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Tag Archives | AK-47

Strike Hard Gear AK-47 Chest Rig

By on November 16, 2011 in Tactical Gear

In the past, it was a real challenge to find modern AK-47 load bearing gear like pouches and chest rigs. Fortunately for American AK shooters, there are more options than ever and the list seems to be growing constantly. Add the Strike Hard Gear AK-47 Chest Rig to that ever growing list.

This chest rig has some interesting features that set it apart from other rigs that I have seen. It holds 4 magazines in integral shingle type pouches across the front of the rig. Strike Hard Gear also sells an optional 4 magazine shingle that is designed to bolt right onto the front to expand the capacity to 8 magazines. I really like this expandable approach.

Like many chest rigs on the market, this one has storage inside the body of the chest rig. This storage can be used for everything from a tube of lithium grease to keep your AK running smooth, to maps, pens, first aid gear, or whatever else you need. However, the AK-47 Chest Rig from Strike Hard Gear breaks this storage pouch into 3 separate compartments – 1 large and 2 smaller. The largest pouch is in the center of the rig, behind the magazines and is large enough to carry 4 additional magazines. The two smaller pouches are on the outer edges of the rig and can be used to secure a radio or handgun to name a couple of items.

This rig also features full MOLLE coverage for adding additional pouches, shock cord magazine retention, and a padded “X” harness with plenty of adjustment. This looks to be a really full featured rig for the price.

You can check it out at the Strike Hard Gear website.

MI AK Mini Dot Mount

By on July 28, 2011 in Guns

Midwest Industries is turning out some of the most interesting AK accessories around and that is not about to change with the introduction of their new AK Mini Dot Mount. This mount may look familiar to some of you since it appears similar to the long discontinued LaRue Tactical AK Iron Dot, but that is not a bad thing at all.

The AK Mini Dot Mount is designed to replace the rear sight with a platform for mounting a mini red dot. MI has designed multiple versions that should cover just about every mini red dot worth mounting on a fighting rifle. The mounts are made from hard anodized aluminum and melonite coated steel which should make them very rugged. They feature a built in back up iron sight that gives a lower 1/3 co-witness. The rifle can still be completely field stripped with the mount in place.

The new AK Mini Dot Mount can be found on Midwest Industries’ website.

 

MI/US-PALM ML2 Topcover

By on June 2, 2011 in Guns

Midwest Industries (MI) and US-PALM have expanded their line of optic mounting topcovers for the MI Universal AK Handguards. The newest topcover, the ML2 Topcover, will allows shooters to mount the 30mm Aimpoints like the M2, ML2, M3, ML3, and others.

Image property of US-PALM

The best thing about the ML2 Topcover is that it allows the Aimpoint to be co-witnessed with the iron sights. The cowitness height will vary based on the tolerances of the particular AK on which the topcover is mounted. It will vary from an absolute cowitness to a lower 1/3 cowitness.

You can read more about the ML2 Topcover on the MI website.

Surplus European Steel AK-47 Magazines from AIM Surplus

By on May 26, 2011 in Guns

AIM Surplus started offering what they call “Surplus European Steel AK47 7.62×39 30rd Magazines”. These magazines have an interesting back story and a unique feature that should be of note to AK shooters and AK magazine collectors.

Image property of AIM Surplus

AIM Surplus stated that they purchased these magazines as “Yugoslavian Bolt Hold Open Magazines”. When they arrived, they were surprised to find that they were not bolt hold open magazines but rather rib-less magazines much like those made in China. The speculation has been that these magazines are were either made on Chinese equipment in Yugoslavia or that they are Chinese magazines that were imported to Yugoslavia. That is all very interesting but why should you care?

Image property of AIM Surplus

You should care because these rib-less magazines are desirable to both shooters and collectors. A typical steel AK magazine has a large rib on the back of the magazine that can really tear up your hand during a day of drills. These magazines have a nearly flat back that makes them much easier on your hands (and pouches). On top of that, they are in very good condition and they are priced very reasonably. I ordered 10 of them and they are like new.

If you are a shooter who needs to bulk up on spare magazines or a collector who likes magazines with a unique back story, then these magazines may be perfect for you. I have no idea how much longer these will be available, but you can check them out at AIM Surplus.

Beez Combat Systems AK47 Low Profile Chest Rig

By on March 19, 2011 in Tactical Gear

Beez Combat Systems (BCS) has a new AK47 specific chest rig available called the AK47 Low Profile Chest Rig. It features the ability to carry 5 AK47 magazines, a generous 14 column by 4 row field of MOLLE webbing, shock-cord pull-tab retention, and a large internal pouch for carrying various items. The included H-harness helps distribute the weight of 5 AK  mags.

I really like the design of this rig. AK mags seem to work better in odd numbers when they are carried across your chest. The closer they are to your center line, the easier it is to deal with the curve and length of the magazine when drawing it from the pouch. I usually find the center 3 magazine pouches are easiest to reach. If I were running this rig, I would use the outer 2 mag pouches to feed the inner 3 when I was rotating ammo.

Steel AK magazines are somewhat  heavy and can be very bulky when stacked on top of one another. This rig allows the shooter to carry 5 magazines without the need for stacked magazine pouches. This makes it about as low profile as you will find in an AK specific chest rig.

BCS tells me that they purposely designed this rig with very deep magazine pouches to better support the weight of the magazine. I would prefer a slightly shallower pouch for two reasons. The first is so that more of the magazine is exposed for gripping during reloads and secondly to allow the use of 20 round magazines. BCS is a custom shop, so they assure me that these modifications will be no problem. There are definitely perks to dealing with custom shops like BCS.

Even if the pouches were made shorter, there would still be plenty of room for mounting a blow out kit and some pistol mags. The large MOLLE field on the front of this chest rig should give you plenty of options for mounting additional pouches. Just be sure to resist the temptation to use every last inch of real estate.

It is great to see this kind of well thought out AK specific support gear coming to market as the AK itself continues to adapt and evolve.

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