Talk:Picatinny rail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MILHIST This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see lists of open tasks and regional and topical task forces. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale.
This article is within the scope of the WikiProject Firearms; If you would like to join us, please visit the project page where you can find a list of open tasks. If you have any questions, please consult the FAQ.
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale

Contents

[edit] Purposes of the slots

I may be mistaken but I was given to understand that the slots the article attributes to heat-expansion also serve to help secure accesories. Or perhaps I am confusing Picatinny Rails with Weaver Rails. I was under the impression they were functionally identical, but different enough in shape to be incompatible.

Based on a demonstration I saw of Weaver Rails, you slide the accessory onto the rail until the desired location, tighten a screw until it enters a slot, thus preventing the accessory from moving forward or backward. This screw can also apply clamping pressure to the dovetail, or it may not depending on the design of the accesory. But the my point is, forward/backward motion is not prevented by friction, but by the screw being blocked by the slot.

I may be wrong. Its been a few years since I asked a guy in a gunshop about Weaver Rails. [unsigned]

You're correct, the slots are also used for screws or other retainers to hold accessories in place on the rail. Weaver Rails have the same cross section, but 3.8mm wide slots, where Picatinny uses 5mm wide slots. Accessories either have to clamp on rail sides, or have a screw or other retainer which clicks into a slot. THe side clamp accessory types are interchangable; the screw-down types may need different screws for Picatinny versus Weaver, since the slots are different.
Someone at some point should mention that in the article, but I'm busy today. Georgewilliamherbert 20:45, 1 March 2006 (UTC)


And have a Muli-variable Calculus exam in oh, 6 hours, 7 minutes and 42 seconds, so I'll not me. BTW, I'm the same nameless noob who asked the question the first place.


Would the following changes be sufficient?

...he other. In order to provide a stable platform, the rail should not flex as the barrel heats and cools. For this reason most Picatinny rails are cut crosswise, to give them considerable room to expand and contract lengthwise.

The horizontal slots also serve to prevent certain accessories from sliding along the rail once they are secured. This is done by means of a screw that when tightened, in addition to applying clamping pressure to the T-shaped rail, moves into the voids of the rail. Thus, even if there were insufficient friction to prevent the accesory from moving, T-rail would prevent the accessory from merely "falling" off and the screw prevents the the accessory from "sliding" off.

Originally used only for scopes, the rails were typically found only on larger caliber rifles. With the increased use of ...

It also seems logical that a push button in place of a screw could faciliate a quick release accesory. This wouldn't necessarily be a good idea, in say a scope, for something like a tac light it might be a desirable feature. Since this is just conjecture, it isn't part of my proposed edit. Nkuzmik 15:07, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

That's an ok first pass. I might want to clean it up slightly eventually, but go ahead and make it that way now. Thanks for coming up with it... Georgewilliamherbert 19:25, 3 March 2006 (UTC)


The slots cannot possibly affect expansion and contraction as such forces would be 100% transmitted by the underlying solid piece. This leaves only one purpose, to anchor the attached device in place and prevent sliding forward or back. --Solidpoint 10:40, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Huh? Can you explain this statement? What solid piece are you referring to? Maury 11:58, 8 May 2007 (UTC)


I think Solidpoint is saying that the slots cut transverse in the rail won't alleviate the problems associated with thermal expansion. The metal that has not been milled out will still expand, and because of the slots, it is likely to bend. The slots are merely there to provide a positive stop for an accessory. Grimlock1 23:46, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pronunciation of Picatinny

I would like to put a pronunciation transcription in the article. However, I would like someone who is knowledgeable about guns (for example, a gunsmith or a firing range instructor) to confirm the normal pronunciation. Therefore, will someone who fills the bill described above choose from the following:

"Layperson's format": PICK-uh-tin-ee? or pick-AT-uh-nee?

AHD format: Pĭk′ə-tĭn'-ē? or Pĭk-ăt′ə-nē?

IPA format: /'pɪkəˌtɪni/? or /pɪ'kætəni/?

Note that Piscataway, NJ is "piss-CAT-uh-way" [pɪs'kætəˌweɪ]. Are Picatinny and Piscataway both from American Indian roots? I wonder. Seems likely.

Here's why I want to add the transcription:

Picatinny is a good example of a word that a novice may come across in reading but have an extremely hard time confirming the standard pronunciation. Neither AHD4 nor W3NIDU's online version has an entry for the town/area/CDP of Picatinny, NJ. The only geographical dictionary that I have at home is M-W Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988 edition, but that doesn't have it either. So this is one of those words that if you're an expert in the field, you easily know how it's supposed to sound in speech, but if you're self-taught at home, you won't be sure. Thanks for any help! Lumbercutter 23:20, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

From first-hand knowledge: Accents on first and third syllables, have heard stronger emphasis on either, but definitely not on second. First 3 vowels are short, so rhymes with offensive word "pickaninny".--MajorHazard 07:35, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
Thanks! I added it to the article. — Lumbercutter 16:53, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relation to Weaver rail

I put some comments on talk page of Weaver rail article. What is the broader term for these two similar items? "Rail mount"?--MajorHazard 07:35, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Inappropriate picture

This page is about an accessory interface/support, but the photo is primarily of an assault rifle and all kinds of accessories. There are many better pictures of Picatinny rails on the LaRue sight, to name one, which would be more appropriate. I have a bit of it on the chin of my PX4 for example, so the assault rifle focus is inappropriate. A picture of the simplest piece of Picatinny and a single accessory, arranged so the interface is obvious, and employing the slots to anchor the accessory from moving fore or aft, would be much more appropriate. A picture anyone?

--Solidpoint 10:35, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I might be buying a length of Weaver rail in the near future for a research project. Do wiki rules let me post digital picks of something I own? I know it s a Weaver, not a Picatinny but honestly they are the same damn thing. The Army just had to do it a bit different.

Grimlock1 23:42, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

You can definitely post a picture that you took yourself. Post it at Wikimedia Commons, and link to it from here. There are help and how-to pages there. You will have to give license for others to use the photo too. You just pick a license from the list of options. I recommend the freest license (GFDL, copyleft, whatever it is called there). It is OK if the thing you are photographing is patented; what counts re copyright is that you are the creator of the photograph. — ¾-10 01:59, 12 October 2007 (UTC)