Belarus bp-02 scope mount fix.

[Dark Skies]

If you have a Belarus bp-02 scope mount fitted to your AK-alike, as I do on my Saiga M3, you may run into an issue with the mount becoming too loose for the quick release lever to adequately cinch down. It's all or nothing with this lever. The only way to tighten it is to do a further full turn. This works but usually causes a very noticeable deformation of the fairly flimsy mount. It can also make it difficult to remove.

You want something with a bit more finesse. To be able to just cinch it down but no more than strictly necessary. Here's my take on it. Remove the spring clip that holds the lever on to the left hand threaded screw. Get yourself an 8mm steel nut, drill it out so it will easily slip onto the end of the screw, and silver solder it in place. Give it a good clean, wash it in acetone, and get some cold blue solution to blacken the nut. Job done.

[Dark Skies]

If you're not that handy with silver solder an alternative is to drill out a suitable sized nut so that it will be an interference fit with the splines on the end of the left-handed lever screw. Get yourself some Loctite 641 (it's a retaining compound for heavy duty bushes (think Land Rover spring shackle bushes and such), clean everything with acetone. Apply the Loctite to the inside of the nut and press it onto the end of the screw with the aid of a vice. DO NOT PUT PRESSURE DIRECTLY ONTO THE SCREW - YOU WILL BEND IT. Instead, put the screw inside a metal bush or a long socket or similar so only the nut you're pressing on is under load. Leave it for 24 hours for full strength. Depending on the screw used on your particular mount you may have a pocket where the screw end doesn't reach the other side of the nut. You can file the nut down flush for neatness.

[Dark Skies]

There's also another thing you might try. Unscrew the screw out and try shimming it with a very thin washer. I found this worked for a while but eventually the recoil would over come it and the mount would slip backwards - hence I ended up going the soldered nut route.

[Dark Skies]

Reading through my post I noticed I'd forgotten to mention the reason I didn't simply unclip the lever, rotate it on the splines a little and clip it in the new position. I found there doesn't seem to be a position that allows me to cinch the lever in place tight enough to stay in place AND be easily removable when the time comes to access the Saiga's top cover. The lever in the remove position is just that little too tight to slide the mount off the side rail.

This is the second mount I've had trouble with. I've been one step away from getting one of those proper Russian sniper mount and scope assemblies from the Russian Federation - the cost cost has always put me off.