Do you have one of the countless cheap adapters that puts a sling stud for a bipod on a picatinny rail? They were all the rage not so long ago, and for good reason. The picatinny rail lets you mount almost anything to your rifle. Anything except a standard bipod, that is. Or maybe you’ve had to get an adapter to go the other direction, mounting a rail section to a sling stud to mount a light or rail mount bipod?
This dual problem led Mark Deros to create and patent a dual solution at Alamo Four Star: eliminate the need for both sets of adapters on a single picatinny rail section. The first batch of his Slot Stud Rail sections were manufactured for Remington to go on the military’s XM2010 precision rifles.
On a recent visit to Alamo Four Star’s Lubbock Texas facilities, I got the grand tour and a first look at this innovation. It’s not the first innovation for Deros. His first foray away from his data management and computer career was in the development of a shooting rest suitable for both rifle and pistol shooting.
Later, a friend was complaining about a mount that was marketed as a “return to zero” scope mount, but wasn’t. Deros observed that the mount didn’t make contact with the top of the rail, compromising its design. He figured out how to overcome that and “grab more rail” creating the prototype DLOC. It worked so well it was sent to Trijicon for a lengthy stay. Tens of thousands of iterations of DLOC mounts have since been sold to support everything from high end scopes and red dot sights to PVS-14 night vision monoculars.
The new Slot Stud Rail integrates a stud for bipod mounting directly into a picatinny rail, allowing the shooter to mount both traditional Harris style bipods and picatinny rail mount bipods. There are no moving parts or swivels to break. No adapters to complicate things. Borrowing a bipod for class having left yours at home? No problem, you can use anything out there. The innovation is so simple, Deros had to ask himself twice why it had never been done before.
Personally, while I like Harris bipods just fine I’ve never been a fan of the sling stud mount. My most used Harris bipod consequently has an Alamo Four Star DLOC rail mount adaptor. It’s rock solid, fast, and keeps my railed rifle forearms free of sling stud adapters. My other one I keep around for some old school bolt actions. Truth is, I’m SLOW getting the bipod on the sling stud.
When Deros showed me the XM2010 Slot Stud Rail section, my response was a bit skeptical. Not because of any doubt about its quality or design, but because I generally avoid the Harris style mount. “If I can do it with my eyes closed, you have a winner,” I said. Much to my surprise, it was a piece of cake. How is that possible? The stud isn’t round, so there’s no slipping on and off. More importantly, there’s only a narrow gap between the picatinny rails for the jaws of the bipod to go in, automatically aligning everything.
I’m sold. I want one.
For the moment, “want” is where it sits. The only production run to date has been for the XM2010, but the possibilities are limitless. Major manufacturers could license the option to build this simple device into their rails. Keymod versions of the Slot Stud Rail are obvious. I’d like to add one to my Cadex Defense Strike Dual Chassis and my Centurion Arms CMR rail. What would you like to add it to? Let your favorite rail and accessory makers know they need to check this out and maybe you’ll play a role in getting a Slot Stud Rail for your rifles.
On the web: www.AlamoFourStar.com
