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I have the SLiM rail from them in 15" on a colt 6920. I also have a V11 which comes with that handguard factory installed. It is a great design and by far the most robust keymod handguard I have ever used. That being said, it's not on my go to, it's on my backup rifle.
On a forum that quickly, and repeatedly points people to MIL Spec as the standard for a rifle purchase. There are a lot of guys here who are apparently totally disregard that when choosing a key component of their rifle. The handguard, in my opinion is a critical piece and should be chosen and purchased with the same discernment as a rifle.
President of Trigon Armament Inc.
FFL-07 SOT-02
AR-15 Armorer
Competitive Shooter
How durable a free float handguard is depends mostly on the barrel nut attachment design. That is usually where the shitty ones fail. There is nothing about being covered in 1913 rails that allows a handguard to attach any more securely to the barrel nut and upper receiver. Now it is true that quad rails are a more mature design, and there have been many very strong barrel nut attachments designed for them, but the newest modular free float handguard designs attach just as securely as any of them. Obviously a quad rail handguard is thicker and heavier than most modular designs (weight reduction being the main point behind going modular), and the handguard itself will generally have a higher threshold for failure (i.e. the amount of force it takes to break or permanently bend it), but the question you have to ask is whether the threshold for failure of a quality modular free float handguard actually falls within the range of force that is going to be applied to it in real world conditions. This would include things like dropping it on a hard surface from several feet, swinging it into a hard object, being stepped on by a heavy dude wearing heavy gear, etc., and the new high quality modular free floats have demonstrated that they are more than up to this task. I strongly suspect that the point at which a KMR (or even a UTG Pro) fails but a KAC RIS doesn't would be an accident so extreme that other critical parts of the weapon are likely to break as well, like the optic, sights, stock, buffer tube, etc.
Last edited by henschman; 10-25-15 at 12:17.
"This motto may adorn their tombs
(Let tyrants come and view):
We rather seek these silent rooms
Than live as slaves to you."
Lemuel Haynes, 1775
In my eyes it's a "to each their own" deal. If it works for you.. send it. Everyone's going to have an opinion saying what they think is best. It's whatever works best for you.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Way I see it, durability of the rail is not the issue, but the strength of the attachment points.
Pic is hands down the most solid. Generally understood.
My only observation is that if you're dealing with the type of abuse where KMR or MLok attachment isn't strong enough, do you think the item you're attaching won't survive either, really?
Attachment to upper is far more important to me.
That being said - how many of us truly use our rig hard enough that it destroys a rail - any rail. Really. Given the standard amound and type of shooting most of us do.
I tend to build my gear around what I do and will be doing, not what I fear may occur.
Haven't done any fast-roping from helo's lately......![]()
Per Ardua ad Astra.
STS - gone but not forgotten.
This is pretty much how I'm proceeding: Keep what I've got as it stands, go with something new and modular when something new is required. My 'main' rifle that has had the RIS II for the last few years isn't getting swapped for anything new, but another build I did new this year got a Geissele MK8. Buis and light (in an Arisaka M-Lok ring @ 1100) is all it's getting, so no need to add/have any extra mounts. The RIS II has a similar set up with just Buis and a light, but I don't see the need to spend that kind of money to replace something that has been working just fine for me, at least not at the moment.
I think it was Recoil Magazine that did a test of a BCM kmr. He bent the shit out of it by hitting it on a wood post. Not saying that the BCM kmr isn't a good handguard, but I have taken classes and taught classes where people have fallen on their rifle. It's not unreasonable to think that you could bend/break a handguard, keymod or 1913.
If you watch the torture test that DD did on their rifle, the quad rail survived a significantly higher level of abuse.
I will say it again. I own both, and honestly like the feel of the keymod handguards better. The 1913 handguards are just more durable, end of story.
This thread has morphed from the original question though.
To the OP, people like keymod better because it's more comfortable to hold for most people, and it's lighter. That's why I tried it on a couple of mine. YMMV.
President of Trigon Armament Inc.
FFL-07 SOT-02
AR-15 Armorer
Competitive Shooter
For your viewing pleasure.
President of Trigon Armament Inc.
FFL-07 SOT-02
AR-15 Armorer
Competitive Shooter
Yep, and I just saw the AK Operators' Union torture test of the BCM rifle posted in this forum where they were able to bend the KMR by driving over it with a truck. No doubt a high quality quad rail would have held up better to either test.
I think in both cases the rifle still functioned fine afterwards though. In the AK guys' test, the irons were even zeroed well enough to hit a torso at whatever distance their range was (looked like 50-100 yards). Of course an IR laser would almost certainly not be zeroed anymore (if it still worked at all), but for the most part, even if something crazy like that happened to your handguard, it wouldn't take you out of the fight.
It is true that there isn't much in the way of QD attachments for Keymod or Mlok. However, about the only thing you would ever want to be QD is an IR laser, clip-on NV/thermal, and maybe a bipod. The first two just attach to the top rail. If you must have a QD bipod, you can attach a short rail section for it, and you are still way ahead of a quad rail in terms of weight and bulk... so I don't consider lack of QD in the direct interface to be any kind of disadvantage. As for whether the attachment method is strong enough, and the possibility of items being "ripped off," somebody put up a video of you ripping off a properly installed and torqued Keymod attachment and I might buy it. I highly doubt anyone could do it.
No doubt all else equal a thicker, heavier handguard, like a quad rail, will be stronger. Everybody just has to decide how strong is strong enough for his purposes, and whether the strength to survive extreme, low-probability events like being run over with a truck, swung like a baseball bat into a post, or dropped from a helicopter is worth the trade-off in ergonomics, weight, and handling. I am convinced that a good lightweight modular handguard is strong enough for my purposes as a Second Amendment purpose fighting rifle. Whether it would be a good choice for a military issue item, whether the interface system is "soldier proof," etc. aren't really things I'm concerned with.
"This motto may adorn their tombs
(Let tyrants come and view):
We rather seek these silent rooms
Than live as slaves to you."
Lemuel Haynes, 1775
Did the rifle still operate?
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