Sights mounted on forestocks/handguards?

[FNFAL]

Forgive me if my terminology is not correct but im looking for
those closed sights that are mounted on the forestocks/handguards,
ive been told they have light magnification (as in little magnification,
not night vision) and have decent eye relief despite being on the handguard.

My friend is looking for one and I know nothing about sights being
mounted up there. If someone could give me a proper name for those
or better yet a source to get them that would be excellent. Ive found
a picture of one on an SKS but im not sure if that was just slapped on
there for fun or if its actually effective and useful.

I dont see the purpose of these myself but im a little biased. The C79
Elcan is the best sight for me!

 

[Fyn]

A low powered scope would be considered a "scout"/long eye relief scope. They generally have eye relief 8-12" or close to that, and are often in the fixed 2/2.5/2.75x range, although there are some variables, and some higher magnification models as well.

What you have in the picture looks like a red dot sight? Which would generally have no magnification, and infinite eye relief.

The benefit to both those sights is the ability to shoot with both eyes open, and fast target acquisition.

As far as whether it is useful or not, depends on the mount. The SKS gas tube is not a solid mount, and won't hold a zero. If you are interested in something similar, try a BC Tactical SKS scout mount. I've had good experience with the mount, and a micro red dot.

 

[Billythreefeathers]

I think everyone that has owned an SKS has gone through the same scope/mount gireations. The BC scout mount replaces the rear iron sight and is rock solid. The hand guard / rail mounts will never hold a zero too bad cause they look good. The rear cover is also a mounting point for scopes but again also very hard to hold a zero.

 

[FNFAL]

The holding zero issue is something i had thought about a lot, but my friend doesnt
really seem to care. I had originally suggested the bolt cover mount but he really
wants one on the front. Ill tell him what you guys offered for info and leave it with
him. With an sks i can hit a man sized target @ 150-200m with ironsights without
much difficulty and i dont really see a practical use for an sks beyond that range
so really any optical sight to me seems useless on an SKS.

Thats my own opinion however and not his. Thanks for the info guys!