PSO-1 4x24mm Telescopic Sight from Kalashnikov USA  and  PSO-1 Mount from Krebs Custom

More Silk Purse than Sow's Ear:  Scoping a Kalashnikov Rifle

` Kalashnikov USA PSO-1 Scope with Krebs Custom Mounting Plate

PSO-1 Scope Specifications Magnification:  4X Field of View:  6 degrees Resolution Limit: 12 seconds Exit Pupil Diameter:   6mm Eye Relief:  68.2mm Eyepiece Diopter Setting:  -0.5 to -1.0 Dimensions (mm):  375x136x72 Weight: 0.6 kg (1.32 lbs)

Soviet  firearms and optics generally don't get the respect they deserve. While rifles built on the Kalashnikov pattern have set the standard for rugged reliability under the most adverse of conditions, they are  generally thought capable of mediocre accuracy at best.  Despite this, the Galil rifle, a very slightly modified Kalashnikov action, is used as one one of the primary sniper rifles of the Israeli Army, and two of the most accurate bench rest cartridges known, the .22 PPC and the 6mm PPC are based on the Soviet M1943 7.62x39mm cartridge.  The East Germans used Steyr SSG's chambered for the M1974 5.45x39mm cartridge as sniper rifles.  Clearly the Kalashnikov system and cartridges are capable of impressive accuracy.  Our own experience has borne this out.  While testing the Krebs AK-103 rifle we were happily surprised to achieve a 1.5" fifty yard group.  The contradiction between this historical and empirical data and the common conception of the Kalashnikov is paradoxical, to say the least.

Most of the reason for this paradox can been explained with a brief look at a Kalashnikov's sights.  The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation and windage.  Ok, no big shock there - this arrangement has been used on military rifles for as long as smokeless powder has been used as a propellant.  The rear sight is an elevation adjustable notch mounted above the chamber.  Again, this is a type of sight that's been used for many, many years.  While these sights are robust and reliable, they do not lend themselves readily to gilt edged accuracy under the best of circumstances.  Factor in the AK's short sight radius, and you have a combination that challenges even the best of marksmen.   Put another way, in order to achieve the accuracy of which the Kalashnikov system is capable, a dramatic improvement in the sights is necessary.  Fortunately for Kalashnikov fans, due to a burgeoning trade with the former Warsaw Pact nations, the options are many,  from military unit power optical collimator ("red dot") sights and magnifying optics to high quality commercial variable power scopes.  The most famous "cold war also ran" scope available today is the PSO-1.

The PSO-1 made its initial appearance in the late 1950's, during Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov's development of what was to become the SVD sniper rifle.  The scope and rifle were adopted as the standard sniper system of the Soviet Army on July 3, 1963, with initial fieldings beginning in 1966.  It remains  the current sniper system of the Russian Army.  The PSO-1 has  fixed four power magnification, an illuminated reticule with range finder graduated for the SVD's 7.62x54mmR cartridge, and an integral mounting system designed to allow rapid mounting and dismounting on the SVD's integral rail with no loss of zero.

The Kalashnikov USA Connection

Port St. Lucie, Florida based Kalashnikov USA is one of the largest importers of Russian optics in general, and of the PSO-1 scopes in particular.  After extensive product research, Kalashnikov USA settled on the PSO-1's manufactured by the Zenith Optical-Mechanical Factory in Minsk, Byelorussia.  While there are other factories in the former Soviet Union producing PSO-1's, the Zenith factory's products were found to be of superior quality.  The scopes are nitrogen charged and sealed against moisture and other atmospheric contamination.  All lenses are fully coated. While classified as a "commercial scope" to conform with importation regulations, the PSO-1 imported by Kalashnikov USA is virtually identical to the military model, with a few minor changes.  Specifically: the elevation knob is graduated to 2,000 meters as opposed to the military scope's 1,300m

• the battery housing is designed to accept a single AA battery instead of a lithium cell
• the illumination source is a red LED
• the range finder is graduated for a 1.8 meter tall object instead of a 1.7 meter object
• the reticule has three sighting chevrons instead of four

The PSO-1 in Depth
The primary subassemblies of the PSO-1 are:
 

