It’s crazy they go to that much work to avoid using an optic by default when they have a Pic rail right there. It’s not like they’d need 10 million red dots because this gun is so common it’s handed to every conscript, these went to “elite” units, right? The least they could have done is a red dot or a fixed 4x scope. Iron sights are fine in the absence of other options but this gun isn’t that old, and the iron sights being so far forward meant this thing was inherently inaccurate for anything past 200 meters, making it a suppressed version of a spray and pray like an AK-74u. Shouldn’t they, at minimum, have fixed power scopes like the one used by Lady Death?
Also, and I hate to be nitpicky, but isn’t gripping an AK by the magazine a bad idea, especially with the vertical grip right freaking there? Isn’t his thumb right where the magazine release sits?
Yeah, might just be something for the photo-op but they probably could have managed to get some kind of cheap red dot. I have some examples of Vals with red dots & scopes (and those don’t even use a pic rail, the Val already has a side rail like the SVD and some AKs for this purpose), plus the modernized ASM Val comes with a receiver top rail
In this specific scenario, a magnified scope probably isn’t the best idea since this setup is meant for very close-quarters fighting, like breaching into buildings (hence the shield). But a red dot would still be useful.
gripping an AK by the magazine a bad idea
I feel like rifles with an AK-style magazine mechanism are actually one of the types where you can most get away with holding them that way, the lockup is really solid. Holding it like that here probably has something to do with the shield - you can see that the AS Val guy’s hand is almost bumping up against the shield guy’s shoulder, holding it by the foregrip just wouldn’t work out here. And he needs to be basically hugging the shield guy in order to most effectively take cover behind him - see here, where the second guy is so close he can’t even grip the magazine, let alone the foregrip
Isn’t his thumb right where the magazine release sits
I think in this grip you just rest your thumb along the side, rather than fully wrapping around:
It’s crazy they go to that much work to avoid using an optic by default when they have a Pic rail right there. It’s not like they’d need 10 million red dots because this gun is so common it’s handed to every conscript, these went to “elite” units, right? The least they could have done is a red dot or a fixed 4x scope. Iron sights are fine in the absence of other options but this gun isn’t that old, and the iron sights being so far forward meant this thing was inherently inaccurate for anything past 200 meters, making it a suppressed version of a spray and pray like an AK-74u. Shouldn’t they, at minimum, have fixed power scopes like the one used by Lady Death?
Also, and I hate to be nitpicky, but isn’t gripping an AK by the magazine a bad idea, especially with the vertical grip right freaking there? Isn’t his thumb right where the magazine release sits?
Yeah, might just be something for the photo-op but they probably could have managed to get some kind of cheap red dot. I have some examples of Vals with red dots & scopes (and those don’t even use a pic rail, the Val already has a side rail like the SVD and some AKs for this purpose), plus the modernized ASM Val comes with a receiver top rail
In this specific scenario, a magnified scope probably isn’t the best idea since this setup is meant for very close-quarters fighting, like breaching into buildings (hence the shield). But a red dot would still be useful.
I feel like rifles with an AK-style magazine mechanism are actually one of the types where you can most get away with holding them that way, the lockup is really solid. Holding it like that here probably has something to do with the shield - you can see that the AS Val guy’s hand is almost bumping up against the shield guy’s shoulder, holding it by the foregrip just wouldn’t work out here. And he needs to be basically hugging the shield guy in order to most effectively take cover behind him - see here, where the second guy is so close he can’t even grip the magazine, let alone the foregrip
I think in this grip you just rest your thumb along the side, rather than fully wrapping around:
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: