Custom 11 mm dovetail adapter for tac-light.

[BadDog]

I have a nice Beeman R9 (aka HW95) that needs some tacti-cool upgrades for night varminting (I'm gonna git that siwwy wabit!). I've got a nice low light scope, but most of my marks only come out after full dark, and that's when they do the damage. So what I want to do is mount a light, without altering the fine gun. And it's a classic design hunting rifle with nice furniture and beautiful bluing I don't want to mess up.

It has a standard (for air guns) 11 mm dovetail I've got a Bushnell 40-12x40 scope on medium rings giving just enough room for flip-up covers to close without rubbing. Surprising how much it wants to move, so you have to really synch it down. I've got a really nice set of US made rings on it now, but may step up to low mounts with a weaver adapter with some talc. Anyway, So there is some significant gap. between the rings.

My idea is to take a solid piece of 7075 maybe 0.375 thick, 2" long (along the dovetail), and about 2" wide (sized to suit). The plan is to machine one side to fit the dovetail snuggly with either a 2 piece pinch leg, or a floating (hinged) clamp style. Either way, fit to dovetail, suggestions welcome. Keep in mind, this is a strong springer, so needs a good grip to keep things from moving. Who would ever think a spring air rifle has more violent recoil(s) than a 22 LR? Surprised me!

The outboard edge parallel to the bore would be left "heavy" (thick/wide) and suitable for tapping to mount a short (2") piece of MagPul Poly Weaver/Picattiny rail. And the final piece is a single low profile 1" scope ring with quick connect. Put my 1" high output LED flashlight in the ring, mount the ring to rail as needed/desired, and take cawa that wascally wabit!

Of course the main body would be seim-skellotonized to eliniate bulk and give it a less brutish appearance. Once it is proofed and passed, I'm going to try to get a fiend to hard anodize it and paint it black (black anodize apparently doesn't hold up, or look particularly black).

Question 1: Recommendations (and specs?) for machining a good 11 mm dovetail holder. Seems simple to reverse engineer from my rings, but you don't know what you don't know.

Question 2: Any general comments on the idea and/or design?

Also note I've kicked around doing a barrel mount, and may still. But there were cons that put me off that. For one it risks permanent damage to the bluing in a prominent/visible location. And it's a break-barrel, which means it could easily be the way of normal operations. The final concern that killed the idea was how to easily/quickly/quietly turn it on and off from the ready stance.

Down side of my first plan is added weight and offset balance to an already "solid" gun. And mounted that far back gives a significant equipment shadow, but again, running pressure switch wires on the unshrouded barrel on a brake barrel sound like a bad plan.

Experimenting with moc-up I learned one more interesting thing. I thought I wanted to use my brightest light, I was wrong. It was way to intense and washed out the sight picture badly. So I guess I'll have to experiment with some lower settings.

[daved20319]

Maybe something like this would be simpler:
http://www.leapers.com/prod_detail.php? ... mtrack=12m
Designed to be used with these rings:
http://www.leapers.com/prod_detail.php? ... mtrack=12m
I can guarantee these will work on an R9, I had a set on a Diana 52 and they never budged, and I've got the 4 screw version on a Diana 460. Then add one of these, and you're all set:
http://www.leapers.com/prod_detail.php? ... mtrack=13m
I've used a lot of the Leapers stuff, airguns are my thing, I got into machining as an extension of that hobby . It's not the best, but it's a heck of a bang for the buck, and they really do hold up well on springers. Not as cool as machining your own, of course, but sometimes buying "off the shelf" is a better solution.

BTW, nice rifle, I still regret selling my first R9. I've since moved on to PCP's mostly, and am in the process of building my own, now. If there are any specifics I can help with, let me know. Later.

Dave

[BadDog]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Wow, reading my original post I'm reminded why I should never post in the wee hours when I can't sleep. So many typos...

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the R9, very nice little rifle. Never imagined an "air rifle" could be that nice.

And thanks for the links. If I hadn't already mounted some really nice rings I might go that route. But I think it also gets a bit too top heavy for my preference like that. And it puts the light out of reach, which brings me back to remote pressure switch again. However, I really like that swing mount and will likely be ordering one for one of my other projects. Very nice!

Unfortunately I didn't get started on the R9 light mount this weekend, but I did put together the project box including everything I (think I) need except the poly stub rail that should arrive first of the week. I've got a programmable LED light that can be set to only operate on/off low beam, and while it's a bit heavier than I would like, I like the brightness at low light which doesn't kill the scope sight picture.

[spro]

Bad dog, I really appreciate your thoughts on this and the info by posting. Some of us were a step ahead and many, steps behind. I don't know anything. Taxing air will be next for they're going after lead. It's one thing after another.

[BadDog]

I can only say that I agree.

I had typed a more involved response, but decided to preempt it since it would have gone too far into the highly charged political arena and might well have raised the ire of some board members, and more importantly, the moderators.

[spro]

Same with me Russ. We will not see what I deleted. In the end I can only appreciate one aspect or be silent.

[GeorgeGaskill]

The recoil of your rifle puts the scope at risk for failing unless it is specifically designed and built for use on a spring air rifle. There is both rearward and forward forces involved and standard scopes are built to resist only the rearward ones.

[BadDog]

Yes, and thanks, but I am aware of the recoil issue. The Bushnell 4-12x40 on my rifle is specifically rated for use on springers.