U.S.A. -Kel-Tec is a company that makes its money by offering innovative, unique products at an affordable price. A great example of which is the KelTec Sub-2000 Pistol Caliber Carbine. It’s a polymer-framed, semi-automatic carbine that folds in half for easy storage. The gun is incredibly simple, reliable, and lightweight – but it does have one Achillie’s Heel: the gun can’t be folded with an optic mounted on it.
Midwest Industries KelTec Sub2k Optics Mount
The engineers at Midwest Industries developed a solution for this problem with their MI-G2SUB-T2. This product is a dog-leg M-Lok mount designed for the Aimpoint T2 reflex sight or any optic that uses that mounting interface. For testing, I utilized a Primary Arms Cyclops prismatic sight, and it fit flawlessly.
The mount looks pretty standard at first glance, but a closer look reveals what is so special about it: a pivoting arm. This allows the mount to pivot out of the way for the gun to fold, and then back in to place either when needed, or while totally folded. Allowing for a compact bug-out or hiking gun that doesn’t have to sacrifice the use of an optic for concealability.
But this feature also adds a potential point of failure. With the addition of a rotating component, that’s just one more thing that could fail on the gun. So I decided to test it out over the course of a few hundred rounds to see if it would hold zero. I further exacerbated this by rotating the mount 1,000 times. After which, the mount still locked up fine and only became easier to flip in and out of position.
Thus far, it seems to work 100%. Though, the only gun I’ve had a chance to test it on is the 9mm Glock-magazine version of the Sub2k Gen 2. I would like to try the test again but with a .40 SW version and maybe after 1,000 rounds and 1,000 manipulations you’d see some movement – but I doubt it. Based on my testing, Midwest Industries Sub2K optics mount is an ingenious solution to a problem some owners of the Kel-Tec carbine were facing. And at just under $100, it’s not a huge investment.
The only other issue I have with the optic mount is the height overbore. In order to be able to facilitate the folding mechanism, the mount places the sight well above the handguard. Given the already high iron sights on the Sub 2000, this isn’t a deal-breaker. And it’s still miles better than the old AK scope mounts, but it does seem a little awkward initially. Though after an hour or so of use, it felt completely natural.
So, is it worth the $100 price tag? If you want to mount an optic on your Kel-Tec Sub 2000 and leave it on when the gun is folded – 100% yes. If that doesn’t interest you in any way, probably not. Though I feel it really elevates the weapon’s effectiveness as a bug-out gun if the shooter can rapidly engage targets at medium and close range.
Jim is a freelance writer, editor, and videographer for dozens of publications who loves anything and everything guns. While partial to modern military firearms and their civilian counterparts, he holds a special place in his heart for the greatest battle implement ever devised and other WW2 rifles. When he’s not reviewing guns or shooting for fun and competition, Jim can be found hiking and hunting with his wife Kimberly, and their dog Peanut in the South Carolina low country.
Too bad Jim didn’t compare it to MCarbo’s mount. I have one, and it works for me.
That’s an interesting mount. I’ll look more into it as well
https://youtu.be/xPsUfRs5dFY
Comparison video
Did you happen to check your barrel when you removed this mount?! I had the T2 mount installed by a certified armorer (per Midwest instructions). After mounting, I decided to re-mount it in a different slot on my BRAND NEW Kel-Tec Sub 2000. Upon removal, we were shocked to find two(2) deep round gouges where the mounting screws had buried themselves into my barrel! The mount was barely hand-tightened to the handrail by my gunsmith, yet the screws severely damaged my NEW barrel! The worst part is I have YET to hear back from Midwest Industries or Brownell’s customer service!… Read more »
Had one five years ago, and my experience wasn’t so great. First one I ordered was incorrectly machined (it uses a wedge shape and a spring to force alignment, but the wedge was taller than the V it fit into and bottomed out, so the sight wobbled a lot). Told them the problem, sent it back, and was shipped another unit with the exact same defect. Returned that one as well. Got the purchase price back, but was out the shipping. Have not ordered anything from Midwest since. Made a video of how bad it was. In the video, it’s… Read more »
Interesting. I’m gonna look deeper into this
I just went back and re-read this thread. I read Paul O. comment about using a 45 degree offset mount. He says this requires holding the gun at an angle. Why is this the case? I admit zeroing a 45 degree mount is troublesome and time consuming but if you can see the mount without tilting the gun it should work. Trying it on the left side of the gun might make seeing the dot easier.
Think about this. If you fire a gun upside down the way I’ve seen Jerry Mucelek do, the bullet still drops because of gravity. If the cross hairs in a scope are offset from the bore, and not verticle in the scope rings, as long as the two axis have been adjusted so that the bullet hits where they cross you can still aim the gun with the scope. Ergo, the axes can be at any angle to the horizon. It is a real bear to try to adjust them because both axes have to be moved to get them… Read more »
different angles? Is that a play on words?
“the gun can’t be folded with an optic mounted on it.” this is false statement. I have the gen 1 sub2k .40 with popup scope mount and a Bushnell 3-9×32 scope. it rotates to one side and folds.
What mount? And does it fold AND lock?
I’ve got a Sub2K with a red dot mounted on top so I can’t fold the gun completely. Also a laser under the barrel. Not so critical since it is a house gun and stays open and ready. And even half folded it works in a backpack should I change my habits. This mount does sound interesting but I would have liked to see photos of the thing being “swiveled” so I could see how it worked. Am I missing something?
With the Mount and optic, this changes a $450 gun to a $800 gun!
am putting this on my Christmas wish list. I have the Glock sub 2k. this is a much better firearm than a handgun for my wife to use also, plus she loves it. we had the kel-tec pf9 and p11, but traded them in for Glocks, blister on trigger finger.
Thanks for the review. I use a 45 degree offset mount which allows the gun to fold but not lock. It’s about half the price but requires shooting holding the gun at an angle. Choice is good!
A solution to a problem I will never have. Midwest makes some good stuff. I prefer Samson.
So cost is $100 for the mount and how much for the optic?
Who knows… First you’d need to find the Primary Army website that the author keeps mentioning. Or I suppose you could get one from Primary Arms.
lol, good catch. That auto-correct loves to swap things out while I’m typing a mile-a-minute. Here’s a link to the optic – https://www.primaryarms.com/pa-1x-compact-prism-scope-with-acss-cyclops-reticle-fde