I have always wanted to have an AK platform built as a Designated Marksman Rifle. The pictures of the Tabuk were my inspiration, but I needed something different and a little more modern.
I purchased a Norinco NHM-91 with a 20" barrel for the project and was made a beta-tester for Texas Weapon Systems GEN II Dog Leg Scope Rail. Here are my results so far:
-Rifle is a Norinco NHM-91 with 20" heavy barrel
-Ammo was Monarch 124gr FMJ.
-Scope is a Leupold MK4 MR/T 1.5-5x20.
-Rings are Leupold QRW 30mm high rings.
-All firing was done from a Caldwell Lead Sled at an indoor range at a distance of 100 yards.
-Groups are measured center to center.
Target 1 shows my first two groups. Group 1 was 5.6" and high left. After making adjustments, Group 2 was 3.6" and in the center of the target. No other adjustments were made during this test.
TARGET 1
Target 2 shows the second set of groups. Group 3 was 3.5" and slightly high left. Group 4 was 4.4" and slightly right of center.
TARGET 2
Target 3 shows the last set of groups. Group 5 was 3.2" and low right. Group 6 was 4.8" and slightly right of center, both high and low impacts.
TARGET 3
Average group size was 4.2" and I am not very happy with that. This test was performed with the latest version of release button and though nothing broke this time, the button remained loose compared to the first one. After cycling the bolt many times, and after firing, the button could be easily pressed in with my thumb. Despite everything being checked several times, I am not sure if the groups fired are the result of the mount or the ammo.
I will add this; I have some ammo that is being pulled and the powder charges are being remeasured. The first ten I pulled were all over the place as far as powder charge was concerned. Once I work up a small batch of that, I will retest to see if the groups sizes decrease.
Here is my second range review after reloading the factory powder to 25 grains each:
-Rifle is a Norinco NHM-91 with 20" heavy barrel.
-Ammo was Monarch 124gr FMJ with remeasured powder of 25 grains.
-Scope is a Leupold MK4 MR/T 1.5-5x20.
-Rings are Leupold QRW 30mm high rings.
-All firing was done from a Caldwell Lead Sled at an indoor range at a distance of 100 yards.
-Groups are measured center to center.
Target 1 shows group one at 2.6" and group two at 2.1". Much better than my first outing with the factory load.
TARGET 1
Target 2 shows group three at 2.3" and group four at 4.2". That little flyer really threw off group four, considering that two of them were in the 2" white circle just under the diamond.
TARGET 2
Target 3 shows group five at 3.1" and group six at 4.6". Group six was on the vertical centerline, but the high and low spread ruined the group size for me.
TARGET 3
Overall, I guess you could say it was not too bad. I am still not overly pleased, and I am not sure if the spread of the groups has anything to do with the mount, but with an average group size of 3.2" (an inch under the last average), it looks like the remeasuring of powder helped. I only had access to a beam scale and not a digital one, plus I could not weigh the projectiles, so my measurements could have been a little off. I will try again with a more accurate scale and attempt to find this rifle's "sweet spot" for a particular load. Relating to the mount, the release button lockup is not as tight as my first button, and I tweaked the little tab on the right side of the mount for a slightly tighter fit to the receiver.
Here are the results after reloading the factory powder to 25.5 grains each and weighing/matching the factory projectiles, plus changing the optic:
-Rifle is a Norinco NHM-91 with 20" heavy barrel.
-Ammo was Monarch FMJ with remeasured powder of 25.5 grains.
-Scope is a Trijicon TR23-2G 5-20X50.
-Rings are Bobro Low/Standard Precision Optic 30mm Mount.
-All firing was done from a Caldwell Lead Sled at an indoor range at a distance of 100 yards.
-Groups are measured center to center.
I won't bother posting photos this time for the sake of space and ease of reporting what happened at the range. So far, I am very confused about the results.
I weighed the powder charges to 25.5 grains and weighed the bullets in two groups; 124.3-124.7 grains (Batch 1) and 123.8-124.2 grains (Batch 2) with 18 bullets in each batch.
Batch 1 produced six, three-shot groups of 2.3", 2.4", 1.6", 4.8", 3.0" and 4.1". The average group size was 3.0" with a low of 1.6" and a high of 4.8".
Batch 2 produced five, three-shot groups of 1.9", 2.7", 1.8", 5.5", 3.9" and two rounds 3.3" apart. I did not get a sixth three-shot group due to a bump-fire happening with the Lead Sled. The average group size was 3.2" with a low of 1.8" and a high of 5.5".
Despite my efforts, the groups were all over the place and not very consistent. 1.6" to 5.5" is a large spread considering the work that was put into this last range session. Everything that I know of has been mechanically checked and the measurement of the ammo components was performed with a reliable Dillon digital scale.
Right now, I am at a loss as to what is going on. At this point, I am inclined to blame the TWS GEN II mount, even though I want it to work so very much. Two different, quality scopes and rings, with high and low magnifications. Controlled, indoor shooting conditions. Measured and calculated batches of ammo. If anything was coming loose, the groups would have gotten worse. If it was the rifle, the groups would not be all over the map. Personally, I wouldn't care if all the groups were 5" every time, I just want consistency. My next step is to load some Hornady 123gr FMJ bullets with the factory setting of 24.7gr of powder and hope for the best.
I guess what I am saying is this. The TWS GEN II mount seems to be a good compromise for those that want a magnified optic mounted as low as possible with little to no weight/bulk added to the rifle. Until I see something else, and in my limited experience thus far, I will consider the mount to be a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.
