Barrel Nut Overworked?

[Locutus]

Wondering what the consensus is on this idea of the barrel nut being overworked. I thought it odd that I was pondering the idea just this morning that rails must put a lot of stress on the barrel nut and then oddly enough I got an email a couple of hours later from Gunbroker with this video on the very same subject. I'm asking about the general idea; not a critique of Aero vs. top-tier-brand-X...

https://youtu.be/XA-Bael6PSA

[GH41]

It is probably more marketing than anything else. If you are able to make the receiver flex at the nut you would be able to make it flex at the attachment point aft of the nut. I can see it selling to the precession crowd that thinks reduced torque on the nut gives them an edge. No chance of rotating the handguard.

[HansTheHobbit]

"because it's significantly more stronger..." :haha:

If it were possible for a barrel nut to get overworked, I would imagine the military would have found out by now. Then again, you don't have grunts cranking down on the end of 15'' free floating handguards like some civilian shooters do, who shall remain nameless.

With that said, I've always thought it was a really bad idea to support a free floating handguard on the barrel nut, and I do think it will be the norm in the future to have it supported by the upper. I think the Vltor VIS is probably the wave of the future, as it's slick and light but doesn't cost an arm and a leg like a truly monolithic upper would.

[MistWolf]

Unfortunately, the photos are no longer linked- https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?57-Upper-Receiver-Flex-Testing-Part-One