SHOT Show 2015 Pictures (From SMGLee)

[RXM]

Top down view of the 15" MK1 Mod 1 on my SPR.

[Blak1508]

RXM, thanks for allowing me to test out your MK1, I talked to the gentleman at Geissele on Thursday and made a trip up there to pick one up. You guys were not lying about that rail.



I wrote my thoughts on every rail from Geissele that I have tried and l here are some quick cliff notes about them.

Mark 2 Mod 0? 13 inch FDE "sand"
Before the present revision with the cutouts- Solid rail, barebones, a bit on the heavy side but a nice piece of equip. I probaly spent the least amount of range time with this rail so take it for what its worth. Great for all purpose M4. Rail seemed to be a bit wide all around when gripping rail. Best FDE or sand color I had with Geissele series.

Mark 4 13 inch "sand"- light rail, very light, again solid not much accessory rail estate, does not come with rail inserts, IMO this is the best choice for a weight saving or lightweight build, SBR, or standard purpose. Again I felt the profile was wide when the rail portion flares out. I found sometimes my grip on this rail felt awkward, I like my support hand further out on my rail and because of this a comfortable stable grip was to be desired, this is I am sure is a user thing and with enough range/training work I am sure I could remedy this. I did however enjoy this rail very much and I think I will be utilizing this rail in a future build, it's just not what I was looking for on my present build. FDE "Sand" was a bit off but still a very nice color, more of a dark burnt sand color. I think there are people out there who will love this rail or hate it.

Mark 3 15 inch FDE "Sand"

As we all have heard this rail bridges the gap from the Mark 1 & 2. At the time when I had this rail I had only used the MK2 & MK4 so I did not really know what that meant as far as profile or how wide it was in relation to the 1 & 2. I thought this rail was great. Very solid, in your hand the rail just has a different feel from the Mark 4 and its felt stronger than the Mark 2, your support hand feels closer to the barrel, so I felt I had more control of the rifle. For the 15 inch lenght I was very pleased on how light it felt. The Mark 3 also has rail inserts. I feel this rail specially in this length is great for SPR-multi purpose Builds. The color was my least favorite but that may have been a batch and not the standard, not really important.

Mark 1 13 inch black- after putting this rail on I had to check my pants, the profile is slim, the rail is bomb proof and as others have said, it's a work of art. The way this rail feels in the hand is hard to explain, I will just say it felt almost natural. The jump from the Mark 3 to the Mark 1 was like night and day. I felt like as soon as I put the rail on and ran it through some drills, my time spent looking for a rail was over. I also thought that the rail inserts for the MK1 were improved and also the way the inserts attached to the rail was improved from the Mark 2 & 3

I will update this more with pictures of each and the end result. I have kept everything on this build basically the same except for the rail. I feel as though all of these rails are GTG and think that they all have their strong points and a general or specific purpose. I had a buddy who knew a lot more than I do break down what he felt their intended purpose was and after testing and researching the rails in those terms I think he was correct. All of these can suffice as a general or multipurpose rail and I do not think any will disappoint. What it came down to for me was a balance of weight, profile, user specific comfort and where the MK1 excelled, construction. If I could go back I would have started with this rail, but as I said I now see myself using the Mark 4 for a different type of build.

[RXM]

Great review but posts like that without pictures are useless

[Seifer]

Just IMHO about keymod MK4

[Brown_Bear]

Just IMHO about keymod MK4

That's an interesting idea. I'd make the argument, though, that keymod slots on the "3" regions would be nice for panels/QD points. In any event, I think a 15" MK4 Keymod would be wonderful.

[TrueSonPatriot1985]

I know I saw the answer to this somewhere in the last 20 pages or so of this thread, but for the life of me can't find it again:

What is the difference in weight between the steel barrel nut that comes with the MKII rails and the new aluminum barrel nuts?

I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on a MKII 9.5" rail for my SBR, just trying to decide if its worth it to buy the aluminum barrel nut extra to make it as light weight as possible.

[BH321]

Just IMHO about keymod MK4

I agree with this, though my only comment would be to make the first two or three holes at three o'clock keymod so as to allow the attachment of QD points rear of any devices on the picatinny rails.

[jpmuscle]

I could get into a 15" MK4 keymod but honestly just make the entire 3/6/9 rail sides full keymod. Given the number keymod accessories including rail sections out now and with more to come I see no reason why to keep a 1913 section in those areas. If its going to be a keymod make it 100% keymod.

[ALCOAR]

Using the keymod in this very limited fashion keeps the original MK4 design intact, and seals up the only real potential drawback to it for many folks including myself.

I've never been a full keymod designed rail fan, but again in a very limited use I see obviously benefit to it's design if for only this one use.

RXM...hopefully I can use your pic to just show what I'm getting at, if not I have no problem removing it.

Weight comparisons b/t the older MK1/MK2 barrel nut VS. the new lightweight MK4 barrel nut :


MK1/MK2 barrel nut: 3.52 OZ.


MK4 barrel nut: 1.26 OZ.

Significant weight difference b/t the two..even though I've never cared much about +/- 2ozs.

Cpl. old posts of mine, one to answer the barrel nut question, and another in regards to keymod placement.

Fwiw...I don't really have any desire anymore to see the small keymod portion on the MK4.

[Blak1508]

Pictures of the build through rail changes and equipment changes.

As shown this is the MK2 13 inch sand



Both the Mark 2 and the Mark 4 together