Am I the only one that thinks a six inch round handguard on an AR is a little much?

I was down in the basement of our PD this afternoon, and some of the 16's are as big around as a roll of Salami. 4 rails and soft covers so you don't cut yourself, jeez that's big.

My 300 BLK has the DPMS free floater, it's 2.25" diameter oval and only the top rail is FL. The others are only the front 4 inches, leaving me a 5 inch smooth round back half to hold on to.

Rich

I agree, thats why I use the ladder type covers which just barely stick out beyond the rail. I did seriously consider the Hogue fore end which has a rubber like coating built in.

quote:

Am I the only one that thinks a six inch round handguard on an AR is a little much?

Nope. I'm old school, I don't like a bunch crap hanging off my AR. Stock M4 style handguards for me.

you need at least a 6" handguard so that you can mount flashlights, xtra sights, bayonets, spears, nuclear missiles and a kitchen sink to hang off the front of the rifle, which is now secondary to shooting

...and I couldn't agree more!

The Troy TRX is fast-becoming my favorite handguard. I have one on my son's AR and like it so much I just ordered two more for a couple of my guns.

I am mounting one on my M4 for a small microwave/2cu/ft refrigerator for those occasional timeouts repulsing Human Wave Assaults and Suicide Bombers so I can have some Orville Redenbackers "Extra Butter Movie Theatre" flavor popcorn while I reload all of my 250 round Beta C magazines.
You have to prepare for the various eventualities...

Rich
Airborne Ranger

I don't know how we survived Vietnam without all that garbage.

quote:

Originally posted by Cane Rat:

quote:

Am I the only one that thinks a six inch round handguard on an AR is a little much?

Nope. I'm old school, I don't like a bunch crap hanging off my AR. Stock M4 style handguards for me.

Now isn't that the truth!!! I use standard handguards with no rails on them. On one AR (standard AR15 with 'A2 handguards) I've a very short rail on each side of the front sight. Mounted a light on there and played with it a little bit but haven't had it on since. While running very kinetice training of Marines, Soldiers and CBs I killed and had my insurgents kill so many of them while they were screwing around trying to decide what sight to use and how to turn it on that they failed to fight the fight. I've also really got to laugh about the "light weight, easy to carry" M4s that with all that crap on them weigh more than a standard 'A2 and aren't any where near as maneuverable. BTW; the second worse thing i saw all the time was the stupidity of "the stack" as a tactic. Most of the time that one was a machine gunners wet dream along with a trigger man for IEDs having extreme orgasims. I "killed" 9 Marines with one IED because they all came right up to it in a stack looking through the ACOGs on the over equiped M4s instead of using good tactics and paying attention to basic marksmanship.....Oh well.....

Larry Gibson

There came an answer. I found a RRA oval shaped handguard that has only the top rail FL. The other three are front half only. The smooth grip area in front of the receiver is roughly 2" across and 2.5" on the oval area *where they milled the rails off at midway point, and drilled dozens of holes inbetween the four ribs there. About 9.25" oal.

I bought it, and I think I am going to get at least one more.

Rich

This is what I use, 1.8 inch outside diameter.
Apex machine handguards

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I am mounting one on my M4 for a small microwave/2cu/ft refrigerator for those occasional timeouts repulsing Human Wave Assaults and Suicide Bombers so I can have some Orville Redenbackers "Extra Butter Movie Theatre" flavor popcorn while I reload all of my 250 round Beta C magazines.
You have to prepare for the various eventualities...

Rich
Airborne Ranger

I don't know how we survived Vietnam without all that garbage.

The modern soldier can do things that you could only dream of in Vietnam. Does he need all of it to accomplish his mission? Certainly not. But it makes him more effective.

RyanB,

I must disagree. We ran ambushes, recon patrols, and we killed/captured enemy soldiers on contact.

What are they doing now that is different?

Ten billion dollar satellite imaging to track enemy movements from the air, thousands of additional dollars for body armor and electronics, and that modern Infantryman/Marine still has to go clear houses one room at a time. The M4 is barely discernable from my old CAR-15 at ten feet away.

Progress over the last five thousand years: From rocks, to archery, to firearms. Infantry is still the Queen of Battle. The final answer is still; go in and dig them out. If they surrender, take them prisoner. If they resist, you have to kill them. It will never change, until we are willing to use Nuclear Weapons and deal with the deaths of perhaps millions of non-combatants. Star Wars, anyone?


Rich
Army Ranger
G/Co, 75th Inf
RVN 8-69/9-71

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I am mounting one on my M4 for a small microwave/2cu/ft refrigerator for those occasional timeouts repulsing Human Wave Assaults and Suicide Bombers so I can have some Orville Redenbackers "Extra Butter Movie Theatre" flavor popcorn while I reload all of my 250 round Beta C magazines.
You have to prepare for the various eventualities...

