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This one is a good budget option from a quality manufacturer.
http://www.chandlerhardwoods.com/product-p/ar15-15v.htm
Coincidentally, this morning I just happened to finish installing a piece of rail on the front of one of my rifles that was lacking iron sights.
Pretty sure this is a DPMS FF tube. I have a Leupold VX2, 4x12, scope on this rifle and it has bugged me that it doesn't have backup irons. I finally got around to fitting a piece of rail to it. It took me way longer to get the bottom profile of the rail to the right height and curve for the tube than it took to install it.
This is the tube:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1413269192/dpms-free-float-tube-handguard-ar-15-aluminum-black
I have these 45 degree offset sights on most of my ARs. I like them and can transition to them pretty quickly.
Sort of a rant, dont be too hard on me!
Building my first and only AR and I've been piecing together everything slowly. Managed to jump in a bunch of group buys on here and save a bunch but Im coming down the home stretch, only need a BCG and a Handguard now, but holy shit! I never would have thought some of these things cost so much.. for what? Aside from the cheap magpul furniture, the prices are ridiculous! Do you guys really pay 100+? 150-200+? Ive seen the GB on here and even still the length I need is like 140, for something for my hand to go on? I have no intentions to tacticool my rifle, and aside from sights or a scope I'm not adding anything to it. What is the point of paying so much for this stuff? I understand better quality etc. as I work in manufacturing but holy shit the mark ups have to be absurd!
In any case.. if anyone has a good source for Rifle length 12" or 13.2" handguards.. that would be great!
I was leaning towards the magpuls but was hoping for something a little more aesthetically pleasing for me. Will probably end up that way.
I looked on amazon and was hesitant on a bunch of them, the reviews were 50/50 and they just scream "fresh off the china boat."
Thats my point. I have a hard time justifying the cost with no added benefit. And honestly they all look the same to me for the most part, and quite ugly.
70$ light weight keymod rail ...
You are a machinist you can get a raw extrusion for dirt cheap just make a barrel but and cut to length .
Where did you get yours Ben? My machines are so tied up I cant touch them. I was making all my tooling on the bridgeport the other day for a production job. A Vf4, vf5, tl1 and two cnc knee mills, all full for production stuff.
https://rouschsports.com/shop/ar15-...ree-float-handguard-forend-7-9-10-12-15-inch/
There sold out right now for the 12 15 long ones.
Wow. Those are dirt cheap, appear to be nice, light, and even come with a barrel nut.
The 15" I got is pretty nice, it's aluminum and not a lighter alloy . It looks like a quad rail that they milled of the rail sections on 3 sides then cut keymod into.
Came with
6 rail sections
Extra screw for keymod
Extra screw for rail to barrel nut.
Two shims to get it to index .
Two Allen keys one for keymod and one for the rail to but screws .
I'm using this on my dmr so in just going to put a bipod and maybe off set sights .
I was going to buy there side charger but I found another place selling it for closer to 200$
cheap ones seem to be a lot heavier, i think you're paying for better materials and design for strength and lightness.
i have a heavy cheapie on one rifle, works fine, especially on a bipod lol
All the super cheap ones I have tried have been garbage: Both the metal and the finish have been weak, the machining has been rough, and the edges sharp.
You get what you pay for, to a certain extent (up to about $200).
Install a $50 handguard next to a $150 one and you can tell. Perhaps not when they are both in the box or pics on the web but in the real world quality costs money. Chinese crap is cheap for a reason. If you want to build a 5 MOA chinese knock-off crap rifle then go for it.
ETA: The other thing you will have trouble with cheaper rails is indexing properly which doesn't mean much until you mount a front sight and try to shoot.
I picked up an ALG Defense M-Lok handguard from Primary Arms for right around $100. Solidly built, very lightweight, and even came with a proprietary barrel nut wrench for installation.
It's a little suspicious that there's no weight listed in the entire ad. Just says its "super light" etc. There are a bunch of cheap rail systems that work, but you usually end up paying for them in extra weight.
-Mike
Yeah. But everything else that Roush Sports makes is fairly expensive. I doubt they would turn out junk.
What's the weight on these, for that kinda money theyou must be heavy