Panzerknacker
Member
Hi all,
For those who might be interested I thought I'd post my experiences thus far with the reproduction ZF39 Zielvier scope and Long Side Rail Mount from Red Star Mountain I bought a couple of months ago (#notsponsored) since I, myself, couldn't find anything much in the way of reviews on them when I looked.
Over all I'm very pleased- the fit and finish of both is excellent, and they function really quite well; and apart from a few little tweaks I had to make, I've had no problems at all.
I've put nearly 300 rounds through the rifle it's mounted on, and I'm shooting better now than ever. Currently, after dialing in the scope and getting used to using it (it's my first time using a scope of any kind), at a range of 181m (198yd) I'm scoring hits in a circle of maybe 20cm in diameter (8"), with maybe 30% of them at more like 12-13cm (5")- seated at a shooting bench, using a rolled up Zeltbahn on top of an ammunition can.
I ordered directly from RSM as it was the best total price with shipping. Delivery was very fast, and the packing was excellent. The company explained to me that while they can't take returns- apparently Chinese law allows export of firearms-related items, but prohibits the import), they will do all they can to sort out any customer issues through their service portal, although I haven't had any troubles that made it necessary to contact them.
My first minor complaint is that they don't have much in the way of mounting instructions for the LSR. It's not difficult to work out for onesself, but it would have been nicer to have clear directions. They do recommend having a professional gunsmith do the work, so maybe that's partly why. I've had a lot of experience with metalworking and fabrication, so I was able to do it myself, and I found a number of good images of originals to help me with position, etc. RSM does also sell a repro of the Turret Mount that has more in-depth instructions, so again it may be that they expect a professional do mount the LSR and thus don't need to provide in depth-instructions.
Mounting wasn't difficult- the base is made for mounting on any K98k, and the included drill and tap set do a very nice job. My next small complaint is that the pins are very short- they're barely long enough to go through the entire base, but certainly won't be flush with the interior face of the receiver. They're not taper pins either as I understand the originals were. They also don't fit the holes pre-drilled in the mount, and the drill you can get isn't their size. As you can see in the photos, I haven't even installed them yet. It hasn't resulted in any issues at all. Just for completeness-sake I intend to just make a pair of longer pins from nails (a good source of steel rod of varying sizes), and put those in at some point. And it's easy enough to drill out the holes to whatever size rod one may choose to use as the pins- no real need for them to be tapered if they're tight or Loctite is used (as I intend to).
The main screws do not come with cutouts for the heads of the locking screws as the former have to be very tightly screwed in so the latter can keep them that way- so I did have to file the grooves myself. It was easy enough to install them, mark the spots and use the drill and tap and make a simple fixture from a bit of scrap steel to hold the screws tight while I cut them. The seller did recommend ordering a second set of screws in case I lost any during installation or otherwise needed spares, and this was a good idea as I did slightly mess up one screw when cutting the groove.
I did find it was necessary to Loctite in the screws as they did loosen a little at first, but now, after firing a good 250 rounds since, the screws and mount are still nice and tight.
The scope fits nice and tightly in its rings, and I haven't had any issues at all with it moving or the rings' screws loosening. The mount itself fits beautifully on the base and even when just locked in place without tightening down the screw, it doesn't move at all. So the machining of all these parts is top-notch. The screw tightens very well, although I did find I had to Loctite on the nut to keep it from loosening. My only quibble about the upper mount is the finish of some parts- the machining is visible. Notice the milling marks on the tightening screw arm. The edges were also quite sharp, and I had to knock them off with a needle file. The arm's end also has no ridges. But the price is really excellent for what you get- again given how well things fit, etc.- I don't consider either real flaws.
The only major departure from the original design is the use of simple slotted screws for azimuth adjustment instead of the square head bolts of the original LSR mount. The adjustment function is excellent, and I don't see it as a real problem- in fact, it's probably easier to be able to just pull out a flat-head screwdriver than it would be to use the special wrench, especially since the front screw is a slotted head type. I presume this was a cost-saving measure to keep the price of the mount down since they are clearly able to maching all the other complicated pieces so nicely.
Now it's the azimuth adjustment that is the only real sort of weak point of the mount- I have had to tighten the adjusting screws at the range a couple of times. It's not a huge problem, and, presumably, inherent to the design as opposed to a manufacturing issue. If the screws loosen a tiny bit, from the shock of shooting, the mount can move ever so slightly. I've marked where the left-side screw's slot should be so I can easily see if it ever moves, and where to return it if it does. I haven't tried adding any Loctite to the front pivot screw but may give that a go if I find it necessary. For now I just keep a screwdriver in my range box just in case, and I had no troubles firing 60 rounds last time I was at the range.
The scope is beautiful. Very nicely made and the optics are clear and the image sharp. It's steel, and seems very solid. I had to tighten the front retaining ring after the first 40 rounds, but since then it's remained tight- so check and tighten that when you get it if you order one. It's not a flaw. The range adjustment ring and focus knob operate smoothly and work well. The markings on the range ring are probably not correctly set by the factory, but, just like the real Zielvier, you can just loosen the three small screws on top to rotate the ring to calibrate it yourself. I can't say for sure the markings are accurate since my shooting range only goes to 181m (198yds), and I'm still fine-tuning the range setting for myself; plus for any measuring device the top and bottom ends of the scale are the least-accurate. I have found that the focus knob does need re-adjusting from time to time as it isn't tough to rotate, but I wouldn't consider that a real flaw.
So, as I wrote at the beginning, over-all I'm very pleased with the scope and mount- they're very well-made and function nicely, and I'm having a great time shooting with them. Now if only the cartridges weren't so damned expensive...