Rich
Airborne Ranger

I don't know how we survived Vietnam without all that garbage.

A microwave and refrig mounted on a rail.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
RyanB,

I must disagree. We ran ambushes, recon patrols, and we killed/captured enemy soldiers on contact.

What are they doing now that is different?

Ten billion dollar satellite imaging to track enemy movements from the air, thousands of additional dollars for body armor and electronics, and that modern Infantryman/Marine still has to go clear houses one room at a time. The M4 is barely discernable from my old CAR-15 at ten feet away.

Progress over the last five thousand years: From rocks, to archery, to firearms. Infantry is still the Queen of Battle. The final answer is still; go in and dig them out. If they surrender, take them prisoner. If they resist, you have to kill them. It will never change, until we are willing to use Nuclear Weapons and deal with the deaths of perhaps millions of non-combatants. Star Wars, anyone?


Rich
Army Ranger
G/Co, 75th Inf
RVN 8-69/9-71

Soldiering perhaps isn't much different, but the effect on the enemy is. I know a couple of 2/75 guys. They do their work at night. They will hit a house, blowing 2-4 holes in it to enter, clear it with weapon mounted lights, while the enemy counterattack is stopped by a combination of small arms using IR lasers and night vision equipment and canon fire from the air.

If we sent the Ranger Batt circa 1970 in there, the ratio of enemy to friendly KIA wouldn't be 100+ to 1. That is what they have achieved with modern equipment.

quote:

Originally posted by Cane Rat:

quote:

Am I the only one that thinks a six inch round handguard on an AR is a little much?

Nope. I'm old school, I don't like a bunch crap hanging off my AR. Stock M4 style handguards for me.

I don't like a bunch of stuff hanging off my guns either.

I use Clark Custom carbon fiber tubes on two of my AR's and stock handguards on the other two.

Times change. Tools change. I was much happier to have an ACOG and an M4 in Iraq than the M16A1 I started with 20 years before, but either way, the job would have gotten done.

But I do agree that people get carried away and turn a 6 lb carbine into a crew served weapon system. Have to find balance.

RyanB,

jungles are different than housing projects. That said, in the 25 months and 10 days I was there, the Company accounted for over 1800 enemy casualties/prisoners taken with the loss of two G/Co and Co2/Co G 75th Rangers KIA and three wounded seriously enough to have to leave RVN.

They do nice work these days, but we had "Free Fire Zones"...

Rich
Sua Sponte

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Gibson: BTW; the second worse thing i saw all the time was the stupidity of "the stack" as a tactic. Most of the time that one was a machine gunners wet dream along with a trigger man for IEDs having extreme orgasims. I "killed" 9 Marines with one IED because they all came right up to it in a stack looking through the ACOGs on the over equiped M4s instead of using good tactics and paying attention to basic marksmanship.....Oh well.....

Larry Gibson

I've often wondered about the "Stack" and thought "Gee if someone expected them and put thirty rounds down the entry hallway at knee height the "Stack" would suddenly turn into a "pile".

If the bad guy then reloads and puts out another 30rounds 6" lower...

The point of this is that bunching up is BAD

Even if all the bad guy had was a 10-22 and a full 30round ramline magazine there is going to be an 8-man "limping team" where there used to be an "entry team".

The other part of "stack" doctrine is that doctrine ASSumes that if they take any fire their opposition is going to be aiming "Center mass" AND that their objective individual is an untrained shooter.

ANY of these obvious assumptions could result in catastrophy.

Of all the AR handguards I have used I like the ones on the Wilson Combat AR's the best.

However I will say that from back in the day, I found the SureFire Carbine handguard, with the built in, three 123 battery light a very good, heavy duty piece of kit.

I have been using them since they first came out, they still work perfect...

I like a weapon mounted tact light a very useful item.

I too like lean and am very pleased with my Midwest Industries Gen 2 SS handguard. Just 1 1/2" OD, full top rail and three modular sections that can be located anywhere or not at all. Light too. My carbine length weighs <1/2 # IIRC.

Sod hanging stuff off the front end of what's supposed to be a lightweight rifle. Mine has a free float handguard that'll take a bipod on a sling stud & that's it. Got an Eotech for a sight because it's fast & doesn't narrow down vision.
All the other stuff's feel good fluff for most circumstances.

Mine unlike some is no toy....built to kill vermin



My home defence rifle

Nunya. There's a literal army of people wanting to take these away from law abiding folks and you think complaining of them, in any fashion, helps ?

N U N Y A