Upgrading 14.5

[-J-]

Ready to buy my first AR and have decided on 14.5" upper with perm FH from CMMG. Because the FH is perm and the handguard cannot be simply slipped on or off due to the front sight, I will need a 2 piece handguard to upgrade to a FF 4 rail system. Has anyone done this upgrade, and can anyone with a 14.5 give some insight and/or recommend a good 2 piece rail under $200?

Thanks in advance for the info.

[bkb0000]

one of the most common questions ever asked.. to answer the question, yes- many, many, many, many, many people have done this, do this, and will do this.

daniel defense "omega" rails are the gold standard for two-piece free-float designs. but 14.5+freefloat is pretty pointless if you're keeping the fixed FSB, so you could save about $150 by going with a blem RAS or one of DD's new non-ff here: http://www.danieldefense.com/?page=s...product_id=272

[seb5]

The above is true and good advice. I'll give a different opinion for your project. You don't see a lot of people touting the tried and true Troy system. Most seem to prefer Larue and Daniel Defense systems of one model or another. Lately there seems to be a lot of interest in the Troy TRX, which I know doesn't help you as its a 1 piece. But as far as the 2 piece rails go my favorite for cost and ease of installation is generally the Troy. I generally put them together and rarely ever go cheap. I've owned most models at one time or another and still prefer the Troy for many of my builds both for me and friends.

[bkb0000]

and just to mention it.. you can buy the upper without perm, install ANY handguard you want, then have somebody do the perm... opens up the options.

[armakraut]

Get a BCM, they have a 14.5 just like CMMG, much better QC.

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-M...4-14%20a2x.htm

Get an Omega rail or a KAC milspec rail, there are a bunch of blemished 2nd's floating around right now.

[sdacbob]

I've got one of the BCM's and I put a used Mil set of KAC RAS on it. It fits very tight.

[HeavyDuty]

I recently decided to experiment with a rail on my 14.5" DD pencil and ran into comfort issues - the vast majority of drop-in rails are very wide, too wide for my tastes.

I didn't want to drop the coin needed for a DD Omega without first determining if a carbine-length rail worked for me, so I ended up with an Ergo Z Rail drop-in - it has almost the same dimensions as a DD Omega for about $100.

If it works out for me (and early reports are favorable), I'll bump the Ergo down to my .22 and pick up an Omega. I try and keep the .22 and the 14.5" carbine pretty much the same configuration anyways.

My advice: try and handle a few of the rails first (with rail covers mounted if you're planning on using them) to see how comfortable they are for you.

[Pappabear]

I like the Daniel Defense route as mentioned. My friend likes Troy, a little cheaper and still very good. I used the Magpul MOE and liked it for very cheap and is an upgrade.

[Kiznelly]

I have the Troy MRF DI on my Colt 6400 14.5" and the Omega on the Noveske 14.5" N4. I like the Troy just fine for what I paid for it. I would buy another.

[Dutchy556]

My vote would be for the DD rail on account of weight, I have a number of rifles with DD rails and am nothing but pleased.