Review Part I: Midwest Industries / US Palm Rail

[MilitaryArms]

I received my Midwest Industries / US Palm rail system last night. I wanted to give you guys a quick peek at the rail before I mount it to a rifle so you can see what it looks like, how the mount works, etc.

YouTube - Review Part I: Midwest Industries / US Palm AK rail system

I'll post more info as I complete my build and start testing the setup.

 

[shooter521]

Good video; I was not aware that both pieces attached directly to the barrel. Not sure how I feel about that.

 

[MilitaryArms]

My primary concern is that if you have something like a vertical grip and whack it from the side, will it rotate the entire assembly and throw your sight off?

The Ultimak is held in place by the gas chamber (up front) and the gas block in the rear. It also won't have any devices other than a sight mounted that can be whacked.

 

[Mr.JAG]

Get this out shooting yet?

I'm curious if you ran into any of the accuracy issue rumors going around.

 

[BSUrugger]

Thanks for the review. I was going to get one for my Draco pistol in FDE. Now I think I may take a different route mainly because I'm afraid of it turning and mounting directly to the barrel and because it is back ordered everywhere including the manufacturer!! I bet it gets heated up pretty good with a few rounds down the barrel.

 

[MilitaryArms]

Thanks for the review. I was going to get one for my Draco pistol in FDE. Now I think I may take a different route mainly because I'm afraid of it turning and mounting directly to the barrel and because it is back ordered everywhere including the manufacturer!! I bet it gets heated up pretty good with a few rounds down the barrel.

I've had no issues with the unit twisting.

Regarding the heat, it dissipates heat VERY well. The grips haven't even gotten so much as warm while I've been firing. I fired 6 magazines through the rifle fairly quickly and they weren't even warm. I have a IR thermometer I will take out next weekend and shoot some mags back to back then take a reading for you.

So far, I like this setup MUCH better than my Ultimak setup. I'll also do a heat comparison between the Ultimak and Midwest rail in terms of how hot the optic gets.

 

[MilitaryArms]

Get this out shooting yet?

I'm curious if you ran into any of the accuracy issue rumors going around.

I fired the new rail on my Interarms AK and noticed absolutely no change in accuracy. When it warms up a bit, I will do a formal test with and without the rail to see if any noticeable impact is made to the accuracy.

 

[cedartop]

Thanks for the review. I was going to get one for my Draco pistol in FDE. Now I think I may take a different route mainly because I'm afraid of it turning and mounting directly to the barrel and because it is back ordered everywhere including the manufacturer!! I bet it gets heated up pretty good with a few rounds down the barrel.

We don't show it as backordered, but I don't know that for a fact.
US Palm AK-47 Cowitness Rail/Handguard

 

[cedartop]

So far, I like this setup MUCH better than my Ultimak setup. .

That is a very strong statement, but I'm glad it is working out well. I look forward to hearing if it continues to hold your favor. I have not had the chance to get one yet, but I do plan on it.

 

[4PWW9]

I've had one of these rails for awhile now with a top rail cover instead of the specific optic top covers that are now offered, same set-up as far as how it mounts and the lower.
The accurracy issues relate to mounting directly to the barrel. An AK47 experiences considerable "flexing" when fired, mainly the barrel and receiver, much more so than other self-loading firearms.
If you just fire semi-auto occasionally, this rail performs fine, just check it after rapid firing for movement and use loc-tite on the fasteners during install and it'll hold up well.
If you run a full-auto or shoot prolonged rapid fire, the rail will loosen and not hold zero, regardless of how tight you mount it.
The flexing combined with excessive heat transfer to the barrel mounts will loosen up the mount fasteners.
I'm sure this rail was designed for semi-auto rifles in-mind and was never actually tested to perform on full-auto AK47's being that so few select-fire AK's are out there in the USA.

 

[Clay]

loctite is released by..... heat.

loctite on this rail would be pretty much worthless. Regardless of grade.