For those who might be interested I thought I'd post my experiences thus far with the reproduction ZF39 Zielvier scope and Long Side Rail Mount from Red Star Mountain I bought a couple of months ago (#notsponsored) since I, myself, couldn't find anything much in the way of reviews on them when I looked.
Over all I'm very pleased- the fit and finish of both is excellent, and they function really quite well; and apart from a few little tweaks I had to make, I've had no problems at all.
I've put nearly 300 rounds through the rifle it's mounted on, and I'm shooting better now than ever. Currently, after dialing in the scope and getting used to using it (it's my first time using a scope of any kind), at a range of 181m (198yd) I'm scoring hits in a circle of maybe 20cm in diameter (8"), with maybe 30% of them at more like 12-13cm (5")- seated at a shooting bench, using a rolled up Zeltbahn on top of an ammunition can.
I ordered directly from RSM as it was the best total price with shipping. Delivery was very fast, and the packing was excellent. The company explained to me that while they can't take returns- apparently Chinese law allows export of firearms-related items, but prohibits the import), they will do all they can to sort out any customer issues through their service portal, although I haven't had any troubles that made it necessary to contact them.
My first minor complaint is that they don't have much in the way of mounting instructions for the LSR. It's not difficult to work out for onesself, but it would have been nicer to have clear directions. They do recommend having a professional gunsmith do the work, so maybe that's partly why. I've had a lot of experience with metalworking and fabrication, so I was able to do it myself, and I found a number of good images of originals to help me with position, etc. RSM does also sell a repro of the Turret Mount that has more in-depth instructions, so again it may be that they expect a professional do mount the LSR and thus don't need to provide in depth-instructions.
Mounting wasn't difficult- the base is made for mounting on any K98k, and the included drill and tap set do a very nice job. My next small complaint is that the pins are very short- they're barely long enough to go through the entire base, but certainly won't be flush with the interior face of the receiver. They're not taper pins either as I understand the originals were. They also don't fit the holes pre-drilled in the mount, and the drill you can get isn't their size. As you can see in the photos, I haven't even installed them yet. It hasn't resulted in any issues at all. Just for completeness-sake I intend to just make a pair of longer pins from nails (a good source of steel rod of varying sizes), and put those in at some point. And it's easy enough to drill out the holes to whatever size rod one may choose to use as the pins- no real need for them to be tapered if they're tight or Loctite is used (as I intend to).
The main screws do not come with cutouts for the heads of the locking screws as the former have to be very tightly screwed in so the latter can keep them that way- so I did have to file the grooves myself. It was easy enough to install them, mark the spots and use the drill and tap and make a simple fixture from a bit of scrap steel to hold the screws tight while I cut them. The seller did recommend ordering a second set of screws in case I lost any during installation or otherwise needed spares, and this was a good idea as I did slightly mess up one screw when cutting the groove.
I did find it was necessary to Loctite in the screws as they did loosen a little at first, but now, after firing a good 250 rounds since, the screws and mount are still nice and tight.
The scope fits nice and tightly in its rings, and I haven't had any issues at all with it moving or the rings' screws loosening. The mount itself fits beautifully on the base and even when just locked in place without tightening down the screw, it doesn't move at all. So the machining of all these parts is top-notch. The screw tightens very well, although I did find I had to Loctite on the nut to keep it from loosening. My only quibble about the upper mount is the finish of some parts- the machining is visible. Notice the milling marks on the tightening screw arm. The edges were also quite sharp, and I had to knock them off with a needle file. The arm's end also has no ridges. But the price is really excellent for what you get- again given how well things fit, etc.- I don't consider either real flaws.
The only major departure from the original design is the use of simple slotted screws for azimuth adjustment instead of the square head bolts of the original LSR mount. The adjustment function is excellent, and I don't see it as a real problem- in fact, it's probably easier to be able to just pull out a flat-head screwdriver than it would be to use the special wrench, especially since the front screw is a slotted head type. I presume this was a cost-saving measure to keep the price of the mount down since they are clearly able to maching all the other complicated pieces so nicely.
Now it's the azimuth adjustment that is the only real sort of weak point of the mount- I have had to tighten the adjusting screws at the range a couple of times. It's not a huge problem, and, presumably, inherent to the design as opposed to a manufacturing issue. If the screws loosen a tiny bit, from the shock of shooting, the mount can move ever so slightly. I've marked where the left-side screw's slot should be so I can easily see if it ever moves, and where to return it if it does. I haven't tried adding any Loctite to the front pivot screw but may give that a go if I find it necessary. For now I just keep a screwdriver in my range box just in case, and I had no troubles firing 60 rounds last time I was at the range.
The scope is beautiful. Very nicely made and the optics are clear and the image sharp. It's steel, and seems very solid. I had to tighten the front retaining ring after the first 40 rounds, but since then it's remained tight- so check and tighten that when you get it if you order one. It's not a flaw. The range adjustment ring and focus knob operate smoothly and work well. The markings on the range ring are probably not correctly set by the factory, but, just like the real Zielvier, you can just loosen the three small screws on top to rotate the ring to calibrate it yourself. I can't say for sure the markings are accurate since my shooting range only goes to 181m (198yds), and I'm still fine-tuning the range setting for myself; plus for any measuring device the top and bottom ends of the scale are the least-accurate. I have found that the focus knob does need re-adjusting from time to time as it isn't tough to rotate, but I wouldn't consider that a real flaw.
So, as I wrote at the beginning, over-all I'm very pleased with the scope and mount- they're very well-made and function nicely, and I'm having a great time shooting with them. Now if only the cartridges weren't so damned expensive...
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