I purchased a Norinco NHM-91 with a 20" barrel for the project and was made a beta-tester for Texas Weapon Systems GEN II Dog Leg Scope Rail. Here are my results so far:
-Rifle is a Norinco NHM-91 with 20" heavy barrel
-Ammo was Monarch 124gr FMJ.
-Scope is a Leupold MK4 MR/T 1.5-5x20.
-Rings are Leupold QRW 30mm high rings.
-All firing was done from a Caldwell Lead Sled at an indoor range at a distance of 100 yards.
-Groups are measured center to center.
Target 1 shows my first two groups. Group 1 was 5.6" and high left. After making adjustments, Group 2 was 3.6" and in the center of the target. No other adjustments were made during this test.
TARGET 1
Target 2 shows the second set of groups. Group 3 was 3.5" and slightly high left. Group 4 was 4.4" and slightly right of center.
TARGET 2
Target 3 shows the last set of groups. Group 5 was 3.2" and low right. Group 6 was 4.8" and slightly right of center, both high and low impacts.
TARGET 3
Average group size was 4.2" and I am not very happy with that. This test was performed with the latest version of release button and though nothing broke this time, the button remained loose compared to the first one. After cycling the bolt many times, and after firing, the button could be easily pressed in with my thumb. Despite everything being checked several times, I am not sure if the groups fired are the result of the mount or the ammo.
I will add this; I have some ammo that is being pulled and the powder charges are being remeasured. The first ten I pulled were all over the place as far as powder charge was concerned. Once I work up a small batch of that, I will retest to see if the groups sizes decrease.
Here is my second range review after reloading the factory powder to 25 grains each:
-Rifle is a Norinco NHM-91 with 20" heavy barrel.
-Ammo was Monarch 124gr FMJ with remeasured powder of 25 grains.
-Scope is a Leupold MK4 MR/T 1.5-5x20.
-Rings are Leupold QRW 30mm high rings.
-All firing was done from a Caldwell Lead Sled at an indoor range at a distance of 100 yards.
-Groups are measured center to center.
Target 1 shows group one at 2.6" and group two at 2.1". Much better than my first outing with the factory load.
TARGET 1
Target 2 shows group three at 2.3" and group four at 4.2". That little flyer really threw off group four, considering that two of them were in the 2" white circle just under the diamond.
TARGET 2
Target 3 shows group five at 3.1" and group six at 4.6". Group six was on the vertical centerline, but the high and low spread ruined the group size for me.
TARGET 3
Overall, I guess you could say it was not too bad. I am still not overly pleased, and I am not sure if the spread of the groups has anything to do with the mount, but with an average group size of 3.2" (an inch under the last average), it looks like the remeasuring of powder helped. I only had access to a beam scale and not a digital one, plus I could not weigh the projectiles, so my measurements could have been a little off. I will try again with a more accurate scale and attempt to find this rifle's "sweet spot" for a particular load. Relating to the mount, the release button lockup is not as tight as my first button, and I tweaked the little tab on the right side of the mount for a slightly tighter fit to the receiver.
Here are the results after reloading the factory powder to 25.5 grains each and weighing/matching the factory projectiles, plus changing the optic:
-Rifle is a Norinco NHM-91 with 20" heavy barrel.
-Ammo was Monarch FMJ with remeasured powder of 25.5 grains.
-Scope is a Trijicon TR23-2G 5-20X50.
-Rings are Bobro Low/Standard Precision Optic 30mm Mount.
-All firing was done from a Caldwell Lead Sled at an indoor range at a distance of 100 yards.
-Groups are measured center to center.
I won't bother posting photos this time for the sake of space and ease of reporting what happened at the range. So far, I am very confused about the results.
I weighed the powder charges to 25.5 grains and weighed the bullets in two groups; 124.3-124.7 grains (Batch 1) and 123.8-124.2 grains (Batch 2) with 18 bullets in each batch.
Batch 1 produced six, three-shot groups of 2.3", 2.4", 1.6", 4.8", 3.0" and 4.1". The average group size was 3.0" with a low of 1.6" and a high of 4.8".
Batch 2 produced five, three-shot groups of 1.9", 2.7", 1.8", 5.5", 3.9" and two rounds 3.3" apart. I did not get a sixth three-shot group due to a bump-fire happening with the Lead Sled. The average group size was 3.2" with a low of 1.8" and a high of 5.5".
Despite my efforts, the groups were all over the place and not very consistent. 1.6" to 5.5" is a large spread considering the work that was put into this last range session. Everything that I know of has been mechanically checked and the measurement of the ammo components was performed with a reliable Dillon digital scale.
Right now, I am at a loss as to what is going on. At this point, I am inclined to blame the TWS GEN II mount, even though I want it to work so very much. Two different, quality scopes and rings, with high and low magnifications. Controlled, indoor shooting conditions. Measured and calculated batches of ammo. If anything was coming loose, the groups would have gotten worse. If it was the rifle, the groups would not be all over the map. Personally, I wouldn't care if all the groups were 5" every time, I just want consistency. My next step is to load some Hornady 123gr FMJ bullets with the factory setting of 24.7gr of powder and hope for the best.
I guess what I am saying is this. The TWS GEN II mount seems to be a good compromise for those that want a magnified optic mounted as low as possible with little to no weight/bulk added to the rifle. Until I see something else, and in my limited experience thus far, I will consider the mount to be a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.
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