Ar-15 handguard advice sought

TPNES said:
Not that he needs a white knight to defend him from keyboard commandos on the internet, but having met the man for a private sale I will say you’re barking up the wrong tree here.
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Much appreciated.

If someone had zero accessories for either mounting option, I would go MLOK since it has wider adoption as well as current DOD contracts which will ensure a relative amount of “future proofing” whereas Keymod may go the way of the Dodo apart from the niche fanboys. That is important for the 95%” of NESers when mounting brackets can cost 20-50$ and “cool” flashlights and other crap can run several hundred per. Current R&D for new handguards are mostly MLOK, and part of this follows which standard won out for defense spending.
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Indeed. That’s a big factor, which has come about due to the test results.
 
kalash said:
I was perfectly honest - for 95% of NESers it doesn't matter one bit if they go with keymod or m-lock. Now it's your turn to be honest - do you have a bunch of crap hanging off your rail just because it looks cool on a static range once a month?
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If mlok cost more, then I could understand that argument for a recommendation to new-handguard purchaser. But that’s not the case and you didn’t elaborate before.

As for your internet challenge, some of my rifles have more accessories than others. [wave] It depends on the purpose of the rifle.
 
AllaSnackbah said:
Yes.

gjsd9h0.jpg
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I'm not sure if that meets the 14 minimum pieces of flair
 
With the change of the handguard likely comes a change of the barrel nut since all the different brands mentioned use different barrel nuts. This means removal of the gas block. Have you taken it all apart yet and found how aggressively YHM applied loctite and where? Lots of 600F red loctite can make disassembly a joy. Is the muzzle device pinned/welded making it impossible for assembly? Are you therefore limited to a handguard that works with the barrel nut you already have on the rifle?

Are you keeping your existing low profile gas block or changing? Not all low profiles are created equal and don't fit inside all handguards.

Two major connection methods for free float handguards, pressure and direct screw.

The pressure method will have 2 or 3 screws on the bottom that cause a pressure fit with the barrel nut. Depending on the specific nut/handguard you may have no special indexing requirements on the barrel nut or it might have a 30 or 40 correct positions per rotation of the nut that cause the handguard to align. The screws on the bottom may not be desired if you like to hold the rifle directly in front of the mag well. The screw and mount will protrude below "round" unlike the direct method.
PRO - easy to index
CON - protrudes below handguard near magwell

The direct method will have 4-6 screws that go directly into the barrel nut. This will require precise indexing of the barrel nut. Good news is spec is 35-80 ftlbs so you can usually just apply variable force. Also its a steel but into an aluminum upper so... You can also shim but then the holes for the screws need to be slots and not holes or the handguard can gap (there is always a milling machine to turn holes into slots)
PRO - lower profile possible
CON - hard to index

I am frequently amazed how much people will pay for a piece of milled and finished aluminum. You can spend $50 on a handguard or $400. They certainly can have differences in quality, finish, durability, precision, etc, but I am not sure they are usually worth the price difference. I guess the logo on the side can be worth the extra $200.
 
CrackPot said:
With the change of the handguard likely comes a change of the barrel nut since all the different brands mentioned use different barrel nuts. This means removal of the gas block. Have you taken it all apart yet and found how aggressively YHM applied loctite and where? Lots of 600F red loctite can make disassembly a joy. Is the muzzle device pinned/welded making it impossible for assembly? Are you therefore limited to a handguard that works with the barrel nut you already have on the rifle?
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Very good point. I think YHM uses their proprietary barrel nut for their handguards and one would have to replace the barrel nut unless sticking with YHM.

But it wouldn’t limit someone to that same barrel nut if the barrel is pinned/welded. It’s definitely not impossible to disassemble. It just adds some pain in the ass annoyance and expense, but not a whole lot. If it’s a cheap muzzle device, just grind down the pin without a care in the world and get a new one pinned & welded. If it’s a pricey muzzle device it just requires a little more care to avoid taking too much material off.

