FSB's in 2020?

[justin_247]

Just so its clear to anyone else who happens on this thread in the future, its pure stupidity to take a hacksaw to your rail just to make a FSB fit. In this case to meet some match requirement Ill give it a pass but if you're thinking about doing this on serious use rifle: don't. You are compromising the strength and rigidity of the rail when you start taking chunks off it that some engineer who designed it thought should have been there in the first place.

Numerous people on this forum, including senior members and industry professionals, have cut into their rails and modified them. It's not a big deal, especially if you're only modifying the ends.

[ColtSeavers]

Numerous people on this forum, including senior members and industry professionals, have cut into their rails and modified them. It's not a big deal, especially if you're only modifying the ends.

Seriously, just stay within existing cuts/support sections and round out the edges. It's an aluminum tube...

[lordmorgul]

Just so its clear to anyone else who happens on this thread in the future, its pure stupidity to take a hacksaw to your rail just to make a FSB fit. In this case to meet some match requirement Ill give it a pass but if you're thinking about doing this on serious use rifle: don't. You are compromising the strength and rigidity of the rail when you start taking chunks off it that some engineer who designed it thought should have been there in the first place.

I’m not an aluminum structure subject matter expert, but I am an engineer and get sufficient cross-disciplinary exposure to confidently say I’m not the least bit concerned about that. What do you expect that I’m doing with that rail even if it is a hard use gun? It’s not a pry bar. Use your own judgement.


Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!

[vicious_cb]

I’m not an aluminum structure subject matter expert, but I am an engineer and get sufficient cross-disciplinary exposure to confidently say I’m not the least bit concerned about that. What do you expect that I’m doing with that rail even if it is a hard use gun? It’s not a pry bar. Use your own judgement.


Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!

Do you really trust a majority of the AR people to actually do this correctly? What if they start mounting stuff to the front end like bipods and foregrips and start applying lever forces? At least with factory cutout rails they've actually done the testing beforehand.

[ColtSeavers]

Do you really trust a majority of the AR people to actually do this correctly? What if they start mounting stuff to the front end like bipods and foregrips and start applying lever forces? At least with factory cutout rails they've actually done the testing beforehand.

Isn't it both the right and responsibility of the individual to choose whether their skill level is up to par for any endeavor they choose?

[markm]

Looking at this thread, I have a feeling that those who care about having an FSB don't really use laser aiming devices, or at least don't consider them to be a primary consideration.

That (for me) is true. But if I did have a dbal, the FSB would act like a roll cage to some extent where an impact to the front sight doesn't jar the rail. My experience was that my rail mount sight smashed and so did the top rail. Double screwed.

If a Dbal got mis-aligned, you'd still have a functional sight system with the FSB. If a rail gets wacked with no FSB, then everything on the rail is messed up.

I know these may be far fetched scenarios to some, but there's some logic to it.

[Esq.]

That (for me) is true. But if I did have a dbal, the FSB would act like a roll cage to some extent where an impact to the front sight doesn't jar the rail. My experience was that my rail mount sight smashed and so did the top rail. Double screwed.

If a Dbal got mis-aligned, you'd still have a functional sight system with the FSB. If a rail gets wacked with no FSB, then everything on the rail is messed up.

I know these may be far fetched scenarios to some, but there's some logic to it.

My DBAL guns have THREE sighting systems. DBAL, Red Dot, Backup Irons. Now, a good whack to the rail could disable both the DBAL and the front sight of my irons....But that leaves a "bombproof" red dot- receiver mounted, as a back up. At some point, redundancy gets into the realm of fantasy land. Sure, somewhere there is that one guy that lost all three sighting systems in the middle of a shit storm of bullets- but, I'll take my chances on it not being me.

[Hammer_Man]

In the world of hypotheticals, I feel that a properly pinned on FSB is the most bomb proof front sight available. It would take a significant blow to a rifle to knock one out of alignment. I would venture that a hit that significant would probably disable any electronic sight, laser aiming device, and perhaps the rifle itself.

[Esq.]

In the world of hypotheticals, I feel that a properly pinned on FSB is the most bomb proof front sight available. It would take a significant blow to a rifle to knock one out of alignment. I would venture that a hit that significant would probably disable any electronic sight, or laser aiming device.

I will say this, MANY of my rifles start out with an A2 or Carbine (F) type front sight. I have it cut off and a rail installed over it. Extra work? Yup, but absolutely the most bomb proof gas block design bar none...and, it's essentially free minus a little grinder work....

[markm]

I will say this, MANY of my rifles start out with an A2 or Carbine (F) type front sight. I have it cut off and a rail installed over it. Extra work? Yup, but absolutely the most bomb proof gas block design bar none...and, it's essentially free minus a little grinder work....

As a card carrying fan of bomb proof, my opinion is that once you chop an FSB down, the need for pinning is monumentally reduced because there's nothing protruding to take an impact.... and the chopped block is usually under a rail.