Parabellum Armament’s AK Adaptive Rail System (AKARS) provides AK shooters a way to mount optics on a picatinny rail, retain zero after firing and dis-assembly, and use an optic in conjunction with iron sights. We’ve outlined the installation steps below, to provide an understanding of how the system is installed and what makes it unique. Mounting in place of the rear sight and using a proprietary top cover and locking mechanism, the AKARS allows AK owners to mount their favorite optic on the top cover of his rifle.
For testing purposes our AKARS was installed on a Arsenal converted Saiga SGL-21 7.62×39. Before installation, we ensured that our rifle was safe and empty.
Testing:
We headed to the range with an Aimpoint 4-MOA Micro on a factory weaver rail mount. Zeroing began at 7-yards, moved to 25 and was finalized at 50. After zeroing, we fired an additional 60-rounds and then used a DEA six dot cardboard target to test the repeatability of the mount. We fired 3-rounds on target 1, then removed and reinstalled the top cover, fired 1-round on target 2, removed and reinstalled the cover, fired a second round, removed and reinstalled the cover and then fired a third round. This gave us a three round group on one target; immediately adjacent to the group of three rounds fired by disassembling the gun in between each round of the group. We followed this same procedure two more times, firing a total of six groups, three of each kind. The target is posted below. You will not there isn’t a noticeable change in point of impact or change in group size. The mount works as designed and holds zero during operation and maintenance.
During firing, the AKARS allowed the operator to maintain a proper cheek-weld when using optics while still allowing use of the integral iron sight. This was a nice feature and provided the shooter with rapid target acquisition.
Comparison:
Having access to a Gen-2 Texas Weapons Systems Dog Leg Scope Rail, we decided to compare the mounts. (Editors Note: This write up is a review of the AKARS, the comparison piece materialized on the range. I had 22 shooters waiting for me and didn’t have time to conduct the same test on the TWS.)
Examining the covers side by side, it was noted that the rifle equipped with the AKARS was far easier to field strip then the Texas Weapons System model.
Conclusion:
The AKARS is an easy to install optical mounting solution for the AK platform rifles. Compared to the Texas Weapons System dog leg mount, which we like, we prefer it. It has more contact at the rear sight mounting point, allows easier field stripping of the rifle, has an outstanding fit and finish (with the coolest logo any of us have seen) and has a quicker to use integral sight. The AKARS provides shooters a solid, repeatable method to attach optics to their AK rifles.
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