JoeSixPack
11-04-12, 12:10
Here's the latest candidate in my never-ending quest for the "perfect" 7" rail for my LE6920, The Samson Star-C M4/203 pictured below.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070284.jpg
Specs:
Hight is 2.46" and the width is 2.2".
Weight is 10.5oz
The Samson Star-C has an interesting design.
The bottom of the Samson Star-C is removable without having to remove any screws to allow attachment of the M203 by simply pressing a pin with the tip of a bullet to release the bottom half of the rail and then sliding the bottom have of the rail forward about 1/2" inch and then lifting off the bottom half of the rail. There are no screws holding the top and bottom half of the rail togather at the front of the rail.
Here's how this works. See the "lugs" on each side of this bottom view of the Samson Star-C in the pic below. In the pic below the lugs and are in the unlocked position. In this position the bottom half of the rail would come off if you lifted it up.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070282.jpg
pic below shows how it looks installed with the bottom half of the rail removed. Installation requires the removal of Delta ring (see youtube for instructions). front handguard cap does not have to be removed (more on this later)
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070299.jpg
Pic below shows bottom rail back in unlocked position. Note the hole where a pin locks the bottom rail on once the bottom rail is slid into place on the locking lugs.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070302.jpg
Pic below is a bottom view showing the lugs engaged with the locking pin ready to be pushed in. I shot some WD40 on the lugs but you really don't need to. The Samson Star-C has a also has a QD socket on the front of the rail bottom.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070303.jpg
And here it is with the locking pin pushed in in the pic below. There's absolutely no movement of the bottom rail once it's locked into place.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070304.jpg
Pic below shows rail with Knight's panel on the bottom
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070305.jpg
The pic below shows rail with Knight's panel on the bottom and Larue Index clips on the sides.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070307.jpg
Here's another view below. The Samson rail is color is close to a perfect match for my LE6920.
Speaking of the MI Gen 2 FF, te pic below shows the MI Gen 2 FF on the left, Samson Star-C on the right. The Samson Star-C is about 1/8" slimer than the MI Gen 2 FF.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070295.jpg
Pic below shows front end of the Samson Star-C
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070286.jpg
Samson Star-C with Knight's panels on the sides in pic below. Knight's panels do not come in a length that is exactly right for the sides of the Samson Star-C (or a number of other rails with QD sockets on the side). I take a longer Knights panel and cut it down to size with a hacksaw then round the edges over on my grinding wheel and then smooth the cut out on a piece of smooth sandpaper. Can't decide which I like the most on the rail sides, the Knights panels or Larue Index clips. Knights panels on the sides really don't feel too "fat" on the Samson Star-C like they did on the MI Gen 2 FF, but Larue Index clips on the sides are nice too. I could go either way.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070456.jpg
The verdict? The Samson Star-C is the best 7" rail I have tried and here's why:
1. No QD socket at the front of the rail. Why MI put a front QD socket on a 7" rail defies me. The front QD socket hole on the MI rail is right where my thumb goes and you can't put an index clip over a hole. Samson gets it right and leaves the front QD socket off their 7" Star-C rail.
2. Screws = failure points. The less the better. Samson's unique locking lug system eliminates the need for screws at the front of the rail to hold the front top and bottom half of the rail togather like you find on the MI 2-piece Gen 2 FF, Centurion C4, etc.
3. Same size screws all the way around. The only thing worse than more screws is more screws of different sizes. The Samson rail attaches with 4 screws, all the same size.
4. You can put an M203 Grenade Launcher on it! I don't have an M203 Grenade Launcher, probably never will, but I do like the fact that the bottom of the rail can be easily removed in the field with no tools. Makes it easier to inspect the barrel and clean out a rail that's full of dirt or mud.
5. Retains the front handguard cap. Getting these off is much more aggravating than cutting off the delta ring. The front handguard cap actually serves another purpose too. When you dive into the dirt or mud, the cap helps to keep your rail from being packed with dirt and mud as easily.
