Contessa Picatinny Rail for Benelli Argo (20 MOA)

Introduction

Picatinny rail consists of slots with 5.23 mm spaces between one another, which means that it can be used across its entire length. It is simple to mount and interchangeable – if something is made for a Picatinny rail, it will fit regardless of the manufacturer or manufacturing date. It is affordable, resilient and reliable – this is why it so commonly used by professionals and military. Because of all its great qualities, Picatinny rail has been dominating the rail market in the recent years.

Picatinny is a big step forward from the Weaver standard. Weaver has a few predesignated slots while Picatinny has slots all over its surface, allowing the device to be mounted wherever the user finds it fitting. Weaver's slot is 3.8 mm wide, which is why ring mounts made for a Weaver rail will also fit on a Picatinny rail while ring mounts made specifically for a Picatinny rail will not fit on a Weaver rail. This is one of the main reasons why Picatinny is a far better mounting solution.

Contessa is an Italian company, famous for producing aesthetically appealing mounts with a nice finish. The tolerances of the produced pieces are very tight – there are no deviations, the mounts are very carefully machined. Contessa's Picatinny rails are made from steel and come with their unique screws which fit nicely into the rail. The screws have a huge contact surface and a bigger head than screws of other mount manufacturers, while the thread is the same. Contessa's Picatinny rails, made in Italy, are available in both 0 MOA and 20 MOA versions. Throughout the middle of the rail, there is a canal so that the rail can be used together with rifle's sights.

20 MOA Inclination

20 MOA inclination is only needed when the scope runs out of elevation. For example, when shooting at the range of 100 m, shooter gains 58.2 cm / 100 m of additional elevation range with a 20 MOA mount. This is approximately 5.8 Mrad of elevation. To make things even clearer – if the target was placed at 100 m, the scope with 20 MOA inclined rail would aim to the center of the target while the rifle’s barrel would aim 58 cm higher than the scope. This gives the shooter extra elevation needed for long range shooting. If you plan to shoot on distances longer than 600 meters, use of rail with 20 MOA is greatly recommended. There is no negative effect of the inclined Picatinny rail in the mounting setup if you only shoot on shorter distances. The same goes also the other way around, since if you don’t shoot on extreme distances then Picatinny rail with inclination is not needed.

About the rifle

Benelli Armi S.p.A. was formed in 1967 from a motorcycle business. Benelli brothers were passionate hunters as well as fine engineers – with the help of Bruno Civolani, they developed an extraordinary hunting shotgun that used a simple inertia driven mechanism in place of a conventional gas-operated system. Today, they are best known for producing shotguns for law enforcement, military, and civilians. Benelli M3 12 gauge, used by American SWAT teams, is perhaps their most famous firearm.

Benelli Argo is a semi-automatic rifle powered by Benelli's Auto-Regulated Gas Operated system (it uses gas when it is shot to reset the bolt and load the next round – it is referred to as very reliable). Its action is cylindrical/round shaped and is of the same diameter throughout its length. The dimensions are the same as that of Browning BAR, meaning that mounts for BAR will fit Benelli ARGO and vice versa. Benelli Special has the same dimensions as the standard model. The rifle's bolt is equipped with three locking lugs. Argo features a small hatch as an ejection port and has 4 holes drilled on the action (two in the front and two in the back). The rifle is available in the following calibers: .308 Win, .30-06 Spr, .300 Win Mag, 9.3x62 and 7x64.

Rifles Benelli Argo, Browning BAR, Browning Acera, Browning Maral, Winchester SXR Vulcan and Fabarm Iris have actions of the same dimensions, which is why they share the same mounts.

A: 12.7 mm
B: 81 mm
C: 12.7 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Fi: 6-48
R1: R18
R2: R18

Mounting instructions

Remove all the stains (grease, oil etc.) from the rifle's receiver with a cleaning fluid (acetone). Once the surface is clean and dry, check whether the screws match the rail and the holes on the receiver. Make sure that the Picatinny rail is compatible with the rifle by inspecting the mounting holes on both. Before mounting the rail permanently, apply a minimal amount of thread-locking fluid 278 or 648 on screws and contact surfaces. Be careful not to get the fluid in or near the mounting holes. Carefully clean the remaining excess fluid around the rail with a cleaning fluid. Using a torque driver, screw the screws appropriately (up to 2.2 Nm) – do not overtighten.

Warranty

The product has a warranty period of 30 years.