• Body
• Objective lens
• Eyepiece lens
• Sunscreen
• Rubber eye shield
• Elevation adjustment knob
• Windage adjustment knob
• Mount
• Battery housing
• Reticule illumination lamp
• Lenscap

The elevation adjustment knob is mounted on top of the body, and has a distance scale, graduated in meters around the sides of the drum.  The top of the elevation adjustment knob is inscribed with the following cyrillic inscriptions:

• BBEPX (Upward)
• BHN3 (Downward)
• CTn (MPI - Mean Point of Impact)

PSO-1 Elevation Adjustment Knob Markings

PSO-1 Adjustment Knobs

PSO-1 Windage Adjustment Knob Markings

• BnPABO (To the Right)
• BAEBO  (To the Left)
• CTn (MPI - Mean Point of Impact)

Each adjustment knob has an upper band with sixty hash marks.  These hash marks are used to set the knobs to mechanical zero.  Once the rifle/scope combination has been sighted in, the knob retaining nuts can be loosened, allowing the graduated drums to be moved independently of the reticule, and brought to mechanical zero.

The battery housing is integral to the rear mount pylon and accepts on AA size battery.  The reticule illumination lamp, a red LED, is mounted in a conical brass housing that screws into the bottom of the sight body.  The reticule illumination toggle switch is located on the forward mount pylon.  The top of the switch housing is marked BKn (On), while the bottom is marked BbIKn (Off).

The vertical mount pylons are integral to the sight body, and are affixed to the mounting dovetail by six screws, four horizontal and two vertical.  The mounting dovetail features a quick release locking assembly that is activated by swinging a lever through an arc of 180 degrees.
 
 

The PSO-1 reticule is designed to allow the rifleman to rapidly acquire, range, and engage targets with as little need as necessary to mechanically adjust the scope.  While it may look a bit strange to Americans used to a cross hair or T style reticule, the design of the PSO-1 reticule makes a great deal of sense once it is explained.  The PSO-1 model we tested had an elevation drum graduated to 2,000m in range.  If, for example, the elevation knob setting indicated 600 meters, the vertex of the upper angle would be set for 600 meters, the vertex of the next lower angle 700 meters, the next lower 800 meters.   The horizontal windage correction scale is graduated in the same manner as the windage adjustment knob:  If a round is observed to strike three hash marks to the left of the target, increasing the rightward deflection by three hash marks on the knob's scale will bring the mean point of impact back to the mechanical zero point.  If the round strikes two

hashers to the right, incrementing the knob in the leftward direction two  digits will center the mean point of impact.

The range-finding scale on the lower left has two lines. The upper (curved) line is calculated for a target 1.7 meters (about  5'7") in height and is marked with digits 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.  To use the scale, the target is straddled between the upper and lower lines.  The distance, in hundreds of meters, is indicated by the number above the point where the target just touches the upper and lower lines.  The reticule can be illuminated for use in low light conditions.

The PSO-1 has a number of attractive features.  Intrigued and curious, we rang up Kalashnikov USA,  and ordered one.

Field Test
A few days later the scope arrived.  It was an impressive piece with a solid, imposing look to it.  Evidently Soviet snipers were expected to defend themselves when their SVD's ran out of ammunition by beating off attacking enemies with their PSO-1's.  But just how good was it?  To answer this question, we subjected the PSO-1 to intensive scrutiny and equally intensive testing.

Ergonomics
All of the controls functioned smoothly and without binding.  While it took a little getting used to, the rubber eye shield was actually quite comfortable, and provided just the right amount of eye relief to bring the reticule and magnified image into focus.

