Front Sight Tool for AK and SKS Rifles
- Provides front sight windage and elevation adjustment.
- All steel construction.
- Built to last.
- Manufactured by Tapco
- Made in U.S.A.
Model# AKST
Designed on request by military services deployed overseas. Manufactured from 4140 steel, this tool is as rugged as the weapon for which it was designed. Easily make adjustments to AK and SKS variants.
Both the AK and SKS (and others of the same pedigree) have the front sight post screwed into a cross bar that is press-fit into the sight block. Use the “C-clamp” for pushing the front sight cross bar to the right or left within the sight block for windage adjustment. Use the slotted end of the T-handle to turn the sight post up or down, calibrating your elevation so it coincides with your rear sight’s pre-set range markings.
Instructions: Both the AK and the SKS have a rear sight position (elevation slide all the way to the rear) intended for use as an all-purpose “battle position”, which is equal to the 300 meter setting farther forward on the slide. With the rear sight in the battle position, adjust the front sight until your Point Of Impact coincides with Point Of Aim (POI=POA) at 300 meters (about 330 yards). Otherwise, use one of the other rear sight settings and zero your front sight at that indicated distance in meters. On a windless or near windless day, shoot 5-shot groups and adjust so the center of the group coincides with POA.
If your rear sight has a windage adjustment, set it to indicate dead center, then zero by adjusting only the front sight, as described above on a windless day. When you’re done, you can use your rear sight windage adjustment to compensate for crosswind, and easily return it to zero when the wind stops.
To move your point of impact to the right, move your front sight to the left. To move your POI up, move the front sight down, etc. (tip: While making windage adjustments, use a tiny dab of anhydrous lanolin or other heavy grease on the business end of the screw to minimize damage to the finish, and to make adjustments easier).
The rear sight’s built-in range calibrations will be meaningful only with standard, military ball (FMJ) ammo (a specific case, a specific primer, with a specific charge of a specific powder, pushing a specific make, model, and weight of bullet). Any other load will shoot a different trajectory. The difference will increase with distance, and will vary from negligible to extreme. To complicate matters further, there are AKs that have been built up from parts that may not be relevant to the configuration– a rear sight that was Bullet-Drop Compensation (BDC) (range) calibrated for a 16″ barrel may have been mounted on a rifle with a 10″ barrel, etc.. Know your weapon’s POI at various ranges through experimentation before you trust it. Besides, practice is fun and it sharpens your skills. If you have a rifle, you’ll never know boredom.
Windage adjustment:
Elevation adjustment:
