PK-AV, Cracked Lense, Repair? *Updated info...

1224 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Hootbro, Aug 5, 2008

Tyrvidar

Discussion Starter · Jul 21, 2008

300 rounds down the pipe of a 7.62 Saiga conversion... on a Humid, 103 degree Sunday in Texas, I'm never gentle with my PK-AV but I don't abuse it...

The forward glass is fine. Actually I kept shooting with it for shits and giggles even after the rear glass cracked. Took it off... put it back on... held it's zero fine and functioned fine haha... So my question is I've never taken one of these things apart but it looks like there are 2 pins holding the rear body on. that if removed... would allow me to access the busted rear glass piece. I could probably find or have cut a new piece of glass for this thing. What do ya think I should do?

I got this from Tantal 6 months back and sent him a question on how I should go about repairing it... I figured he would be the expert to ask.

Ideas?

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Tyrvidar

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jul 22, 2008

The little dimple in the picture looks like a tiny ass flat head screw, one on each side. Has anyone taken one of these things apart? I'd like to remove the broken glass in mine without breaking the glass anymore and then replace it with something not as fragile.

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TabulaRasa

· #3 · Jul 24, 2008

Reports of chintzy quality on these Russian scopes bothers me a little bit. PK-AS scopes are no longer available. I've seen multiple reports of broken Kobras, now this...

Makes me wonder if the Russians are still exporting the lower grade "monkey models" and keeping the best stuff for themselves.

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strfy

· #4 · Jul 24, 2008

Its a long shot, But you can E-mail zenit-belomo. See if thay can fix it.

http://zenit-belomo.com/index-eng.htm

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Tyrvidar

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 24, 2008

I removed the broken glass from the unit by breaking it even more. Cleaned it out, it's thick glass, 1/8ths inch thick actually... I wouldn't think it would just crack on me. But Glass is glass... I was using a flash hider on my gun and not a real compensator... These were designed for the lighter recoil of a 5.45 anyways I'm sure.

I have sent emails to Kalinka and Zenit asking for details on how I could go about repairing this... Hoping Tantal gets around to reading my Email, I know he is busy. Not sure if he has ever taken one of these apart.

The good News: The front glass piece is still together and shows no sign of cracking. The red dot is fine and still functions fully. I have plans for replacing the rear glass in a rigged up manner (but functional/good looking way) and will post photos in the future. I'll probably keep this optic off my 7.62 rifles and just use it on my .223 Saiga I'm building up.

I'm sure the Nitrogen filled vacuum that was in it, 100 degree Texas heat, and recoil caused the weaker of the 2 glass pieces to give.

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Tyrvidar

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 5, 2008

Per Tantal:

I have seen this happen before, they often have a little slack in the rear glass and this allows it to bounce around when the rifle is fired, often getting broken. This piece of clear glass is uncoated and not optically important in any way, but serves to keep the interior of the sight clear of debris. If you can bust the glass out without disassembling anything, you can get it out with needle nose after it's in two pieces. Push it with your finger and see if you can angle it sideways, then pull it out. The gas is already gone, I can almost assure you. I see no reason why you can't disassemble it if you wish to replace the glass. I would also mount a rubber o-ring of the correct size to act as a recoil absorber. VCR belts of the correct diameter work great for this.

Report:

Still works fine... I'll figure some way to put a sturdy rear lens in the unit with a rubber buffer of some sort. Should make for an interesting project.

Hope this helps someone.

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Hootbro

· #7 · Aug 5, 2008

Tyrvidar said:
................ I'm sure the Nitrogen filled vacuum that was in it, 100 degree Texas heat, and recoil caused the weaker of the 2 glass pieces to give.

Nitrogen is a stable gas under even under elevated temps. Not the cause here.

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