AWESOME Light-Weight Rails from SRS (Arca, Picatinny, Combo)

Salmon River Solutions (SRS) makes a number of specialty rails — let’s take a closer look.

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About Salmon River Solutions

Ken Trapp of Salmon River Solutions is joining us today. SRS produces some lightweight titanium brakes as well as rails and other specialty products.

Rail Lineup

SRS has a wide variety of options. Ken believes they make the only combo rail currently on the market. SRS has two variations of combo rails: the hunters and ARCA + Picatinny. The hunters rail is longer, but you get ARCA, Picatinny and a sling stud in both options.

All of SRS’s rails are made from 7075 steel. Ken says this allows them to make lightweight but durable products. You’ll also notice cut-outs on the base of the rail. While functionally these are to reduce weight, they also just look cool.

SRS also offers two rail styles: flat-bottom and radius bottom cut. The radius bottom cut is ideal for stocks with a rounded bottom. This is especially common with sporter-style hunting stocks. The flat-bottom rails are more often used with tactical guns and chassis.

Rounded Bottom Rails for Better Mate Up on Stock Forend

What is especially interesting about the radius is some stocks have a transition — rounded on the forend and flatter towards the magwell — and the radius rail can accommodate that. The center section has a radius and the outer to outer is flat. No matter what, you’ll have two points of contact rather than just one with a generic flat rail. This prevents rocking.

These rails are especially lightweight which makes them ideal not only for hunters but for competitors, especially in disciplines like NRL Hunter that have strict weight limits.

Combo Design

The combo design is extremely unique so I asked Ken what types of attachments people are using. Ken likes to run a quick-detach Atlas with a Picatinny rail up front, but when he’s hunting he generally carries a tripod with him. This is where the ARCA of the combo rail comes in handy. The integrated sling stud also keeps the rifle easy to carry.

This is a particularly common setup in Washington for varmint hunting – shooting down into a bowl through tall grass. The tripod allows me to get up off the ground rather than ripping out patches of grass to try to see from the prone position.

At Ultimate Reloader, we’ve transitioned to almost all ARCA, but the SRS combo rails still allow us to have some options.

ARCA Balance Rail

The new 3.5” ARCA balance rail is flat on the bottom but has a flared section so you get an extra 5/8” further back around the bottom metal. This lets you mount it on the balance point of the rifle.

Length Options

The shortest rail, the Mini, measures 1.7” long and weighs 0.55 ounces. Ken says SRS has a Youtube video, though not the best quality, of them hanging 30 pounds off the Mini with it mounted on a stock. Though this rail is thin, it is strong! This is currently the smallest ARCA rail on the market.

The combo ARCA + Pic is about 4”. What’s nice about 4” rails is they bolt right on. If you remove the two sling studs, there will be 10/32” bedded in the stock. You can then bolt the rail on with the included fasteners. It takes just a few minutes.

The hunters rail is available in two sizes: 10.625” and 11”. The full-length ARCA is 11” overall and they offer a 10” tactical rail. SRS has a variety of 4” rails as well.