Picatinny rail mount for Mossberg 500 and 590 Series and equivalent shotguns Allows for the mounting of Picatinny or Weaver standard scopes, red dots, magnifiers, or other optics Measures 5.5 inches long, easy to install design; It is a tactical, low profile top rail mount accessories. All hardware necessary for attachment directly to M-LOK Slots on either aluminum or polymer mounting locations is included. Magpul M-LOK Polymer Picatinny Accessory Rail, 11 Slots $12.19. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. GUNPOW M-Lok Picatinny Rail, 5-Slot 7-Slot 13-Slot Lightweight M Lok Aluminum Picatinny Rail Section.

1. Picatinny Rail Vs Weaver Rail
2. Scope Rings For Picatinny Rails
3. Picatinny Rail Accessories

Rail systems on firearms are straight mounting brackets (usually made of strips of metal or polymer) on the gun's receiver, handguard or fore-end stock to allow sliding/variable-position attachment of optical sights and accessories such as tactical lights, laser sights, vertical/angled foregrips and bipods. An example of just a few options that may be used depending on a mission's need for the M4 is SOPMOD. Amongst many other accessories like sling attachment points. Which may be ether ring,loop and/or quick detach mounts using push button style hardware. To name just a few of the many options. An advantage with the multiple rail slots is the moveable positions to adjust for optimal placement of each item for each different user. Along with the ability to switch different items at different placements due to varying eye reliefs on gun sights, scopes & optics. Tactical usage and Shooting sports have both benefited from the extra options provided.

Rails as a term has evolved to cover both the actual rail piece(s) and the styles of handguards (or forearms) that are made with rails as the external surfaces. Original rails were a raised metal strip with the sides under cut, less standardized than the dovetail design, to allow hardware to slide on and be secured by means of compression only.^[1] The firearm often associated with, and that has benefited from rails is the M4Carbine & M16 family of later models/variants -A2 -A3 & -A4 . With equal and even more use due to additional novelty items is the AR-15. Most modern military and civilian semi-automaticFirearm have rails that may replace original parts. Police and Military style firearms may include Pistols, PDWs, Carbines, Rifles, Submachine guns, Light Machine Guns, and Heavy machine guns . HMGs have started to include and use rail sections and options for attachments of optics. Civilian clone Rifles are the largest adapters, while the Crossbows,^[2]Hunting Rifles, shot guns and Handguns have started to come from the factory with rail sections ether attached and/or made structurally as part of the actual Firearm. Airsoft and Paintball clone weapons will also likely have rails.

Rail designs[edit]

The common types of rail systems for firearms are the dovetail rail,^[3][4](including the Soviet variant known as the Warsaw Pact rail), the Weaver rail,^[5] the Picatinny rail (also known as the MIL-STD-1913 or STANAG 2324 rail),^[6][7], the NATO Accessory Rail (also known as the STANAG 4694 rail), and newer 'negative space' systems such as the VLTOR KeyMod^{[8][9][8][10]} and the MagpulM-LOK.^{[11][12][13][14]} There are also non-military designs used in shooting sports to attach slings and bipods such as UIT rail and the Freeland rail.

MIL-STD-1913 'Picatinny rails' date from the mid-1990s and have very strict dimension and tolerance standards.The Picatinny has rail of very similar profile to the Weaver, but the slot width is 0.206 in (5.23 mm), and by contrast with the Weaver, the spacing of slot centers is consistent, at 0.394 in (10.01 mm). Many rail-grabber-mounted accessories can be used on either type of rail, and accessories designed for a Weaver system will generally fit Picatinny rails - although not vice versa. The Picatinny locking slot width is 0.206 in (5.232 mm) and the spacing of slot centers is 0.394 in (10.008 mm).^[15] Because of this, with devices that use only one locking slot, Weaver devices will fit on Picatinny rails, but Picatinny devices will not always fit on Weaver rails.^[15]

Compatibility[edit]

Adapters to other types of rail interfaces may be used for legacy issues and/or to change the surface texture, abrasiveness and/or overall outer circumference of the entire rails system for fit of the hand. Dovetail rail, Weaver and Picatinny are all outward or raised attachment surfaces. While M-Lok and KeyMod have smooth surfaces with different standards & styles of holes cut into their assembles to place the attachment hardware internally. Both of these styles of features are often on and/or in the hand guards . All make the mounting and dismounting of these objects significantly easier. Items may be fasten by threaded bolts, requiring the use of a screwdriver or allen wrench, with some tool free variations of a Thumb screw(s) or Thumb nut(S), may have threaded quick disconnect lever that pulls the hardware and plates together against the rails. During firearm recoil the accessory may slide within that section of rail. To help avoid this, when tightening slide the device forward in the placement slots so the section of bolt is against the vertical/forward section of rail slot(s).

