The PICTAIL mounting system is the combination of a standard dovetail shoe commonly used on helmet mountable night vision optics and the MIL-STD-1913 picatinny rail used on weapons platforms. The synergy of these two mounting formats creates a system that is more accurate and versatile on a rifle while maintaining all dovetail capabilities on a helmet. The PICTAIL is compatible with standard dovetail receptacles used in helmet mounting interface hardware made by Wilcox, KVC and others. The counterpart to the dovetail side of the PICTAIL shoe is MIL-STD-1913 picatinny rail specially designed with one slot that interfaces with the ADM MQD mount. The PICTAIL and MQD mount work in tandem to achieve an adjustable footprint on any standard picatinny rail.