Mount Issues - Krebs Custom to the Rescue
As ergonomically excellent as the PSO-1 was, the mounting plate that came with the scope is simply unusable on a Kalashnikov style rifle.  While it mounts the scope to the rifle securely enough, it positions the scope approximately five inches too far to the rear.  The effect is that the rifle cannot be shouldered with the scope in place.  Fortunately, there is a simple solution.  Marc Krebs, of Krebs Custom Guns has designed, and is producing a scope mounting plate that obviates the mounting problem.  The Krebs Custom mounting plate is precision machined from aircraft grade aluminum bar stock.  It installs in minutes, and the procedure is quite simple:

Krebs Custom Mounting Plate, Left Side

Krebs Custom Mounting Plate, Right Side

• The four horizontal and two vertical screws that hold the original mounting plate to the scope's integral vertical mounting pylons are removed.
• The original mounting plate is removed from the mounting pylons, and the two metal dowel pins from the pylons.
• The Krebs Custom mounting plate is affixed with the original horizontal and vertical mounting screws.
• The locking hardware is removed from the original mounting plate.
• The locking wedge is pressed down against the spring, away from the locking nut
• The locking nut is unscrewed and removed, allowing disassembly of the locking hardware
• The locking hardware is reassembled onto the Krebs Custom mounting plate.  The latch tab may need to be bent slightly to mate properly with the new mounting plate.

Optics
The optics on the PSO-1 we tested were very clear and crisp, offering excellent resolution and light transmission.   Using the scope across a known set of known distances, we found that the four power magnification was more than adequate for acquiring, tracking and engaging a man sized target out to 800 meters.  Moreover, the relatively low power magnification helped to minimize the reticule's perceived movement relative to the target.

When used in low light conditions such as dawn or dusk, the finely etched reticule tended to fade into the background.  This problem was more than solved by using the PSO-1's reticule illumination.  When switched on, the reticule shone in a bright red glow.  The illuminated reticule lost nothing in terms of resolution, sharpness or clarity, and permitted target engagement when aiming would have otherwise been impossible.

Durability
We liked what we saw so far in the PSO-1.  The question was, how well would it stand up to the rigors of use?  To find out, (read that "to try to break the scope") we devised a pair of tests.

Test 1 - Shock
The PSO-1 was placed inside its soft case, which was placed inside a 7.62mm NATO ammunition can.  The can was tossed, literally, into the trunk of a car and left to bounce around for ten days over poorly paved roads.  Our intent was to duplicate the conditions found inside a bouncing, jiggling BMP-2 mechanized infantry combat vehicle, where an SVD might be commonly found.

Results:  No ill effects noted.

Test 2 - Moisture
The one thing that can be counted on in the field, whether one is on a hunting trip or on a military operation, is rain.  And it's a guaranteed thing that it will rain when you don't want it to, on things that you don't want to get wet.  To test the PSO-1's resistance to atmospheric moisture, we sent it to the showers, literally.  Every morning, for seven mornings, the scope came into the shower with a CRUFFLER.COM staffer (Editor's note:  We're not weird, just dedicated.)  The rubber objective cover was fitted.  It wasn't held under the water directly for long periods of time, but left in a corner of the shower exposed to splashing and spray.   It was also run quickly under direct spray at least once per shower.

Results:  No ill effects noted.

Test 3 - Dust
During mechanized operations, everything, and everyone, gets coated with a fine layer of dust kicked up by an endless procession of tracked vehicles.  To simulate this, we fitted the rubber objective cover over the lens, and put the scope into the mostly full bag of a vacuum cleaner.  Then we vacuumed seven different carpeted rooms, swirling the PSO-1 in a dust storm each time.

Results:  No ill effects noted.

Test 4: Cold
Some people have casseroles in their freezers.  Some people have frozen vegetables.  Some people have the turkey that was on sale last week. We have, or rather had, a PSO-1 in ours for two days.

Results:  No ill effects noted.

Wish List
As good as the PSO-1 was, there were a few things we'd like to see to improve it.

• We'd like to see the PSO-1 come with either a military SVD mount or a Krebs Custom AK mount, at the customer's choice.
• The current PSO-1's are calibrated only for 7.62x54mmR ammunition.  We'd like to see a version with interchangeable cams for 5.45x39mm, 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39mm, 7.62mm NATO,  and 7.62x54mmR.
• We'd like to see a detailed, high quality English language manual supplied with the PSO-1, as unfortunately, our Russian is a little weak.

For more information, see the Kalashnikov USA website at http://www.weapons-russian.com, and the Krebs Custom website at http://www.krebscustom.com.
 

And now, our Buy-O-Meter rating for the Kalashnikov USA PSO-1 sight and Krebs Custom mount:
 
 

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