Dovetail air rifles

Dovetail rail

— the rifle has a dovetail rail for installing additional sights, most often telescopic.

Such a rail on the rifle itself has the cross-sectional appearance of an inverted trapezoid (expanding upward) and, unlike Weaver/Picatinny rails (see the relevant paragraph), does not provide transverse slots. The dovetail rail is distinguished by its simplicity, low cost and versatility; many sights and even removable Weaver/Picatinny rails are available for such mounts. Due to this, this particular option is most often used in airguns for mounting sights.

Note that in airsoft rifles that copy Kalashnikov rifles and other Soviet-style military weapons, such a rail has a special design: it is placed on the side of the receiver (usually on the left), and a special bracket is required to mount the sight.