difference between weaver and picatinny rails

Now let’s look at the Picatinny and Weaver similarities. Picatinny was standardized in 1995 and was designed to mount a plethora of accessories, even on the sides of the barrel.

When Weaver rails were designed (around 1930), scopes were the only accessories available. Some specialists consider the Picatinny system more advanced, while Weavers are losing space. Notice that not every Weaver ring has a recoil stopper, but you can mount them where there are no slots. Here, once again, measurements are different: the recoil stopper on Picatinny rings is approximately 5mm wide, while Weaver’s are 3.8mm wide. Weaver and Picatinny rings have unique features and may serve some purposes better than others. It's also important to consider the rings you wish to use on your gun. Because of their slotting system, Pic rails allow you to install the scope further on the barrel, while the same is not possible on Weaver rails. On the contrary, Picatinny rails can hardly accept any Weaver-like accessory. Because Weaver slots are uneven, they are adapted to mount any Pic rail-designed accessory. Mounting a scope using two-pieced Weaver rails can be tricky, while one-piece rails are much easier to install. While Weavers can accept accessories designed to work on a Picatinny rail, Weaver rails were initially intended to work in one or two pieces like the prolonged one, which was developed later. You can even get two different sizes on the same rail. Longer Weaver pieces look very much like Picatinny, but specs are not standardized. Picatinny rails have broader and deeper slots, while Weaver rails can only have one or two slots placed anywhere on the gun. It is 0.206' wide, and slots are spaced at 0.394.' Unlike Picatinny, Weaver rails do not have a standard measure for the slots.

Picatinny rails, also known as MIL-STD – 1913 rails, tactical rails, or only Pic rails, have equally measured grooves. Let's take a look at some of the significant Picatinny and Weaver differences. Learn what they do (and don’t) have in common below. You better know them before making your choice. Sometimes, it's challenging to differentiate them by their looks, but the differences are there nonetheless. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, but for a good rule-of-thumb, ‘Picatinny’ won’t fit Weaver, but Weaver will fit ‘Picatinny’.Picatinny and Weaver rails serve the same purpose: enabling easy mounting and unmounting different gears on your gun. Due to the larger recoil groove, ‘Picatinny’ accessories will not fit a Weaver system. The reverse, however, is probably not the case. Now, what does this mean to you? Boiled down, it means that accessories designed for a Weaver system will, in most cases, fit on a ‘Picatinny’ system. A MIL-STD-1913 system must adhere to the specifications listed above in order for it to be considered MIL-STD, since the military desires uniformity in the recoil grooves to allow for different systems to be mounted on the weapon with no concern for compatibility. In many instances, a Weaver system has a specific application that it is machined for, so interchangeability is not necessarily an issue. 180” width of recoil groove and are not necessarily consistent in a center-to-center measurement from one groove to the next. The placement of these grooves has to be consistent in order for it to be a true ‘Picatinny’MIL-STD system. 206″ wide and have a center-to-center width of. The key difference lies in the placement of the recoil grooves and with width of the grooves. Depending on the quality of the machining done by the manufacturer, the two systems should be indistinguishable from the profile. “What are the differences between the ‘Picatinny’ and the ‘Weaver’ systems? The profile of the two systems is virtually identical. “Mil-spec” Picatinny rails will have a grove width of 0.206″ while Weaver rails typically have a narrower, 0.180″ groove width.īrownell’s has a helpful GunTech Article that discusses the Picatinny Rail vs. The width of the groove is the most important difference between Picatinny Rails and weaver rails. Conversely, there is some variance in “Weaver-style” rails. The dimensions of a Picatinny Rail should be consistent (from one rail-maker to another), since there IS a government spec. Readers often ask “What’s the difference between a Weaver scope rail and a Picatinny Rail?” The answer is not as simple as it seems. Accurateshooter has a straightforward answer:

Difference between weaver and picatinny rails