All-in-all, the Samson Star-C 7" rail has everything I'm looking for and none of the stuff I don't want in a 7" rail.
At 10.5 oz it's not the lightest 7" rail but since it has a QD socket you save close to an oz. from not having to add a rail mount QD socket. The QD socket also means you can remove the heavy M4 side sling swivel that mounts under the front sight post which weighs a couple more oz. You also get rid of the Delta Ring, Weld Spring, and C-clip. When you take all this into account, the Star-C really adds very little more weight than the factory plastic hand guards.
The QD socket allows me to remove the side mount sling swivel mounted under the front sight post. That's a couple oz. savings right there and no having to add a rail mount QD socket to the rail saves another oz. Getting rid of the delta ring, spring, and c-clip saves another oz or so.
Some might even question the point in even having a 7" rail. There's not enough real estate on it to add much stuff and the trend these days seems to be towards long heavy rails loaded with all kinds of tacticool gear.
I personally like the 7" rail because it's lighter than the full length rails and you get some benefits over the plastic handguards like free floated barrel, and QD sockets which allows you to get rid of the heavy side sling mount under the front sight post which moves the rifles center of gravity more to the rear.
The only accessory I might be interested in adding would be a flash light but I don't need a full length rail for that. I can attach a light on a bayonet lug mount which also helps maintain the balance of the rifle instead of having a flash light mounted to one side or the other.
You see people putting full length rails on an M4 that weigh over a 1-1/4" lb. One popular full length rail weighs close to 18oz. and it dosen't even have a QD socket so add another oz. for that. And then add another couple oz. for a front sight. That's 21 oz! And then because you've got all that rail you need to use it so you are supposed to use the new thumb over grip on with you arm extended nearly straight out.
What ever happened to the old school tucked elbow offhand position that's been the standard for the last 100 or so years?
When I see all these heavy rails I think about what happens when you see a bad guy out the corner of your eye and you have to suddenly turn 90 degrees and take a snap shot. How long will it take to swing a mass of 21oz compared to 7oz when you need to suddenly move your point of aim 90 degrees to the side?
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070284.jpg
Specs:
Hight is 2.46" and the width is 2.2".
Weight is 10.5oz
The Samson Star-C has an interesting design.
The bottom of the Samson Star-C is removable without having to remove any screws to allow attachment of the M203 by simply pressing a pin with the tip of a bullet to release the bottom half of the rail and then sliding the bottom have of the rail forward about 1/2" inch and then lifting off the bottom half of the rail. There are no screws holding the top and bottom half of the rail togather at the front of the rail.
Here's how this works. See the "lugs" on each side of this bottom view of the Samson Star-C in the pic below. In the pic below the lugs and are in the unlocked position. In this position the bottom half of the rail would come off if you lifted it up.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070282.jpg
pic below shows how it looks installed with the bottom half of the rail removed. Installation requires the removal of Delta ring (see youtube for instructions). front handguard cap does not have to be removed (more on this later)
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070299.jpg
Pic below shows bottom rail back in unlocked position. Note the hole where a pin locks the bottom rail on once the bottom rail is slid into place on the locking lugs.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070302.jpg
Pic below is a bottom view showing the lugs engaged with the locking pin ready to be pushed in. I shot some WD40 on the lugs but you really don't need to. The Samson Star-C has a also has a QD socket on the front of the rail bottom.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070303.jpg
And here it is with the locking pin pushed in in the pic below. There's absolutely no movement of the bottom rail once it's locked into place.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070304.jpg
Pic below shows rail with Knight's panel on the bottom
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070305.jpg
The pic below shows rail with Knight's panel on the bottom and Larue Index clips on the sides.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070307.jpg
Here's another view below. The Samson rail is color is close to a perfect match for my LE6920.
