As I said earlier, the whole idea was to be able to mount the NSP-2 night sight. And, in fact, the NSP-2 slides right on and locks up perfectly:
The problem is, most shooters don't have one of these laying around and, while it can be used during daylight hours, saying that it's impractical for a day at the range is something of an understatement.
The 3-9 power 1p21 slides on but you can't lock it down because there is a cam on the locking lever axle that prevents swinging the lever to the locked position:
It could easily be made to work by milling a notch for the cam into the scope rail but I'm not one for permanently modifying original vintage equipment.
However, if you were to cut the required notch, other neato Soviet era optics could be used. Some of these include:
The 1pn34:
The 1pn58:
The 1pn51:
And a bunch of other neato optics that I don't have. Pretty much anything that will mount on an AK style rail would fit this rail. Just remember that, for some of them, you would need to mill the aforementioned notch.
Having looked at some of the more weird options, let's consider the most practical option, the lowly but venerable PSO-1:
It slides right on and locks down with no modifications required and the eye relief is fine. You don't get much of a cheek weld but you just adapt.
The scope is slightly offset to the left. I don't know why, but I think an offset scope is neat looking:
Earlier, we looked at the rail swung down from its base. Here, we see that in practical use with the PSO-1 attached:
Finally, a shot showing the top cover raised and ready for loading:
After reloading, you simply lower the top cover, swing the optic back into position and you're back to shooting.
Something I didn't mention earlier is how you know where to mount the rail base on the receiver. While I haven't found any period documents showing exactly where it is supposed to go, it's idiot proof and I should know because........
Anywho, the height of the base is very nearly the same as the height of the receiver so you just center it vertically. As for where to mount it horizontally, you have very little play. At the rear, you have to clear the takedown pin in the receiver. At the front, you have to clear the protrusion on the left side of the top cover. Taking these two factors into consideration, you have so few millimeters to play with it's inconsequential. So, it's pretty much impossible to screw it up.
So, now I can take my RPD buddy back to the range again. YaY! And now there is more information on the internet than ever before about this obscure RPD accessory. YaY!
Okiedokie, that's it. Thanks for your time and I hope you found some enjoyment in my rambling. I love you Mom!