Rifle Quarter Rib Purpose

BeeMaa

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I've seen several beautiful rifles sporting a "quarter rib" for the iron sights.
These rifles would be classified as custom or at the higher end of the price point.
So my question is why?
Why is a quarter rib necessary?
Is it ornamentation, does it provide additional stiffness to the barrel or another reason I've not heard of?
A little insight would be appreciated.
 

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It does look a lot better than a Picatinney rail.
Man, you hit the nail on the head with that.
And it does add a very classy look to a rifle.

Just seems kind of ironic that something made for the use of open sights sees more utility as a scope base.
 
English is not my native language so I`m not sure I use the correct words here, but the quarter rib is there to eliminate multiple optical levels for your sighting eye. Sighting over a good quarter rib is basically just like sighting over the rib of a nice shotgun. Raise the rifle to your shoulder and the front sight/bead shines just like a diamond in a goats ass. Its superfast, quite accurate and by far the best open sight solution for a DG rifle in my mind.
Scopes are often attached to the rib because you don`t want to build anything in front of the rib that are higher like bases on the action.
Installing a quarter rib is expensive because often the gunmaker must make it from scratch, shape it to the barrel and then ideally solder it to the barrel. Then it must be sighted/blued. This obviously takes a lot of time.
 
English is not my native language so I`m not sure I use the correct words here, but the quarter rib is there to eliminate multiple optical levels for your sighting eye. Sighting over a good quarter rib is basically just like sighting over the rib of a nice shotgun. Raise the rifle to your shoulder and the front sight/bead shines just like a diamond in a goats ass. Its superfast, quite accurate and by far the best open sight solution for a DG rifle in my mind.
Scopes are often attached to the rib because you don`t want to build anything in front of the rib that are higher like bases on the action.
Installing a quarter rib is expensive because often the gunmaker must make it from scratch, shape it to the barrel and then ideally solder it to the barrel. Then it must be sighted/blued. This obviously takes a lot of time.
With your “diamond in a goats ass” comparison I’d say you might have a better command of the English language than I do!
 
Can anyone here give me some measurements on the length of their quarter ribs? I have my .318 blank that I’d like to get everything machined integral and my barrel guy is asking for a drawing of what I’d like
 
Mr. Villain is quite right regarding the scope bases or such in front of the qrib (on the receiver) sighting plane. For example, a 1.75” blank diameter, allows the top of the qrib to be the same height as the square bridges on a Mauser style action. I actually set the the height 5/1000” lower so the eye is not distracted by the base edge.
Another consideration with blank diameter is what I call “goldline” which is the amount of the rear sight embedded goldline visible above scope bases or square bridge.
For round actions with scope bases, thinning the bases by 20-30 1/1000” helps with this (unfortunately does nothing for the sighting plane issue).
Steve
 
English is not my native language so I`m not sure I use the correct words here, but the quarter rib is there to eliminate multiple optical levels for your sighting eye. Sighting over a good quarter rib is basically just like sighting over the rib of a nice shotgun. Raise the rifle to your shoulder and the front sight/bead shines just like a diamond in a goats ass. Its superfast, quite accurate and by far the best open sight solution for a DG rifle in my mind.
Scopes are often attached to the rib because you don`t want to build anything in front of the rib that are higher like bases on the action.
Installing a quarter rib is expensive because often the gunmaker must make it from scratch, shape it to the barrel and then ideally solder it to the barrel. Then it must be sighted/blued. This obviously takes a lot of time.
Most coaches, myself included, stress that for moving targets the shooter is NOT supposed to be looking at the bead, only the target. In fact, many coaches will actually remove the bead from a shotgun for beginners. Similarly, a rib only acts as another potential distraction. For trap guns ribs with double beads MAY be helpful for orienting the gun before the target is pulled, but by far the best technique is to make sure the gun fits perfectly and forget about the rib and bead. Anyway, trap targets are pulled high gun with shotgun mounted. This is not how it's done hunting in the field where the shotgun is mounted and fired all in one motion. For shooting standing targets with a rifle I cannot see how a rib would be any advantage whatsoever. Zero. If the barrel is not aligned, the front sight is not in the rear sight. Everything in between doesn't matter. Rib on a rifle, unless it has some positive effect on barrel harmonics that I'm unaware of (but will not discount), is pure asthetics. Personally, I think it looks clunky. Like a woman with too much makeup.
 
Any rib, shotgun or rifle, is designed to direct the eye. It may even work subconsciously. That direction may be a preliminary to finding the rear sight at all--a way to speed up without trying to. I do not think a rifle can be pointed like a shotgun without reference to the front sight as that would depend on instinct and luck. If one did shoot that way, I would wish to double check that WHEN STOPPED TO OBSERVE SIGHT ALIGNMENT that said alignment was perfect. I agree that would require perfect fit. But instructors I have encountered have stressed "front sight! Focus on the front sight" with regard to both pistols and rifles that are fitted with rear aperture sight. For wide V rear sight, care must be taken unless the elephant is practically stepping on your toes. There is 6 o'clock hold, level with top of rear sight hold and sometimes with rifles/particular bullet weights, a "fine bead" hold. You have to know your rifle. Misses are often described as failure to hold right, i.e. too fine a bead, or more commonly shooting over from too high a hold. That would indicate that you have to pay attention to the sight position. The farther the distance, the more you have to be right.
Once the rear sight is located by the eye in relation to the front bead, the rib means nothing. You are either looking through an aperture, in which case the rear sight can then be ignored as the eye will center itself, or you are aligning front and rear V correctly, THEN focusing on the front. If you can ignore the FRONT, then you are a savant.
Now, what possible reason there could be for front sight ramp, I cannot say definitively.
On a shotgun, I believe the most valid reason for a rib is elevation control.
 
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English is not my native language so I`m not sure I use the correct words here, but the quarter rib is there to eliminate multiple optical levels for your sighting eye. Sighting over a good quarter rib is basically just like sighting over the rib of a nice shotgun. Raise the rifle to your shoulder and the front sight/bead shines just like a diamond in a goats ass. Its superfast, quite accurate and by far the best open sight solution for a DG rifle in my mind.
Scopes are often attached to the rib because you don`t want to build anything in front of the rib that are higher like bases on the action.
Installing a quarter rib is expensive because often the gunmaker must make it from scratch, shape it to the barrel and then ideally solder it to the barrel. Then it must be sighted/blued. This obviously takes a lot of time.
English might not be your native language, but; “shines just like a diamond in a goats ass” is perfectly understood and I can’t wait to squeeze that into a conversation.
 
One definite benefit of a QR is to add a little more weight to a rifle and place that weight between the hands.
Of course, aesthetically, they can either hit the mark or miss it entirely. A too tall QR is goofy looking to me.
 

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