Speaking of the MI Gen 2 FF, te pic below shows the MI Gen 2 FF on the left, Samson Star-C on the right. The Samson Star-C is about 1/8" slimer than the MI Gen 2 FF.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070295.jpg
Pic below shows front end of the Samson Star-C
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070286.jpg
Samson Star-C with Knight's panels on the sides in pic below. Knight's panels do not come in a length that is exactly right for the sides of the Samson Star-C (or a number of other rails with QD sockets on the side). I take a longer Knights panel and cut it down to size with a hacksaw then round the edges over on my grinding wheel and then smooth the cut out on a piece of smooth sandpaper. Can't decide which I like the most on the rail sides, the Knights panels or Larue Index clips. Knights panels on the sides really don't feel too "fat" on the Samson Star-C like they did on the MI Gen 2 FF, but Larue Index clips on the sides are nice too. I could go either way.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l592/JohnGalt2012/P1070456.jpg
The verdict? The Samson Star-C is the best 7" rail I have tried and here's why:
1. No QD socket at the front of the rail. Why MI put a front QD socket on a 7" rail defies me. The front QD socket hole on the MI rail is right where my thumb goes and you can't put an index clip over a hole. Samson gets it right and leaves the front QD socket off their 7" Star-C rail.
2. Screws = failure points. The less the better. Samson's unique locking lug system eliminates the need for screws at the front of the rail to hold the front top and bottom half of the rail togather like you find on the MI 2-piece Gen 2 FF, Centurion C4, etc.
3. Same size screws all the way around. The only thing worse than more screws is more screws of different sizes. The Samson rail attaches with 4 screws, all the same size.
4. You can put an M203 Grenade Launcher on it! I don't have an M203 Grenade Launcher, probably never will, but I do like the fact that the bottom of the rail can be easily removed in the field with no tools. Makes it easier to inspect the barrel and clean out a rail that's full of dirt or mud.
5. Retains the front handguard cap. Getting these off is much more aggravating than cutting off the delta ring. The front handguard cap actually serves another purpose too. When you dive into the dirt or mud, the cap helps to keep your rail from being packed with dirt and mud as easily.
All-in-all, the Samson Star-C 7" rail has everything I'm looking for and none of the stuff I don't want in a 7" rail.
At 10.5 oz it's not the lightest 7" rail but since it has a QD socket you save close to an oz. from not having to add a rail mount QD socket. The QD socket also means you can remove the heavy M4 side sling swivel that mounts under the front sight post which weighs a couple more oz. You also get rid of the Delta Ring, Weld Spring, and C-clip. When you take all this into account, the Star-C really adds very little more weight than the factory plastic hand guards.
The QD socket allows me to remove the side mount sling swivel mounted under the front sight post. That's a couple oz. savings right there and no having to add a rail mount QD socket to the rail saves another oz. Getting rid of the delta ring, spring, and c-clip saves another oz or so.
Some might even question the point in even having a 7" rail. There's not enough real estate on it to add much stuff and the trend these days seems to be towards long heavy rails loaded with all kinds of tacticool gear.
I personally like the 7" rail because it's lighter than the full length rails and you get some benefits over the plastic handguards like free floated barrel, and QD sockets which allows you to get rid of the heavy side sling mount under the front sight post which moves the rifles center of gravity more to the rear.
The only accessory I might be interested in adding would be a flash light but I don't need a full length rail for that. I can attach a light on a bayonet lug mount which also helps maintain the balance of the rifle instead of having a flash light mounted to one side or the other.
You see people putting full length rails on an M4 that weigh over a 1-1/4" lb. One popular full length rail weighs close to 18oz. and it dosen't even have a QD socket so add another oz. for that. And then add another couple oz. for a front sight. That's 21 oz! And then because you've got all that rail you need to use it so you are supposed to use the new thumb over grip on with you arm extended nearly straight out.
What ever happened to the old school tucked elbow offhand position that's been the standard for the last 100 or so years?
When I see all these heavy rails I think about what happens when you see a bad guy out the corner of your eye and you have to suddenly turn 90 degrees and take a snap shot. How long will it take to swing a mass of 21oz compared to 7oz when you need to suddenly move your point of aim 90 degrees to the side?