First off, let me say I know nothing about AK's! I am a complete AR15 snob. But, I am breaking from my traditional ways and I just ordered a 308 VEPR and It comes with the side scope mount... I really just hate the way it looks and it seems like it has a lot of "joints" and screws like it could loose zero. So is there some kind of picatinny top scope mount I could use? one that is directly in the middle of the receiver? What brand? where to buy? If not, how reliable are these side mounts? Thanks!

There aren't any 'joints and screws' that are going to come loose on a side mount. They are really solid and have the added benefit of returning to zero if removed and re-installed. These are pieces of gear that have literally been battle tested.
Your best alternative is a TWS Dogleg 2.

A quality side mount is a very stable optics platform.  It is as reliable and durable as any other mount out there, often more so.



I have two .308 Veprs, one has a MI mount and the other has a Molot mount.  Both perform very well and have never given me a single issue.



Form follows function in my world and I value performance over looks.



Molot:







MI:






 

Ok awesome sounds good. I'm just not familiar with one and I've never seen one. Thanks for the help! How do you like ur 308 VEPR? Does it eat any ammo?

Love my .308 Veprs.  They see a lot of use.  They can be expensive to feed, but for me it's worth it.  I have a fairly good stash of .308 to keep them going.



I shoot Federal Gold Medal Match, Prvi Match, standard Prvi, Lithuanian, Radway Green, and Brown Bear with mine.  I imagine they would eat anything I fed them.



 

I've been shooting Mylasian surplus that I picked up on the cheap out of mine and it's been nothing but reliable.  It's certainly not as accurate as Federal Gold Medal, which is down right surgical, but comparing surplus ammo to Federal Gold Medal is like comparing a V6 Mustang to a GT500, no comparison.  The surplus is fine for punching holes in Q targets from 100-300 yards, but if you want to put holes inside of holes, the Federal GM is my hands down winner.  We use "off the shelf" Federal Gold Medal exclusively in our SWAT team sniper rifles, so obviously its passed the most stringent of consistancy and reliability testing, but it aint cheap.

Liquid, those VEPR's are gorgous!  I remembers seeing a picture of one of yours that had what looked to be a Kydex adjustable cheak weld adapter on the stock, any information you could provide about that?

Both of my .308s have or have had Karsten cheek rests installed on them.  Phenomenal cheek weld, best you'll ever get with a Vepr.  Very satisfied with how the Karsten performs.



The Karsten does require you to drill two 1/4" holes through the stock for the mounting bolts, but it's not a half-assed solution like the strap-on cheek rests out there.  Works extremely well and is very comfortable.



I bought back-up stocks for both rifles.  If for some reason I want to remove the Karsten rest, I don't have to look at the mounting holes for it.



Some Pics:





















 

Yup that's the one!  Thanks for the information Liquid, I'll be ordering one of those.

where do you buy back-up stocks for veprs? i can't find any online.

It was pretty easy.  I put a WTB ad in the EE and got what I was looking for in relatively short time.  A lot of people going to aftermarket stocks out there and are willing to part with their factory wood.



Atlantic Firearms was also selling new take-offs at one time, you could e-mail them about availability as well.



The .308 and x54r stocks are dimensionally different from the other calibers.  Be sure to specify if you have a rifle in one of these 2 calibers.



 

I ordered the Midwest Industries 30 mm side mount and a Leatherwood CMR 1-4x24

Oh cool.  When did that come out?

Not sure but thought it would work well with the scope. Was going to get the railed version and came across it when I checked out their site. This one was the same price and saves me from having to buy rings.

I recently acquired a Vepr Super 308 with the side scope mount, however with the stock scope mount it come with, it seems like the scope would sit awfully high.

Can anyone recommend a "low profile" scope mount that will fit better on my Super 308?

Received the MI 30mm scope mount last night and mounted it. This mount sits LOW. I have a 1-4 Leatherwood CMR scope mounted and it mounts close to the adjustable sights. Only thing I wasn't thrilled about was the rings don't completely close. You have about a 1/8 inch gap when you get them screwed together. I'll post pics later. The mount is solid and I really like the ADM lever lock.

edit here's a quick pic.