Military and not-so-military gadgetry

I'm sure many readers are familiar with the Picatinny rail, shown below.




It's a standardized rail design to be fitted to carbines and rifles. On it, equipment such as telescopic or red-dot sights, laser target designators, flashlights, vertical grips and other accessories can be mounted. So many gadgets have found their way onto modern rifles that these rails are now found not only on top of the weapon, but on the sides and bottom of the foregrip as well, to allow more space to attach things.




Not content with the more orthodox sorts of gadgets, some manufacturers have been passing the time by dreaming up new ways to use the Picatinny rail system. Here are a few tongue-in-cheek examples.

Badger Ordnance has come up with a cup-holder for sniper rifles:




Knight's Armament have developed a ballistic calculator program for the iPhone, which they call Bulletflight, and have also developed a Picatinny bracket to mount an iPhone on their rifle!




I suppose if one gets the latest generation of iPhone, with its MP3 player, one can have music while one works!

Not to be outdone by a cup holder, Hero Gear have come up with what they call a 'Battle Mug'. It's carved out of a solid billet of aluminum, with its own integrated Picatinny rails on four sides. The handle is a carry handle from an M16, and in the second picture, the drinker has also attached a tactical flashlight. No word on whether it's to examine his feet more closely, or blind those around him every time he raises the mug to drink!




Of course, with enough rails, one can add so many gadgets that the gun and its operator become the laughing-stock of all who take shooting seriously. We call such monstrosities 'Rooney guns', christened thus by the late, great Col. Jeff Cooper.




With so many gadgets on his gun, I can only suggest that the gentleman above accessorize his clothing accordingly. How about something like this for tactical footwear?






Peter