Red-dot Mounting issue

[largewhiteguy]

so, i picked up a Mini-14 a few weeks ago, in lieu of an AR-15 simply for price and availability reasons. It came with the tapco stock and all that at 600 so i thought i did ok.




This particular tapco stock has upper and lower piccatiny rails for accessories.


Also, i recently picked up a little red-dot sight that has a Weaver mount. Now, i've heard a number of places that you can mount weaver to a piccatinny rail. However, when i got the sights, and attempted to mount them today, the weaver is lose and rattling on the rail, and i cant seem to tighten it any more. My question is, is there some trick to making this work? and if not, is there some sort of Picatinny to weaver adapter that will solver my problem. i would really rather avoid screwing around with a whole new mounting system, as i like the one that came with the scope. (it has the scope elevated and back from the mounting point, allowing me to set it just over the action, and still eject brass without a problem.)

I would add a pic of the sights but i cant seem to find my camera.

[zzeiber]

I'd personally ditch that stock and get a nicer once. I hate those tapco fusion things.

Get a butler creek side folder or something.

After that I'd get a B-Square Mini 14 Mount <--link

Then you can mount your sight and shouldn't have any problems.

[gold cup abuser]

this is from the Brownells web site:

Picatinny Rails, Weaver Rails, What’s The Difference?
By Andrew Swan

When you are looking through the Brownells Catalog, there are many different parts and accessories that use the words Picatinny and Weaver to describe what they are compatible with. Just what is a Picatinny Rail anyway? And how is it different from a Weaver? It will be beneficial to look at the origin of the Picatinny system first.

The “Picatinny Rail” is a term that has evolved in the firearm industry from a military standard, specifically MIL-STD-1913 (AR) which was adopted on February 3, 1995. The title of the publication is “Dimensioning Of Accessory Mounting Rail For Small Arms Weapons” and this document specified exactly what the dimensions and tolerances were for any mounting systems that were to be submitted for acceptance by the military. The term “Picatinny” comes from the place of origin for this system, the Picatinny Arsenal located in New Jersey. MIL-STD-1913 specifies the dimensions required for consideration, including length, width, height, and angles and the tolerances allowed for each measurement. The key distinction of the MIL-STD-1913 lies in the specification for the profile and the recoil groove.



Source: MIL-STD-1913 (AR) 3 February 1995



Source: MIL-STD-1913 (AR) 3 February 1995


What are the differences between the “Picatinny” and the “Weaver” systems? The profile of the two systems is virtually identical. Depending on the quality of the machining done by the manufacturer, the two systems should be indistinguishable from the profile. The key difference lies in the placement of the recoil grooves and with width of the grooves. MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) grooves are .206” wide and have a center-to-center width of .394”. The placement of these grooves has to be consistent in order for it to be a true “Picatinny” MIL-STD system. Weaver systems have a .180” width of recoil groove and are not necessarily consistent in a center-to-center measurement from one groove to the next. In many instances, a Weaver system has a specific application that it is machined for, so interchangeability is not necessarily an issue. 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.

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. The reverse, however, is probably not the case. Due to the larger recoil groove, “Picatinny” accessories will not fit a Weaver system. 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”.

depending on if the TAPCO part is a true MIL-STD-1913 rail you should not have had any issues, but since you are the TAPCO part may not be in full compilance.

See if the dimensions listed above apply to your rail.


good luck

the link below has pictures of the actual rail dimensions........



http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Gun...?p=0&t=2&i=558

[largewhiteguy]

wow i dont even think i have the right tools to measure that... *sigh* i'm gonna have to figure out something though. theres no way to tighten the mount onto the rail any tighter, im out of threading on the little bar.

zzeiber, the only problem i have with the rail and mount you suggested it it puts it right above the action, and it looks an awful lot as though it will interfere with the ejecting brass. At the least, i would need to remove it every time i cleaned the gun, therefore making it necessary to re-sight every time.. I could be wrong, but thats what it looks like.

[X-Man]

Might try reviewing the posts found at "www.perfectunion.com" . There is an active group of Mini owners there, with lots of knowledge of that rifle. You can also learn the latest tips to obtain the best performance of your Mini.

Seems like you got a really good deal on a really sturdy rifle.

[largewhiteguy]

i agree! I really like the rifle, i'm just working out the last few kinks.. I really like the M-14, and if i could FIND one for a price that wouldnt put me in the poor house, i would get it too. For a Mini-14, it shoots straight as hell too.

I ended up spending 25 bucks on a new mount for the sight, didnt want to do it, but it was fast, and i didnt really see another option. works great. Went to the range and sighted it in at 50 yards. Not quite dead-on yet, but my groups were phenomenal i thought. i shot 6 3-round groups, 5 of which i could cover with ONE of those little black stickers they give yo on the edge of the target. ( i was using those stick-on targets that make a really visible green spot when you shoot them. ) The 6th just had one badly pulled shot and ended up way out in left field. all in all, a successful day.

[GoldWinger]

Piccatiny sounds too much like "pickaninny" so I'm offended by it. We should demand that the military abandon use of a racist mounting system.