
I am able to see the irons with the rail but not after I mount an H1 w/Larue mount.
I’ve previously tried the Surefire AK rail and that was a POS.
Good luck either way and let us know what you think after you get your AK set up.
I have a Samson K-Rail Model 1 on an AK and it’s quite solid. The top rails are machined out in the middle to allow the use of iron sights.
Plan to put a H1/T1 up top and a Vltor offset mount with a G2L on there soon.
I’m a huge fan of my Ultimak on my AK.
Easy install, rock solid, low profile, etc. I just run the replacement gas tube and not the replacement lower handguard, but it does all I need it to.
The Ultimak appears to be lower profile than the Samson, or Midwest as it replaces the gas tube. This allows for cowitnessing the irons with an Aimpoint H-1 or similar style optic (which was important for me).
The Ultimak complete setup is $220 from Brownells, and less if you are eligible for one of their discounts. The Samson is listed on their site at $249 although it may be available from other retailers at a lower price. So the edge in that regard would seem to go to the Ultimak.
Just my .02
-RD62
There’s certainly no co-witnessing going on with the Samson. The mount will block the irons.
All Great points with the ultimak and Samson pros/cons. I am not considering the m.i. b/c I want the longer rail so I can do a hands forward grip. One thing that got me pondering the Samson rail is that it sticks out past the gas tube and I would think would help with reducing exposure to heat on the optic I plan on using. Which will be either an H1 or T1. Although I haven’t heard any problems running one on the ultimak gas tube set up. But then again there is more weight going towards the front making it feel more imbalanced. Decisions! Decisions!! Thopkins thank you for the pics man.
It’s not on an AK, it’s on an AR. But it is good quality and strong.
The quality of the Samson rail is extremely good, however I and just about everyone I really respect who has set up an AK for serious use runs an Aimpoint Micro on an Ultimak gas tube rail.
Copy that Templar. I’ll for sure take that into consideration.
For what it’s worth, I think that if I had it to do over again the Ultimak would have been the best choice. I really have nothing to do with all that rail space…other than use it as a testbed for things like the AFG that’s on there.
By all accounts the T1/H1 can handle the heat.
Thanks for the replies all. Leaning back towards ultimak now. Thomas appreciate the pm earlier. Now I’ve got to suck it up and grab another T1!! I swear Mark Larue is going to retire just off of me alone!
That’s what I just did. I had an ak with an MI rail. On it was an aimpoint 9000sc, a surefire G2, and XTM panels. The setup worked, but it was heavy, didn’t co-witness, and rail was wider than I cared for.
I finally gave up on the setup and ordered an ultimak last friday. I just got it and mounted it on a different ak. I like it since it give me co-witness and I can use the standard lower handguard. Unfortunately, I still had to use my clunky aimpoint 9000 since I can’t afford a smaller optic. This added weight and takes up so much rail space so I have to mount the light on an MFI barrel mount, which adds more weight. I’ll be happy when I can afford and aimpoint micro or trijicon rmr.
I have ran an Ultimak on a Yugo M70 and it was everything I could have asked. Light, low profile. Solid.
Only downside to the Ultimak is heat! If you run your AK hard, and lets face it who doesn’t any optic you mount gets all of the heat transfered directly into it. I do not know if the Samson or MI rails do this or not.
I ran an Aimpoint on that setup and the heat did not bother the Aimpoint that I noticed. If you ran an optic of questionable quality it could impact performance.
YMMV.
Take a look at thopkins’ pics and his rail. You could mount an optic on it not have it touch the gas tube. Granted, there isn’t much space between the gas tube and the rail. I was curious if this would make a substantial difference in heat transfer.
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‘And if you don’t do a lot of full auto fire there isn’t much to worry about’ -LAV. I think I am going to order the ultimak this weekend. Not bashing the Samson but simply b/c of the reputation of the ultimak and who recommends it. My local AK guru also loves that set up as well.