Impact īecause of their many uses, Picatinny rails and accessories have replaced iron sights in the design of many firearms and are available as aftermarket add-on parts for most actions that do not have them integrated, and they are also on the undersides of semi-automatic pistol frames and grips. ĭesigned 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. 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). Whereas the earlier Weaver rail is modified from a low, wide dovetail rail and has rounded slots, the Picatinny rail has a more pronounced angular section and square-bottomed slots. The only significant difference between the Picatinny rail and the similar Weaver rail are the size and shapes of the slots. Comparison to Weaver rail Picatinny rail side view (dimensions in inches) The spacing of slot centres is 0.394 in (10.01 mm) and the slot depth is 0.118 in (3.00 mm). The Picatinny locking slot width is 0.206 in (5.23 mm). It is similar in concept to the earlier commercial Weaver rail mount used to mount telescopic sights, but is taller and has wider slots at regular intervals along the entire length. The rail consists of a strip undercut to form a "flattened T" with a hexagonal top cross-section, with cross slots interspersed with flats that allow accessories to be slid into place from the end of the rail and then locked in place. Ī metric-upgraded version of the Picatinny rail, the STANAG 4694 NATO 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.Ĭurrently, many firearm manufacturers include a Picatinny rail system out of factory, such as the Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle. After it was determined that the new rail should be a standard, not a specification, it was adopted and fielded in 1995 with the designation MIL-STD-1913, dated February 3, 1995. The team then sent the finished prototype 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. The factory recognized the similarity of the purposed rail interface to the existing rail design on 105 mm howitzers, so they chose to scale down the howitzer rail design and co-opted the production and inspection procedures. 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 Picatinny team was headed by mechanical designer Gary Houtsma (who was awarded the Order of Saint Maurice Award in 2014 for this contribution ), who took the measurements from 20 or so different Weaver rail products from weapons bunkers at Picatinny (and even local sporting goods stores) and came up with an average set of numbers set on a 45-degree angled surface. Army was dissatisfied with the contemporary products on the market. The Picatinny Arsenal was tasked in 1992 to develop a standardized mounting system after the U.S. The rail itself is named after the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, which was named "after the Lenape-named peak overlooking the old forge, loosely translated to mean 'rugged cliff by water' or 'water by the hills'". History Picatinny rail dimensions, cross section (dimensions in inches) Once established as United States Military Standard, its use expanded to also attaching other accessories, such as: iron sights, tactical lights, laser aiming modules, night vision devices, reflex sights, holographic sights, foregrips, bipods, slings and bayonets.Īn updated version of the rail is adopted as a NATO standard as the STANAG 4694 NATO Accessory Rail. It was originally used for mounting of scopes atop the receivers of larger caliber rifles. The Picatinny rail ( / ˈ p ɪ k ə t ɪ n i/ or / ˌ p ɪ k ə ˈ t ɪ n i/), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is an American design rail integration system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. Rail interface for firearm accessories The M4 carbine with a Picatinny rail system, Grip Pod vertical forward grip, and M68 CCO sight
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