Need advice/input on hand guard

[DeRp]

I'm not sure this is the place for this or not and being on my phone, search is not the best feature but here it goes. I understand this question is more of a personal choice more than anything but I guess I'm looking for a push in either direction.

I'm currently building my first AR and its time for me to purchase an upper. I'm going with a PSA 16" mid upper due to budget. They offer standard, magpul, and 15" MI and Troy Alpha rails. I'm undecided between the magpul and troy. I know the 15" troy will give me a better sight radius over the standard mid length magpul but is there any advantage from one to the other? This rifle is mainly going to be used at the range, no further than 200 yards and I won't be clearing any houses with it. Eventually I'll be putting an optic on it when my budget allows it but for now I'll be running iron sights. I'm just looking for any first hand advice on this and would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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[Quentin]

I bet the MOE will be perfect for you.

[DeRp]

I bet the MOE will be perfect for you.

I was thinking the same thing, guess I just needed a push lol. Thanks.

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[IYAAYASwarrior]

I have been using a Magpul HG on my rifle. The flaw that I am noticing is that I am limited on what I can put on it without bulking it up with rail sections and all that. I have been wanting to change it up and get something different like the Troy or MI. Maybe this is something you can consider.

[scoutchris]

I spent over 28 months in Iraq as a Scout/Sniper. On my M4 I had a PEQ-15, a big ass surefire, and a standard colt vertical grip. I still didn't use an entire section of rail, and the other sections had about 25 percent of them taken up...And the other 75 percent of that bulky rail setup never ceased to let me know it was there when bumping me in the leg getting in and out of the truck.

I just built my first AR as a civilian, and I can think of no better setup (for myself) than the magpul MOE handguard, moe vertical grip, and an IWC flashlight mount...because that's all any civilian needs. And I'm saving a lot of weight, and there is NO unused rail space. And it just plain feels better in my hand.

There's no need to throw stuff on your weapon just because other people do it.

[DeRp]

moe vertical grip, and an IWC flashlight mount...because that's all any civilian needs.

There's no need to throw stuff on your weapon just because other people do it.

That's all I want on there anyways. I gave the 15" rail thought just for the sight radius, not for real estate to slap every tacticool accessory on. I'm just open to any opinion to give me the right push.

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[scoutchris]

Inside of 200m, you aren't going to notice a difference in the sight radius anyway. Another bonus to the MOE is the price. I'm not a magpul fanboy by any means, but this thing is about as practical as a toothbrush- there are no drawbacks. Period. Check out iwc for sick weapon light mounts and combinations.

[DeRp]

Inside of 200m, you aren't going to notice a difference in the sight radius anyway. Another bonus to the MOE is the price. I'm not a magpul fanboy by any means, but this thing is about as practical as a toothbrush- there are no drawbacks. Period. Check out iwc for sick weapon light mounts and combinations.

Thanks for your input on this, definitely helped to make up my mind. I'll keep them in mind when I'm ready to take the dive into lighting.

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[Steve S.]

Inside of 200m, you aren't going to notice a difference in the sight radius anyway. Another bonus to the MOE is the price. I'm not a magpul fanboy by any means, but this thing is about as practical as a toothbrush- there are no drawbacks. Period. Check out iwc for sick weapon light mounts and combinations.

While I have no issues with the MOE handguard and consider it a great value, there are a couple drawbacks. One is it is non-free float. This may or may not be important to the user.

The other is you are limited in size by the gas system. By changing the handguard and chopping the FSB or running a low pro gas block, you can run a longer rail. This isn't to attach more stuff, it's so you can get your support arm further out where it should be without needing to extend the stock and upset the balance.

Lastly, the MOE is hardly heavy, but weight can be cut further. My personal favorite as of late is the Midwest Industries Gen 2 SS. Its incredibly light and very small in diameter so you can really choke the bore with the support hand. Considering the price, weight, modularity, length options, etc - it's a hell of a deal.

I also have a sweet spot for Daniel Defense quad rails and the Centurion offerings look awesome, but it doesn't sound like that's what you are looking for.

