| |
| Submitted by Ernest
(Ernie) Burdick |
| |
| I wanted to scope my SKS
rifle with a 4x20 Russian (Belarus) scope (as shown in
figure 1) that I already had. I didn't like most of the
currently available mounting systems which seem to me to put the
scope either too far to the rear of the rifle or directly over the
bolt where some type of shell deflector is necessary to protect
the scope from the ejected cases. |
|
|
I wanted a Russian mounting
system. I found what I wanted
at Kalinka Optics Warehouse at www.kalinkaoptics.com. It is an
SVD/SKS mount with 1" rings and a side mounting plate for $22.97.
The side mounting plate is attached to the left side of the receiver.
|
|
|
I mounted the scope in
the permanently mounted rings, slid the mount onto the side plate
and locked it down with the
lever. Next I held it in place on the rifle to check the eye relief
of the scope and marked the stock once it was good. I then transferred
the marks to the receiver and then removed the receiver from the
stock. |
|
|
| I drilled and tapped two
holes for the mounting plate. The holes are very large in the side
plate, I had to drill and tap using a 10-24 tap. Once the side plate
is mounted to the receiver, I next had to remove some wood from
the stock. |
| |
| The MIT machinist reference
describes tapping as - |
 |
A tap has cutting edges
to cut the threads and straight flutes to allow chips to be expelled.
The end of the tap is tapered slightly to help the tap get started.
Taps are hard and brittle so you should be careful working with
them (try not to drop them or force them into a hole when stuck).
Be sure that the hole you drilled is the correct size for the tap
you're using or it may break inside.
Put the tap in place and apply moderate pressure as you turn the
tap. It's good practice to back the tap up a bit for every quarter
turn of thread you cut.
Copyright © 2001 by Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT).
|
| |
|
|
| The finished rifle looks
very Russian now.
The scope mount easily comes off and makes cleaning and storing
the rifle much easier. You can even take the scope off at the range
so you can load up with stripper clips. Just remount the scope,
lock it down and it always returns to zero.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| A Red-Dot scope was next
on my list. I bought a new rear dust cover housing with low profile
Weaver style base from CDNN Investments, Inc. On this
I mounted a BSA 40mm
Red-dot scope. This is a great setup because the mount is permanently
fixed by a large pin at the front of the base and a bolt and nut
at the rear of the base. |
|
|
| This allows you to move
the rear of the base right or left to correct for gross windage.
Once you have set, a little loc-tite on the bolt and tighten it
down and it stays put. The red-dot is my choice for short range
work. The spend cases don't hit it since it is behind the bolt and
target acquisition is easy with a good field of view. |
|
|
| |
|
|
Attached are photos showing
the 4x20 scope and Red-dot scope plus my Williams peep and front
Firesight fro when I choose to use open sights instead of the scopes.
Thanks,
Ernie Burdick |
