Zenit B30C and B31C mod

Yet again I have made some upgrades to my personal AK. Intrigued by way how Dima was transforming his rifle and mainly on his feedback, I have decided to make a deep dive into the Zenit like made accessories. So far, I’m extremely pleased with the extended length Zenit hand guard (B30C and B31C – mod), which offers outstanding real estate  for different type of grips and way to attach your accessories, almost any way you want…all at the cost of 386 grams (13.61 oz). Still, with the full setup and railed dust cover (B33 – mod) , my rifle weight now is slightly below 7.9 lbs – which is not bad at all. This is only personal preference and all these work best for me, but that doesn’t mean that you are going to be happy with similar setup. As always, please do your homework and don’t take everything for granted. That being said, if you would like to buy some of these components, please remember that you can save some money by visiting our Union Friendly Business section and use coupon codes posted there.
-Rob Ski
Spec list:

Rifle was made by: Arsenal (SGL 31)

Rifle was tuned by: Definitive Arms

Hand guard rail: Zenit mod

Pistol grip (AK Battle grip): US Palm

Stock adapter (AK to M4): Rifle Dynamics

Optic mount: Zenit mod

Stock (CTR): Magpul

Enhanced Safety lever: Krebs Custom Guns

Bolton gas block: Venom Tactical

Flashlight: Inforce WML white / IR 175 lumens

Forward Grip: BCM Gunfighter VG-S

Some components were acquired from: Circle 10 AK

Arsenal SM-13 w/ EOTech

After the successful fulfillment of a military requirement, Arsenal, Inc. has released the SM-13 to the commercial US market. This side-attaching scope mount for the AK variant rifles was born to meet and exceed the toughest objectives put in front of Arsenal, Inc. The one-piece CNC precision machined SM-13 is manufactured from aircraft grade aluminum alloy and weight of is 5.76 oz (163 grams). Rail mounting surface is 7.5″ long (19.5 cm) and offers plenty of room to mount optics on it. The SM-13 utilizes the time-proven steel adjustable locking mechanism that allows instantaneous attachment and release of the scope mount without any compromise to the accuracy and loss of zero. We have tested SM-13 extensively in field for past 30 days and I’m happy to report, that Arsenal mount performed very well during these tests. It survived multiple “push ups”, drop tests and etc. At no point, “zero” was compromised. SM-13 is well made and solid product, which should satisfy needs of AK users, looking for rigid mounting system which utilizes standard AK side rail.

– Rob Ski 

Video review is listed below.

AK mag well grip (or magazine grip) is the most popular AK grip on the planet. One would think that there is nothing complicated to talk about it here, however, with rising popularity of AK rifles in USA, we have many completely new AK users, but even more experienced AK owners, had some questions about it too.  Of course, it is all about position of thumb from hand gripping magazine. I strongly believe that  every rifle owner, should always be prepared to use their weapon proficiently from both sides of your body. In other words, we should be actively practicing shooting from dominating hand and so called “weak” hand. The truth is, we don’t know what may happen in life and I always like to be prepared for the worst type of scenario. If I’m wrong and mission was easy, then nobody is complaining anyhow, right? Anyhow, going back to our “thumb” position when using AK mag well grip, you should be aware of your thumb placement, especially when forced to use rifle from left hand.  I’m explaining here which way thumb should be facing and why. Let me know if you have any questions, thanks. – Rob Ski

Why you need to know how to perform AK emergency reload? Because one day it may save your life. Often I hear critics saying, that if you will get shot, then you have bigger problems than worrying about reloading your AK. In my opinion this is very ignorant statement, because emergency reloads are not used only when you got shot. Here is real life example, few years ago one of my friends from the Spetsnaz team, got badly injured from IED blast. He had suffered broken bones in his hand and arm, yet he picked his rifle from the ground and went back to fighting, improvising and operating weapon with one hand only. Injury not always means a bullet in your body. Anyhow, below I’m posting video guides to four different emergency reloads. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, you should get familiar with all of them and use whatever works in given situation.
– Rob Ski

Method #1 – This method isn’t perfect, because you must place your rifle between your legs with barrel facing backward – so muzzle awareness is a “must” here.

Method #2 – This is most popular method, used by Russian operators, but be aware of muzzle obstruction.

Method #3 – This time I’m presenting method for AK emergency reload in prone.

Method #4 – Another popular between Russian operators method, but it requires you to have access to solid structure, so you can press your AK rifle muzzle against it.