Are you keeping your existing low profile gas block or changing? Not all low profiles are created equal and don't fit inside all handguards.
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Good point for consideration. Fortunately most handguards work with most low profile gas blocks. It seems that it’s just outliers for either variable causing issues.

Two major connection methods for free float handguards, pressure and direct screw.
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I’m a big fan of the wedgelock method. Similar to the first method you mentioned, but a different way to apply force to the barrel nut. Used in combination with an anti-rotation/alignment pin above the gas tube, it’s very secure.
 
Roland Deschain said:
Pick a side or gtfo of the thread. Lol
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There is no side to pick. Either design will serve. But to counsel a builder seeking direction to adopt/mimic a passive-aggressive oppositional-defiance posture seems a tad nihilistic.

Good on you for recognizing and rejecting authoritarian gear-queerism. A light and a sling (and presumably a rock-solid sighting system) will get you pretty much everywhere you need to go--within reason.

Let's all just hope the world stays reasonable.
 
I love the two YHM quad rails I have, but Obama era should have their heavy stuff back.

My shorter rifle (ie the one without the 1-6 Vortex on it) is a BCM tube with keymod on sides and full rail on the top. Keymod flashlight holder and done. Qd goes where I want it.

The YHM quad is a beast.

If I wasn't worried about money, I would pretty much set myself up like Jerry Mickuleks M&P with the tube style. As long as I can sling attach a two point just forward if the lower and put a flashlight on the opposite side all the way at the front.
 
Warm_Garand said:
There is no side to pick. Either design will serve. But to counsel a builder seeking direction to adopt/mimic a passive-aggressive oppositional-defiance posture seems a tad nihilistic.
.
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You must be new to the internet in general or NortheastShooters in specific. Haha

These threads entertain me though
 
I'm with Snacks on this issue. M-LOK is life, and Geissele rulez. Keymod is for people who stopped evolving in 2015. Oh, and cops. It's literally more gay than pink flip flops and drinking craft beer. If you spend money in 2019, and you go for keymod, you're the Yoda of gayness. And if it's not Geissele, it'll break on you after 3-4 gentle range trips, and will make you worship at the altar of pole smoking. You'll get banned from the straight pride parade for life, and they will make you shoot Glocks. That's how gay it is.
 
Warm_Garand said:
...A light and a sling (and presumably a rock-solid sighting system) will get you pretty much everywhere you need to go--within reason. .
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And even then, a light isn’t necessary for most, aside from defensive use and maybe certain types of hunting.

Roland Deschain said:
I'm just a basic bitch. Light, sights, and a sling.
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Count me in as one too then.
 
Last edited:
frenchman said:
I'm with Snacks on this issue. M-LOK is life, and Geissele rulez. Keymod is for people who stopped evolving in 2015. Oh, and cops. It's literally more gay than pink flip flops and drinking craft beer. If you spend money in 2019, and you go for keymod, you're the Yoda of gayness. And if it's not Geissele, it'll break on you after 3-4 gentle range trips, and will make you worship at the altar of pole smoking. You'll get banned from the straight pride parade for life, and they will make you shoot Glocks. That's how gay it is.
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I had no idea that I liked men this much... I thought I only had the hots for @Roland Deschain but this is really eye-opening.
 
Don't worry, there's hope for you, Kalash. Just buy an MK16 from Geissele, donate your Keymod rail to fagotts anonymous, and you'll get a shiny new mancard in the mail. You can thank me later.
 
Warm_Garand said:
There is no side to pick. Either design will serve. But to counsel a builder seeking direction to adopt/mimic a passive-aggressive oppositional-defiance posture seems a tad nihilistic.

Good on you for recognizing and rejecting authoritarian gear-queerism. A light and a sling (and presumably a rock-solid sighting system) will get you pretty much everywhere you need to go--within reason.

Let's all just hope the world stays reasonable.
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Come on we all lnow if SHTF bad enough CONUS everyone will be running around looking for Pre 1985 870s ,norinco AK’s and 10/22 with 30 round mags and couplers!
 

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