Optic mounts are getting fancy these days. It used to be nothing more than a chunk of aluminum that held your rifle optic in place. Some were better than others, sure, but they were largely the same. There was some untapped potential with optics mounts, and people are finally seeing that. Companies like ANR produce mounts like the ANVL UKON and prove you can always make a better mousetrap.
What’s the ANVL UKON
ANR, short for ANY Kydex Holsters, has broken out of just making Kydex holsters. The ANVL UKON mount is quite the departure for ANR, but if you’re gonna do it, do it big. ANR produces the ANVL UKON for Aimpoint T2, the ACRO, the Leupold DPP, the Trijicon RMR, the SIG Sauer Romeo 4T, the Holosun 509T, and the AEMS. They are made at various heights, including the higher 1.93-inch mounts for night vision aficionados.
Mine is for the AEMs and mounts with the center line at 1.7 inches. What the ANVL UKON does differently is simple. It combines a set of simple iron sights built into the mount. A rear open sight combines with an AR-style front sight to provide an integral backup sight option to the mount. It’s an absolute co-witness configuration. It’s so utterly simple and crazy that no one thought of something similar.
The optic mounts directly to the ANVL UKON. It’s no rail, but each mount variant has an individual footprint that attaches the optic via screws. It’s simplistic and prevents tolerance stacking.
The Why Behind the ANVL UKON
The original ANVL UKON came to be due to a military request. The request wanted a red-dot mount with integral backup sights for a platform with very little rail space. Unfortunately, ANR couldn’t tell me more about the contract. Things like that tend to be hush-hush. My suspicion is it was for something like the SIG Rattler PDWs adopted.
Those are microsized guns, and if the operators wielding them want lights, lasers and similar, they are using the limited rail space you already have. A set of backup iron sights built into the optics mount saves space and gives those hardcore users a backup sighting system.
There are some inherent limitations. The sight radius seems shorter than that of a snubnose revolver. It’s not going to give you rifle distance accuracy. The intent is to provide accurate fire in combative situations within 50 yards. It’s a last-ditch tool for a weapon that’s already limited in its effective range.
The only thing I operate is a forklift, but I still own my fair share of small firearms. Guns like the Banshee Mk17, SIG MP320, and CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 don’t have a ton of space, so mounts like this allow for backup iron sights, and that’s where I saw the most value. The Mk17 fits perfectly and provides a compact all-in-one package.
Mount and Install
ANR went all out to build a very nice optics mount. Mounting the AEMS took no time at all. ANR integrated recoil bosses to secure the optic better and lock the optic onto the mount. It’s a well-crafted mount and a fairly tight fit. The two bolts that squeeze the optic and mount onto the optics rails are big and beefy.
Once mounted, the optic had zero play or movement. Zeroing the optic to the gun was no big deal, and I got the gun on target in just a few rounds. The sight picture is surprisingly nice, even with a full co-witness. It’s not nearly as obstructed as most other sight options on the market.
One of the more interesting aspects of this sighting system is the ability to have roughly two different zeroes. We can’t move the rear sight, but we can adjust the front sight for elevation. It uses a standard AR front post, so an AR front sight tool makes up and down adjustments easy.
You could zero the dot for supersonic 9mm and the front sight for subsonic or do the same with .300 Blackout. This allows the sights to play dual purpose, especially for subsonic rounds, which tend to be better suited for close-range shooting. Zeroing the front sight for hits is plenty easy.
To The Range
My curiosity regarding the ANR ANVL UKON revolved around the iron sights. How well can they work? I was surprised that I could make good hits on most targets at 15, 25 and 50 yards. I’m not hitting soda cans at 25 or 50 yards, but I can hit a 10-inch gong at both ranges, and that’s good enough for rudimentary iron sights.
The iron sights and red dot can function as a single focal plane due to the super close sight radius. I barely need to acknowledge the rear sight, and I don’t have to use a front-sight focus shooting style to make hits. I can focus on the target and put the slightly blurry front post wherever I need to throw 9mm.
As a mount, it holds the AEMS high enough to easily see, making it quick and easy to get behind. It does its main job of making me able to see my reticle and get that reticle on target quickly and efficiently. The ANVL UKON provides a useful, innovative and novel means to use a red dot on your weapon of choice. Check them out here.
Specifications
Weight: 2.2 oz.
Height: 1.80 in.
Width: 1.41 in.
Length: 3.34 in.
MSRP: $152
Overall *****
The ANVL UKON provides a simple, rail-saving way to provide backup iron sights and a red-dot mount all in one. It’s not cheap, but it’s priced well, considering its design, features and overall innovation.
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The idea for different zeros for different loads is kinda neat. Will be a minute before state laws and budget make this a practical option but not hating the idea.
Its a nice idea, but it may be nit-pick to say its not for everyone for the iron sights portion.
The reason I say ‘nit-pick’ is because, a few different reasons: The intended use of this type of short radius iron sighting is within fifty yards, really a lot less than 50 yards, (like a handgun pistol iron sights would be) and was intended for the military to use in a CQB indoors situation in about a 30 foot range capacity or if their electronic sights quit working. This mount iron sights relies on a true mechanical zero between the mount and rail and barrel to have accurate windage and are made to have a perfect mechanical zero from mount to rail, so if the rail is slightly out of spec, e.g. mil-spec, for tolerances in dimensions (and most sold in the civilian market are in some aspect for these proprietary ‘enhanced’ uppers companies put out) the windage for the rear sight is going to be off. Granted, it may not be off much for windage, maybe just a smidge that would not matter in say a 20 foot CQB situation but for on the range at say 25 yards and above you might start wondering what you are doing wrong to be off that little bit if it matters to you but of course there is always Kentucky Windage as the rear sight is not adjustable.
Don’t get me wrong, its a nice mount but the iron sight portion is more ‘special purpose’ orientated for a rifle than some people would want.
So yeah, a nit-pick but it might matter to some.
“No but for backup purposes it’s fantastic”
yeah
just as long as the optic doesnt fog up
on the outside
or worse yet – the inside
ill stick with my 45 degree offsets thank you
You may like the unity risers take on that design, it’s still in-line, but it’s beneath the optic itself (for the t2 style). You can use a short sight radius like this, or just have the rear installed sans the front post and use alongside a proper front buis.
Anti-Fog coatings are a real thing and they can be effective.
Looks like one of those little railroad handcars with a Yeti cooler on top. Hard no!
???WTF???
The real question here is, if this is for a military contract; then why did they choose to use a Chinese optic?
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I’d have to play with it to register an opinion on practicality/efficacy, but I can guarantee you that front post hanging out there in the open like that is going to quickly be bent under normal use. The things are stupid soft and are routinely damaged, even when protected by the “wings” of a standard AR front sight tower. Adding wings or a shroud would intrude on the red dot’s view, so I don’t see an easy fix other than hardened front sight posts.
The mount takes the generic footprint of many optics, the tester chose Holosun. This has potential for use on SBS’s and Shockwaves, too. Seems like a no brainer for an AR pistol. As for the front sight being damaged in hard use, I’d worry more about the glass in the optic. None are yet made with Gorilla glass, a hard strike and it’s toast.
Sadly, the acronyn laden naming convention is required these days, as extended product labels are all the rage in a certain market segment. If a simple name is good, then adding more names to it is gooder. We see the same thing happening to watches, knives, even power tools. I look forward to returning to simplicity where we all understood what “M1” meant. It would require slowing down the product introduction cycle, tho, and when the market needs to be churned with an extensive list of competitors, there’s little other recourse.
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