[QuackXP]

When I was looking into a HD AR i though for sure I was going to need a rail. Then after research, more thought, and buying one and getting a chance to really see how it works. I'm glad I did not. The only big thing I am going to need is an optic that will fit on the railed top of the receiver and a light and I can mount that off the FSB.

Roud it off with a BFG Universal Wire Loop sling mount to put the sling at the end of the hand guard close to the receiver and I'm all set.

As this will be a home defense firearm I will most likely be grabbing it quickly and with bare hands. The more comfortable double shielded Colt hand guards I think will be better than a rail that I would mount one thing to and then put covers on the other 90%.

If I needed more accessories like a laser, vfg, etc. I might go with a rail.

So my answer fo you is stick with the MOE. You can always add some rail sections if you really need them. Worst case is you sell it and buy a rail if your situation demands it.

[DeRp]

While I have no issues with the MOE handguard and consider it a great value, there are a couple drawbacks. One is it is non-free float. This may or may not be important to the user.



With the little research I've done with FF rails and from what you're saying, its my understanding that a free float gives the rifle a bit more accuracy. Would I be correct saying this?

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[MegademiC]

a little more accuracy - maybe. For a non-precision gun, the main advantage is that if resting the gun on a barricade, the barrel wont bend - leading to shots pushed off of poa. For HD and range use moe is a great handguard. Unless you have freakishly long arms, the mid moe should fit your needs perfectly.

On a side note, even if you decide to change later, you could probably get $20 or so the the moe and put it towards an alpha rail or troy charlie that requires no gun mods to install. Just throwin that out there.

[420ollie]

I'm not sure this is the place for this or not and being on my phone, search is not the best feature but here it goes. I understand this question is more of a personal choice more than anything but I guess I'm looking for a push in either direction.

I'm currently building my first AR and its time for me to purchase an upper. I'm going with a PSA 16" mid upper due to budget. They offer standard, magpul, and 15" MI and Troy Alpha rails. I'm undecided between the magpul and troy. I know the 15" troy will give me a better sight radius over the standard mid length magpul but is there any advantage from one to the other? This rifle is mainly going to be used at the range, no further than 200 yards and I won't be clearing any houses with it. Eventually I'll be putting an optic on it when my budget allows it but for now I'll be running iron sights. I'm just looking for any first hand advice on this and would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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I would try out the MOE for the sake of saving money. I have 15" troy alpha rail. It is nice for the sight radius. I only run 2 short rail sections. One for a light and the other for a VFG or bipod. I use to have 11" Troy trx extreme before. I upgraded to a longer and newer version.

[scoutchris]

Ollie, what did you paint your weapon with? It looks sick, and I'm debating painting mine when all of my parts come in next week.

[420ollie]

Ollie, what did you paint your weapon with? It looks sick, and I'm debating painting mine when all of my parts come in next week.

Thanks bro. I did it my self. I did the whole gun. I disassembled the whole rifle because I wanted professional look.

I used Cerakote from Brownells. It was the oven cure version in FDE. I think I will do a custom camo pattern over it with paint. If I don't like I can use acetone and wipe the whole thing off without hurting the cerakote.

[scoutchris]

Yeah, my bud won a whole duracoat kit at a match that he's not going to use, because he wants to cerakote. I am leaning more torwards either krylon or using that kit, because I want the option of reversing the process(like when the apocalypse happens I can throw my old uniform back on and walk around with it...halfway kidding.) I threw a full camo pattern on my m4 when I was downrange the first time, and obviously we did all of the bolt guns ourselves, but I'm just torn for some reason. Sorry to thread jack, OP! Just throw the MOE on their and use the extra money for ammo. I'll start a thread about my female like indecision to paint somewhere else!

[DeRp]

Sorry to thread jack, OP! Just throw the MOE on their and use the extra money for ammo. I'll start a thread about my female like indecision to paint somewhere else!

Lol its all good.

Thanks for everyone's input on this, really helped and saved me more cash for ammo. I went with the MOE option based on this won't be my last AR build and its something I can change out and not lose much money. Great community here, thanks again.

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