Non-Freefloat Handguard ?"s

[Jedimac]

Forgive me if this has been talk already before, my question is what is a excellent non-freefloat handguard? I have the MI#17 and just has to much play for my taste, I have a friend who has the DD Omega on his carbine and just didn't feel right for me in my hands, so I'm looking at either a Troy or Knights Arm. rails are these anygood or is there better out there? My problem is that for a guy I have small hands so thats where I had problems with the DD omega, seemed to long of a drop on the bottom rail without rail protectors on it, I'm leaning more toward the Troy but was wanting anyones opinion on Troy's quality, and fit. Is it normal to have some play on the non-freefloat rails?

[steve-oh]

Both Troy and Knights are good to go. I've got the Troy on mine simply because the price difference.

There's no movement in mine, but they've only been in place a couple of months, and a little over a thousands rounds of firing.

[jasonb]

I have a RAS and I love it. The top rail has a flat spring that slips under the handguard retainer and a clamp that slips around the gas tube ad clamps to the barrel nut. It is very solid. Grant used to have factory blemished RAS's at an excellent price. Might still have some.

[Jedimac]

Does anyone know, is the samson rails any good? I know Stag Arms uses them on their Model 2T rifles. I'm just wondering on what everyones thoughts are on these rails, I've never seen any topics here about the samson rails, hmm maybe thats a hint.

[Vendetta]

Have you looked at the LaRue rails also? They're good to go, very solid rail.

[seb5]

I've got a Surefire and the Troy unit in non free floated and prefer the Surefire for everything except taking it off. It's kind of a pain to take it off to clean or tinker compared to the Troy. I think the Surefire is more rigid as well.

[Jedimac]

well what I'm looking for is a rail not only reliable and in specs but also something I can remove as well to clean if needed, I don't have all the tools needed to do a free float rail, other then the basics to do a free float that is just bolted together around the factory barrel nut, but I have been leaning more to the troy rails.

[steve-oh]

I know ia lot of people feel the need to clean under the handguards; especially if you're prior service. But lets be honest, you never need to. Just my opinion, but I think the benefits of free floating outweigh the fact that you can't clean underneath it.

If it's an installation issue, you're worried about the amount of gunsmithing that goes into installation, DD Omega, Samson, Troy, MI, and a few others are so easy you can do them without special tools.

[seb5]

steve-oh,

You are dead on. For me it a very minor issue because I like tinkering. Kind of like I used to do with my cars while in high school.

[JStor]

The cleaning issue is one reason I stick with the Knight's Armament M4 RAS on carbines. I am thinking of a wet environment on this, and the ease of removal for inspection or whatever aligns with the original intent of having a weapon that is field maintenance friendly. I realize the free float systems will achieve greater accuracy from the same platform, but when we view the short range use of the carbine, the point becomes moot.

If we are worried about long range accuracy, then we should also be looking at magnified optics, better triggers etc., and that brings us to the realm of a "designated marksman's rifle." So it comes down to what the individual thinks is important and what the role of the carbine really is. This, of course, is just my opinion. I guess if I had plenty of extra funds, I would choose a DD or Larue.