Safariland Blog | Safariland

Weaver™ Style vs. Picatinny Bases

November 19, 2009 at 12:28 by Matt Foster

Posted in Firearms Accessories

Whether you call it Weaver™ style, cross slot, Picatinny, 1913 mil-std or scope rail, often there’s some confusion about these scope mounting systems. Are they the same? Are they similar? Will my Picatinny rings fit a Weaver style base? That’s easy…in the order asked above, no, yes and definitely maybe.

Are they the same? No. The two scope mounting systems were standardized at different times, and I suspect the Weaver style strongly if not almost entirely influenced the Picatinny design.

Are they similar? Yes. When looking at each base head on, they are almost identical, and for scope mounting purposes, those dimensions are interchangeable. When viewing the base from the side, that’s where the critical difference comes to light.

The main difference? The cross slots on the base that the recoil lug or bolt on the rings fit into are wider on the Picatanny system than on the Weaver style system. Also, Picatinny specifications call for even spacing of the cross slots, where the Weaver style system does not have that specification and a few slots are often placed where it best suits mounting a scope.

Will my Picatinny rings fit a Weaver style base? Maybe. If the recoil lug in the rings is small enough, they may work with a Weaver style base, but most often they will not. Yet Weaver style rings will almost always fit Picatinny bases.

If you’re curious enough and want to know, the dimensions for both styles of bases can be found online and remember, that if you’re using Picatinny rings, it will be best to find a Picatinny base as well.

OC Aerosol - How hot is hot?

November 17, 2009 at 14:25 by Jim Morgan

Posted in Less Lethal

Various Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) aerosols are often touted as having the highest SHU levels on the market. But what is SHU and how is it measured? SHU stands for Scoville Heat Units and is a standard used to measure the perceived heat of a substance. For example, a bell pepper has an SHU rating of 0, a jalapeño pepper has a rating of 2,500 to 8,000, and a habañero has a rating of 100,000 to 350,000 SHU. Typical law enforcement grade pepper sprays report an SHU level between 5-5.3 million. But... Read More »

The New Body Armor Standard – What’s the Big Deal?

November 10, 2009 at 11:30 by Marsha Mathias

Posted in Body Armor

Body armor is changing for the better, thanks to new performance standards set by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The NIJ is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice and is dedicated to researching crime-control and justice issues. The new NIJ Standard-0101.06, as it’s officially called, specifies revised minimum-performance requirements that body armor must meet to satisfy the needs of criminal-justice agencies. It also establishes the methods... Read More »

A Better Mouse Trap

October 27, 2009 at 11:44 by Eric Schellhorn

Posted in Forensics

As a manufacturer and distributor with more than 3,000 products in our forensics product line, one of the greatest challenges we face is anticipating customer needs and developing new, useful, and competitively priced products to meet those requirements. These new products may provide technological advances, increase efficiency, package useful items in a new or innovative way, or may even present the “better mousetrap”, a simple or novel solution to a unique problem or challenge. Read More »

Defensive Fighting Positions – Enhancing Perimeter Protection

October 12, 2009 at 11:59 by Geoff Patti

Posted in Armor Systems

Armored Fighting Positions are commonly called Defensive Fighting Positions and can be utilized for all types of security applications. From frontline checkpoints to extending out to the perimeter, these structures afford personnel protection against various levels of ballistic and/or fragmentation threats. Read More »

Machine Guns and Memory Lane

October 5, 2009 at 13:06 by Eric Schellhorn

Posted in Forensics

As a former Army officer assigned to an M1 tank battalion, I spent a lot of time around M2 (“Ma Deuce”) .50 Cal Heavy Barrel Machine Guns and became intimately familiar with their operation and capabilities. I shot them out to 2000 meters against both “soft” targets like trucks and “hard” targets like old armored vehicles. There’s nothing quite as exciting as seeing the splash of a .50 cal tracer round hitting an old half track in the middle of the night. Recently, one of our salesmen had the... Read More »

The 5 Most Interesting Law Enforcement Podcasts

September 30, 2009 at 12:44 by Max Leaver

Posted in General

Regardless of your role in law enforcement, there is always a need for more knowledge. However, finding good information on the internet can often be a difficult and time consuming process. Luckily, over the past few years, Podcasts have become a great way to get information on-demand easily. Read More »

Always Look for the Glove Rating

September 28, 2009 at 16:30 by Dani Deyton

Posted in Protective Gear

How will you know for sure if your cut resistant gloves will protect you? You can reduce the risk of cuts using innovative technologies, advanced materials and scientifically enhanced products, but there are no guarantees when it comes to protective products. Luckily you can measure cut resistance. Read More »

Don't Waste Ammo

September 23, 2009 at 11:10 by Matt Foster

Posted in Firearms Accessories

Unless you just woke up from a cryogenic freeze, you know there’s an ammo shortage right now. Either we need to shoot or want to shoot, so regardless of the shortage we’re going to use some of our precious ammo. That doesn’t mean we should waste any though, because it might be a while before you can replace what you use. Here’s couple of things to keep in mind so you don’t waste any. Read More »

Heroin and TATP: A Recipe for Disaster?

September 16, 2009 at 08:05 by Eric Schellhorn

Posted in Forensics

There has been some concern within the Law Enforcement Community recently about drug traffickers cutting raw heroin with a variety of peroxide-based substances. While this sounds fairly innocuous, a basic understanding of the chemistry used in most LE drug test kits will tell you that mixing the acid-based chemical test reagents with peroxide-based compounds results in the release of sulfuric acid which is highly corrosive and can cause burns. Read More »