Review: Texas Weapon Systems AK Top Cover – More Space For Optics

This is a Review of the Texas Weapon System AK Top Cover that gives your AK rifle more mounting space on the dust cover.

AK users struggle to find more rail space to mount optics and other accessories. Now you can mount optics on the railed dust cover, and it also increases the sight radius.

It's an essential part of the modern AK style rifles.  It’s kinda like turning an AK into an AR.

Many readers might be wondering –  Is this the most durable dust cover? & Does it hold zero?

Does TWS Railed Dust Cover Retain Zero?

I have used the Dog Leg dust cover for 2 years and shot over 600 rounds between 30 to 170 yards, and so far I have not lost zero at all compared to using the top handguard optic mount.

The shooter can easily mount any red dot sight or scope on the railed dust cover. Traditional dust cover is loosely fitted on the rifle, and it vibrates a lot and it could shift the zero. You can read about how does recoil affect accuracy here.

The overall build is rock solid with super tight tolerance from top to bottom. It works perfectly fine for the day-to-day range session. You can check the price on OpticsPlanet by clicking on the banner below:

TWS Top Cover Compatibility

Ak 47 Top cover with rail is the most easiest AK modification you can do on your own without any annoying tools. Simply get the part and slap it on the rifle and go.

Even though it’s easy, but make sure you buy the correct TWS railed dust cover for the right AK variant.

The kit includes:

• Railed Dust Cover
• Hinge Fork & base
• Takedown Pins
• Allen wrench
• Cover Release Buton (Recoil Spring Latch)
• Nut Plate

Check The Compatibility First Before Purchase

If you AK rifle has a telescopic tubular type recoil spring guide, make sure you order the Guide Wire & Spring Retainer (PN 55315)

Be sure to Use COUPON CODE:  WORK7 for 5% OFF when you shop on OpticsPlanet

Click here to shop Part Number 33310 – Will fit Arsenal, Centurion Arms

Click here to shop Part Number 33317 – will fit Century Arms, Chinese Type 56, Hungarian, and other AKs.

Click here to shop Part Number 33312 – Will fit Yugo AKs

Click here to shop Part Number 33316 – Will fit M85/M92 Aks

Click here to view the compatibility chart.

AK rifles are manufactured differently, and it doesn’t have the one size fits all specs standard like the AR15. Usually, other AK parts take a lot of gunsmithing work with a lot of shop tools.

TWS Dog Leg Rail Gen 3 Review

The best part about the dust cover is its rugged quality, and it solves the problem of mounting modern variable-power sights on an AK rifle, and then unable to field strip the gun. Now you can do it easily and faster than before without detaching the scope.

It also depends on your scope setup in length when you pivot the dust cover open. As long as you can pivot it open enough to take out the bolt and recoil assembly, then you will be fine.

However, the Gen 3 Rail cover has features that will fix that problem too.

The brand new Gen 3 Dog Leg Rail Cover comes with a quick detach takedown pin to eliminate the need to detach the scope.

The dust cover hinge goes on the barrel assembly block. All you have to do is remove the original AK rear adjustable sight, and install it there. The sight block clamping design allows for a more robust and secure mount.

4 Reasons The TWS Dust Cover Works

• Super Tight tolerance locking mechanism secures the dust cover to the rear trunnion.
• 3 axis motion constraints to retain zero.
• The new Cam action release button makes the mount even tighter and consistent when it converts the recoil spring force 3X.
• The flexural spring panel draws cover against the left side of the trunnion. The Inward bent tab is adjustable for tension.

The Gen 3 railed dust cover comes with a completely new recoil spring release latch for fitting purposes, and rifle zero retention. So far with only 600 rounds fired from my Arsenal AK, I see no zero shift whatsoever.

Before I go further into this post, I want to share with you the dust cover test Ak Operator Union did.

Crazy TWS AK Dust Cover Torture Test – Must Watch

I don’t want to waste tons of ammo or destroy my dust cover for testing, but I appreciate that they did the torture test review for the TWS dog leg potential buyers.

Everyone who watches Rob Ski knows that he is super rough on firearm testing, and some of the torture tests are so rough that it’s just not applicable to day to day range time, but the Texas Weapon System Dog Leg railed dust cover retained zero in my opinion.

Check here to watch the video.

Weak Point Of The System

The only weakest part of the system is the hinge where the locking mechanism is on the rear sight/barrel assembly block. For day to day, civilized AK range use without abusing it physically, you should not have any issue at all.

The reliability of the system becomes questionable when it experiences a lot of physical abuse like in the AK Operation Union torture testing video.

The hinge fork & base mounts on the barrel block perfect and it doesn't move. However, the hinge wobble just a little bit. If there are inconsistent shot groups, that will be an interesting spot to investigate.

Recommended Optic Mount For the Railed Dust Cover

The dust cover has Mil-spec Picatinny rail. Most mounts will work on this rail, be it QD or cantilever mounts. The rail is aligned with the bore of your rifle as far as from my naked eyes. You might have to do a little adjusting because every AK is made differently.

The Gen 3 Dog Leg dust cover will give your AK rifle optimal balance and plenty of rail space. It also protects optics from barrel heat compared to railed handguard mount option.

One of the best things I was excited about was mounting the red dot sight magnifier combo on an AK because there is space available.

Which co-witness optic mount height should I use?

Low mount is perfect for an AK. 1/3 or absolute co-witness height mounts sit too tall on an AK, and it’s not recommended.  Here are some good places and mounts to shop:
Amazon

OpticsPlanet

Final Throughts on Texas Weapon System AK Railed Top Cover

Besides the Texas Weapon System dust cover. There are two BEST options you can choose from.

• Chaos
• Krebs Custom Rear Sight Rail System
• ZenitCo B-33 (ZenitCo Handguards required)

The Texas Weapon System Dog Leg Rail Gen 3 railed AK dust cover is an American made product. They serve today’s tactical small arms community by making products with greater modularity and ergonomics.

The AK weapon platform is its current mission objective to improve.

Ying( Content Manager )

As the content creator of badassoptic.com, My background in the firearms industry and shooting sports gives me the experience to recommend tried and true products and keep away subpar ones.