Usage[edit]

Rail systems usually are based on the handguard of a weapon and/or the Upper receiver. On modern pistols they are on the underside of the barrel. Rails on rifles usually start off at top dead center or 12 o'clock with the next placement at bottom 180° degrees or at 6 o'clock. on the forward section, away from the buttstock. With both sides 3 o'clock & 9 'o clock or 90° degrees each side of top center 0°/360° degrees becoming the 3rd & 4th most common. 1 o'clock or 11'o'clock is popular for the flashlight with atape switch location placed on user preference. There may be additional attachment rails or holes at each 45 °degree angle position running partially or entirely the length of the handguard.

On the Kalashnikov rifles AK style/family the Warsaw rail is attached to the left side of the receiver when viewed from the rear . With more modern versions adding Picatinny style rails on to the sides of the handguards of the rifles for the mounting of addition equipment.

Modern designed firearms often include rails made into the body, instead of being an added on modification. Older firearms may need permanent modifications of having holes drilled and tapped for screw threads to fasten the rail section(s) to the firearm. This is easier than milling out a dove tail slot for placement of a gun sights parts.

Optics like scopes, Reflex Sight, and Red Dot may be placed between the iron sights. Rail section may also come in various heights to help align equipment. Which may align with the original iron sights inline or below an illuminated optic's center dot, ring or chevron. This is referred to as Absolute or lower 1/3 Co-witness respectively. In addition to height variations some rail brackets may be offset at various degrees, 22.5°, 45°, & 90° are the most common, to place accessories and/or back up folding collapsible iron sights. So they are out of the line sight on the top of the firearm and/or to decrease the outer profile edge's size. Then the original sights are a back up if the electronic optic should fail. The rail section may also move a weapon-mounted lights forward so the flashlight(UK torch) does not shine and reflect back on the firearm directly. Creating shadows and visual impairment from this illumination.

The amount of rail space allows adjustment and personal optimization of each device and tool attached for the user. As designs have advance the amount of space has succeeded the actual need of placement space. Thus rail covers and protectors may be added, to prevent snagging on gear and/or plant foliage.

The six common types of rail systems for firearms are the Dovetail rail, Weaver rail, Warsaw Pact rail, Picatinny rail, KeyMod and M-LOK.

Future rails systems will have the option of carry power to supply the needs of the increasing electronics mounted to aid the shooter and/or soldier. Standards are still being determined for multiple countries. An example of such is NATO standards NATO Accessory Rail which is continued improvement and standardization of the Picatinny rail.

See also[edit]

Rail Integration System(RIS)

NATO Accessory Rail which is backwards-compatible with the STANAG 2324 or MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail.

References[edit]

1. ^Muramatsu, Kevin (14 July 2014). Gun Digest Guide to Maintaining & Accessorizing Firearms. Krause Publications. pp. 168–169. ISBN978-1-4402-3989-2.
2. ^Todd A. Kuhn (13 December 2013). Shooter's Bible Guide to Bowhunting. Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated. p. 289. ISBN978-1-62873-404-1.
3. ^Picatinny, Weaver & dovetail scope bases
4. ^Muramatsu, Kevin (16 June 2014). Gun Digest Guide to Maintaining & Accessorizing Firearms. Krause Publications. pp. 169–. ISBN978-1-4402-3989-2.
5. ^Inouye, Kevin (30 May 2014). The Theatrical Firearms Handbook. Taylor & Francis. pp. 364–. ISBN978-1-317-85981-9.
6. ^Sweeny, Patrick (30 August 2016). The Bench Manual Gunsmithing the AR-15. Gun Digest Books. pp. 284–. ISBN978-1440246609.
7. ^Rros and Cons Picatinny Rail
8. ^ ^abSlowik, Max. 'New Open-Source KeyMod Universal Mounting System by Vltor'. Guns.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
9. ^Curtis, Rob. 'VLTOR gives the keymod tdp to you'. Militarytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
10. ^MLOK vs KeyMod 2016
11. ^Magpul Industries - M-LOK DESCRIPTION AND FAQ DOCUMENT
12. ^KeyMod vs. M-Lok: The Next AR Rail Standard by Chris Baker, November, 19, 2014
13. ^KeyMod vs. M-LOK Modular Rail System Comparison, Presented by Caleb McGee, Naval Special Warfare Center Crane Division, 4 May 2017 full pdf on page
14. ^M-LOK vs KeyMod comparison 2017
15. ^ ^ab'Picatinny Rails, Weaver Rails, What’s The Difference?' Brownells

Picatinny Rail Vs Weaver Rail

The Picatinny rail (/ˈpɪkətɪni/ or /ˌpɪkəˈtɪni/), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail, is a military standardrail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was originally used for mounting scopes atop the receivers of larger caliber rifles. Once established, its use expanded to also attaching other accessories, such as: iron sights, tactical lights, laser aiming modules, night vision devices, reflex sights, foregrips, bipods, slings and bayonets.

