PSO scope eye relief discussion:  Focus on the new "V" model.

Courtesy of Tantal:  Dealer in Russian Optics and other accessories.

The purpose here is the explain the history of the eye relief problem with the PSO and the AK.

Most of you know the PSO was never meant to be an optic for a Kalashnikov, as it was designed from the beginning to be the companion to the SVD sniper rifle, and the AK was not considered a sniping weapon at any time in it's service life with the Russian Army. Since the optics rail on an SVD is high and to the far front area of an SVD receiver, and the AK optics plate is low and centered, there are ergonomic considerations to look at.

Only in the second half of the Kalashnikov series lifespan did the adoption (for some rifles), of a side mounting optics plate give the rifle the capacity to mount various optics. This side plate was meant for night vision equipment, thus models which possess a side plate were denoted with an "N" at the end of their nomenclature. Such as AKS-74N. Early versions would not accept the mounting of the PSO.

The model of Russian Kalashnikov side plate developed by the early 80's was also copied by East Germany and Romania, with certain small modifications. It is worthy to note that these types will enable the standard PSO to mount, with very restricted eye relief.

It was during the Afghan war that in Russia, some daylight optics were tried, since the PSO was the only available model a very few were modified to fit the AK, the modifications were essentially aimed at providing more eye relief. This was actually a band aid method, and I have not seen any commercially available PSO's using this design. It actually gave only about an extra inch of eye relief. We worked on some US copies of these for a time, but once the V model was available and provided almost double the extra eye relief obtained by using the method of the so-called "Afghan modification."

The Russians again modified the side plates in 1988-89, these being later installed to the AK-74M which was adopted and type classified by the Russian Army in 1992. They were not designed to enable the use of the regular PSO as in the past, at all. This same plate and several modifications of it, are seen today on the Saiga rifles, and the AK-103 conversion in the US.

Since in the modern times, it has become very fashionable for daytime optics of many types, to be used on standard infantry rifles, not just sniper rifles. Even certain units of the Russian military have been seen in Chechnya and elsewhere using various daytime optics, including PSO scopes.

There was also a need to manufacture PSO scopes to fit the new Russian rails, thus the Russians at first made a new, replaceable bottom clamp for the PSO scope, so it would fit the Russian rail. It was dubbed here in the US as the "Saiga clamp" since it allowed the use of the PSO on the Saiga rifle. It was great for the Saiga which has a long stock, but it;'s use on the AK with standard military side plate was less than perfect. Some means of adding length to the stock was usually needed when this setup was used, as it set the scope slightly back further than a regular PSO would sit on the older, 80's era plate.

As said previously, the Romanian rifles have the older style plate, and will normally accept a normal SVD PSO, even though eye relief has been reported by some to be acceptable, I have never been happy with it, with my standard length stocks. But it was the very best you could obtain, until the PSO-1 V arrived.

The PSO-1V uses a new clamp design that enables it to be used without modification on all known AK side rails excluding Yugoslavian and Chinese. It was designed specifically for the Kalashnikov by the Russians. Fully factory built with matching finish and materials, it uses the clamp system of the 1P21 and PGO sniper scopes, as well as other types of well known long time military models. Out of the box, it automatically provided 1.75 inches more eye relief than any other setup currently on the market.

If you feel the PSO-1V needs more eye relief on your particular setup, then you would not be able to use a standard PSO at all, I would guess. Of course there are many variables involved in how much eye relief each model can provide on any type of rifle and with any end user's armspan, etc., , but I can tell you that the V model provides by far the most eye relief of any other Russian PSO on a Kalashnikov no matter the model or the side plate used.

This is compared to either the standard SVD type clamp that is found on 99% of the cheap PSO's sold by many vendors, or the "Saiga" type clamp used on some models so they will fit the Russian side rails

Many side plate designs on factory rifles (and aftermarket types) will normally not accept any type of SVD clamp PSO models, contrary to what other vendors like to say such as "fits any AK variant." In many cases they will not fit any AK rifle. I get requests almost daily from guys who wish to trade in their old PSO for a correct model to fit their rifle. many times this is because they purchased a PSO that wouldn't fit their rifle side plate design.

It is strange how some of these are marketed by individuals and companies in the US. For instance the V model fits the Saiga/AK-100 side rail found on the Krebs and other conversions, while the normal SVD type PSO will not, even the so called 400 meter "762x39mm" model which still has a SVD clamp on it. Some of these scopes will fit from the front, contrary to the original design which limits travel by blocking the forward travel of the scope as the rifle recoils. I have letters from people who say no matter how tight they make the clamp fit the rifle, on this method, it always walks on the rail as they shoot. This is a bad way to mount the scope, as it begs it to crack from being overtightened. The key to maintaining zero on any of the Russian side mount systems is to slide the scope from the rear until it stops on the forward stop, this makes sure it will not walk forward during recoil. Almost all rails are slightly canted form the bore of the rifle, at a long distance even a small amount of travel forward can knock the aim off in degrees.

In any case, why would the Russians calibrate a PSO for 762x39 when it wont even fit a Russian Kalashnikov in that calibre? I can't figure that one out. I am sure they were not simply marketing these for SAR rifles only?

Also I have seen some advertised as being " the first PSO to be calibrated in Yards not meters" and then they go on to say there is no English manual, just in Cyrillic? Why worry about yards if the scope is sold with Russian manuals, it doesn't appear to be marketed for English speaking countries at all, so I find it hard to believe quite frankly.

Getting back to the eye relief, let me give you an example. The standard SVD PSO will fit the Romanian SAR rifle in most cases, without modification, and this provides better eye relief than a Saiga clamp PSO on a Saiga based AK. In fact when using the regular PSO, mounting it to the Romanian rifles gives the best eye relief it can give on any Kalashnikov it will fit.

Now what happens to this combination if we substitute a PSO-1V? Well now we get 1.75 inches more eye relief, and this is a huge improvement. Anyone using the regular PSO type clamp who has found a way to use it with little discomfort, would be amazed at the improvement.

I would think the only persons who might have any desire to have more eye relief have very short stocks, and a large build, and perhaps have had no prior experience with the PSO to compare with. Everyone can understand how beneficial a 1" stock extension can be in this case. Look at the PSO-1V as providing a built-in 1.75" stock extension, from an eye relief perspective.

I think the average shooter will find the eye relief extremely comfortable, and I would say without exception there is no better version of PSO to use on the Kalashnikov frame, than the V model.

Well, I've rambled on long enough, but you can see this is a favorite topic of mine, hehe. If anyone want to discuss it more just send me an email I would love to do so.

Tantal