Picatinny scope rail

[Hammer]

If one mounts picatinny rails on ten rifles...

Then mounts a scope properly on one rifle...

Can the scope by moved from one rifle to any of the other nine without adjusting the rings ?

Expect the sight-in will need adjustment, but will the scope need to be adjusted in the rings to move from one picatinny rail to another ?

Hammer

 

[Forum Boss]

Assuming #1 that the original installation had a rail mount that is co-axial with the bore,meaning the rail isn't slightly crooked on top of the action), the scope should be relatively centered in its windage adjustments.

Then, yes you could remove the scope, without unclamping the scope in the rings, and then place the scope on another rifle.

However, the zero could be off considerably, based on how the second/third/fourth picatinny rail is mounted. On factory actions it's not unusual for the scope base mounting holes to be off-axis.

If that is the case, you'll need to use the windage adjustment in the scope to restore the zero.

But in principle, you could do what you're saying, so long as you don't expect for the zero to hold from one rifle to the next. Even with custom actions with Davidson rails milled in the top we've seen a slight change in Point of Impact when moving a scope from one rifle to the next.

 

[Caduceus]

If the rail is a true NATO STANAG,STANdardization AGreement) Picatinny rail, then the answer to your question is yes - they are all made to the same dimensions with respect to slot width and spacing, etc.

Note that "made to the same dimensions" means different things to different people. I expect the STANAG tolerances are fairly tight but perhaps not as tight as some benchrest shooters might consider truly precise.

Also note that a lot of so called Picatinny rails are not really made to the STANAG. If it isn't, then they are misusing the title "Picatinny". In that case, you might find anything goes with respect to slot spacing.

 

[Caduceus]

And by way of example, I have several rifles with cross slot bases on them. My Nesika Bay and MAK tubegun bases are made to Picatinny dimensions. I can interchange scopes between these two bases and the fit of the rings into the bases is essentially identical between the two. Yes, the zero has to be adjusted in the scope,mainly because one has 20 MOA tilt and the other is flat) but windage changes very little - a credit to the gunsmith who aligned the base mounting holes with the bore axis.

I also have several Leupold Mark 4 bases and a Steyr Scout rifle. The slots on these bases are the same width and so accept the same rings but the spacing is totally different between them and the previously mentioned rifles. There is no way you can switch scopes between them without moving the ring spacing. People have described these bases as Picatinny rails but they aren't.