Significance[edit]

Because of their many uses, Picatinny rails and accessories have replaced iron sights in the design of many firearms, and they are also on the undersides of semi-automatic pistol frames and grips.^[1] Their usefulness has led to them being used in paintball and airsoft.^[2]

History[edit]

The rail itself dates from work by the A.R.M.S. company in the early 1980s and Otto Repa in standardizing the Weaver design.^{[citation needed]} Specifications for the M16A2E4 rifle and the M4E1 carbine received type classification generic in December 1994.^{[citation needed]} These were the M16A2^[3] and the M4^[4] modified with new upper receivers where rails replaced hand guards.^{[verification needed]}

The rail is named after the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, which was tasked in 1992 to develop a standardized mounting system after the U.S. Army was dissatisfied with the contemporary products on the market. The Picatinny team was headed by mechanical designer Gary Houtsma (who was awarded the Order of Saint Maurice Award in 2014 for this contribution^[5]), who took the measurements from 20 or so different Weaver rail products from weapons bunkers at Picatinny (and even sporting goods stores) and came up with an average set of numbers set on a 45-degree angled surface. Houtsma then took the specifications over to the production facility and requested they design a dimensioning style so the rail could be easily produced and inspected. The factory recognized the similarity of the purposed optics rail to the existing rail design on 105 mmhowitzers, so they just scaled down the howitzer rail design and co-opted the production and inspection procedures. The team then sent the finished product over to Rock Island Arsenal for review and trial, and then to the technical data section to determine if it should be a standard or a specification. After it was determined that the new rail should be a standard, not a specification, it was adopted and fielded in 1995^[6] with the designation Mil-STD-1913, dated February 3, 1995.^[7]

A metric upgraded version of the Picatinny rail, the STANAG 4694NATO Accessory Rail, was designed in conjunction with weapon manufacturers like Aimpoint, Beretta, Colt, FN Herstal and Heckler & Koch, and was approved by the NATO Army Armaments Group (NAAG), Land Capability Group 1 Dismounted Soldier (LCG1-DS) on May 8, 2009.

Design & specifications[edit]

Scope Rings For Picatinny Rails

The rail consists of a strip undercut to form a 'flattened T' or hexagonal cross-section provided with crosswise slots at intervals interspersed with flats that allow accessories to be slid into place from the end of the rail and then locked in place. It is similar in concept to the earlier commercial Weaver rail mount used to mount telescopic sights.

The Picatinny locking slot width is 0.206 in (5.23 mm). The spacing of slot centers is 0.394 in (10.01 mm) and the slot depth is 0.118 in (3.00 mm).^[7]

Picatinny Rail Accessories

Comparison to Weaver rail[edit]

Whereas the earlier Weaver rail is modified from a low, wide dovetail rail, the Picatinny rail has a more pronounced angular section.^{[citation needed]} Designed to mount heavy sights of various kinds, a great variety of accessories and attachments are now available and the rails are no longer confined to the rear upper surface (receiver) of long arms but are either fitted to or machine milled into the upper, side or lower surfaces of all manner of weapons from crossbows to pistols and long arms up to and including anti-materiel rifles.^{[citation needed]}

The only significant difference between the Picatinny rail and the similar Weaver rail are the size and shapes of the slots, where the Picatinny rail has square-bottomed slots while Weaver rails have rounded slots.^{[citation needed]} This means that an accessory designed for a Weaver rail will fit onto a Picatinny rail whereas the opposite might not be possible (unless the slots in the Weaver rail are modified to have square bottoms.)^{[citation needed]}

Weaver rails have a slot width of 0.180 in (4.57 mm), but are not necessarily consistent in the spacing of slot centers.^[8] While some accessories are designed to fit on both Weaver and Picatinny rails, most Picatinny devices will not fit on Weaver rails. From May 2012, most mounting rails are cut to Picatinny standards.^{[citation needed]} Many accessories can be secured to a rail with a single spring-loaded retaining pin.

See also[edit]

• Warsaw Pact rail, is a rail mount system to connect telescopic sights to rifles
• Zeiss rail, a ringless scope mounting standard

References[edit]

1. ^'Does a Concealed Carry Gun Need an Accessory Rail? | Gun Belts Blog'. Bigfoot Gun Belts. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
2. ^'Magfed TCR'. Tippmann Sports. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
3. ^Pike, John. 'M16 5.56mm Rifle'. www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
4. ^Pike, John. 'M4 / M4A1 5.56mm Carbine'. www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
5. ^'Picatinny engineer recognized for developing venerable Picatinny Rail'. U.S. Army. November 6, 2014.
6. ^Guthrie, J. (September 23, 2010). 'Rail Crazy: Picatinny Rail Basics'. Shooting Times.
7. ^ ^ab'Dimensioning of accessory mounting rail for small arms weapons'(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on November 26, 2010.
8. ^Brownells

External links[edit]