Recently, I have been in the process of putting a new scope on my Ruger 10/22 rifle.  I had this old no name .22 scope that really sucked.  So I was finally fed up with it, threw it in the garbage and purchased a new Bushnell .22 Rimfire scope.  It came with ring mounts designed for the standard .22 base but they did not fit on the base that came with the 10/22.  What to do?  Well, I always had the idea of putting a Weaver style base and ring set on my Ruger.  During this process of finding a new scope, base and rings I was thumbing through one of my many firearms magazines that I am subscribed to and (although not realizing at the time) noticed something that caught my eye.

     In just about every magazine you read today there are articles and advertisements about this scope mount or that scope ring set.  Each is trying to promote or denounce a particlar product.  I am sure we have all heard of the Weaver style base, Picatinny & 1913 rails and the rings to go with them but what is the difference in them?  Well, I decided to do some research to get the answer.  First, lets clarify something.  The Picatinny and 1913 rails are the same thing.  As a matter of fact, the Picatinny rail is also known as STANAG standing for STANdardization AGreement.  Basically this all means that the Picatinny 1913 STANAG rail is a military established system.  So back to our first question, What is the difference between the Weaver and the Picatinny system?

     In actuality there are only two differences, the size of the slots for scope rings and the number of these slots.  The Weaver system has been around longer because the military adopted and modified the system slightly in 1995.  The Weaver system utilizes a set of 45 degree angles to hold the rings to the base while also implementing a slot and bar to compensate for recoil.  In this system the slots are 3.8mm (0.14961") wide and usually only have two or four slots per base.  The Picatinny system uses the same slots but they are 5mm (0.19685") wide and more of them that are evenly spaced.

     The Picatinny systems offers a couple advantages.  One being that you can adjust where your scope is placed to compensate for eye relief.  The other advantage being that you have a wider range of options for optics as well as lights, lasers, bipods and much more.  Weaver rings will fit on the Picatinny base and according to many forums the opposite is not possible.  After, searching for scope rings that are desinged for the Picatinny base I noticed that many websites who sell the items refer to them as Picatinny/Weaver.  Even the websites that refer to the rings as Picatinny specific don't specify that the bar is a particular size.  So do the rings for a Picatinny rail work on a Weaver base?  Truth is I don't know but my feeling is that you should use the Weaver rings with the Weaver base and the Picatinny rings with the Picatinny base.  Either way you go the price difference is not so much that you can't get which ever system you want to go with.

   So why is this important?  Well, when is learning something new about your hobby not important?  In reality, I had the question and from reading the different forums it was obvious that others had as well.  Also, your rifle, handgun or even your shotgun usage may call for a particular setup and therefore it's important to know what your options are for each system.

Well, that's it for this week.  Again, I would encourage anybody or everybody to place their comments, suggestions or questions to this blog.  I look forward to hearing from everyone.  Thank you for your time.

Well, this is my first blog entry and as such would like to welcome all who are interested to join me with your comment and suggestions for this blog.  I will be posting blogs in the future with different subjects.  I will be happy to entertain ideas for future blog subjects and hope to see quite a bit of participation in the discussions.

First, a little about me.  Many of you may have already figued that I am a western history buff, especially when it comes to Billy the Kid.  I am a lifetime subscriber to True West magazine.  I am an NRA member and will be taking classes to become an NRA Firearms Instructor in the coming months.  It has been a lifelong dream for me to train others in the usefulness, safety and proper handling of firearms.  I have been a firearms enthusiast since I was 8 years old.  I study everything I can get my hands on including the stuff that does not interest me as much because I believe it is important to keep learning.  I am not one who will tell you that you should only shoot one type of gun or caliber because that is the general consensus of the population.  You will find that I am very open to discussion on almost every subject.  I am very knowledgeable on the subject of firearms and would be happy to answer questions.  I do not consider myself to be an expert because it is ridiculous to claim such a thing, however through my own research I have learned where to look for answers on things I do not already know.

Now on to the first subject.  I figured it would be fitting to discuss safety with firearms as that should the first thing anyone who is interested in learning to shoot should know.  The rules are very simple and yet so effective.  Every gun accident I have ever come across could have been adverted with these simple rules.  So here they are:

1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.  Know your backstop. Never point a gun at anyone or anything you don't want to shoot.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until you are ready to fire.
3. Keep the action open and the gun unloaded until ready to use it.
4. Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
5. Always wear safety equipement while shooting.  Eye and Ear protection are a must.

All of these rules are extremely important and will keep you and all others around you and your guns safe.  I am sure a few of you out there are already bringing up the third rule and that you like to keep a loaded gun in the house for protection.  I understand and keep one loaded for protection as well.  The distinguishing factor here though is that the gun should be accessible to you only and no one else.  Safes, locks and the such are great deterrents for keeping loaded guns out of the hands of children and others who would use it against you.

But what about keeping it accessible to get at when intruders arrive?  Very True.  Sometimes a little training, especially of the rules above, will keep you safe from your gun ending up in the wrong hands.  My wife and I live by ourselves and I do keep a loaded firearm for protection without a lock or safe but we both have training in the proper handling and use of a firearm.  I would not suggest this in a house where children live.  There are a lot of single gun safes out there which are easily accessible within seconds or less.  I have recently seen in the Cabela's catalog a gun safe which opens via your fingerprint.  I am thinking about getting one.

These few rules are very simple and easy to follow.  I would encourage anyone to respond to this blog with your experiences on this subject and anything you think should be covered more in depth.

Thank you.