Well the title pretty much says it. I have a DD RIS II FDE that I got from Kevin at HCS for $399 shipped. Kinda pricey and with the price the cloners will pay it's hard to justify. I'd planned to put it on my recce and build something of a "modern recce" with current SOPMOD parts instead of the older ones with the KAC FF rail.

I like the color, shape, and look, but the color can be painted/cerakoted, the shape can be found elsewhere, and looks...do we really care about those?

What does the hive recommend for a replacement? I'm aware of the Larue rails and had one. I'd like a quad rail as the MLok/Keymod rails are too skinny for me. I shot an ARFCOMmer's suppressed SBR once with a KMR rail and it felt like shooting a kid's gun. Next choice would have been a mid-length URX, but those don't work over the middy gas barrel I have. I need enough space for a bipod reasonably far out.

Thoughts?

Keep it. You won't find a more solid rail... imo


The buyers remorse will go away in a few days

If you like Daniel Defense the Lite Rail III or SLiM rail look nice and have a very similar mounting system. For a thin rail I like the Noveske NSR.

Seekins SAR will save some weight.  MI Gen 2's are another good option.

Centurion C4 is a nice free float rail.

Just keep it. If you wanna be cheap get the MI 2 piece free float quad rail. But, you don't wanna be cheap. Or! You could get the Troy quad ff rail. But then you would have a Troy product. Depending on who you are that could mean nothing or a lot. Kmr is a sweet rail, you get used to the lightness. IMO keep the DD, but if you want to be cheap I just have you two cheap replacements that you won't be near as satisfied with especially in terms of how they mount up. I'll trade you my gen 2 MI ff quad rail for your DD if you want though :)

Thanks for the replies everyone. Some interesting rail systems I wasn't aware of.



Alright, you've convinced me. I'll hang onto the RIS II for awhile. I see the black ones aren't any cheaper new. The LITE III ones are pretty cool looking though.




Yeah, not using Troy.

That ris ii is worth more than you paid for it now since they no longer sell the fde.

How much?...

Seeing them on eBay for $550-$575. That's what is giving me second thoughts on using it.

i really liked my samson star quad rail. and i haven't used one personally, but the centurion c4 rails get recommended a lot, so if i were to ever get another quad rail, that would probably be it.

I have owned 3. Heavy and expensive. Necessary if you are building a Block II clone, IMHO, no reason to get one  if you are not. As others have mentioned, you can get a DD Lite, a Centurion or a BAR/SAR for a Recce type build.

OK trying to think through my options here. Hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation.

I paid $399 for the FDE RIS II, so in a sense the current market price is irrelevant. The non-FDE version is also $399 from BCM so no savings if I go that route. If I go with the C4, I get to use the standard barrel nut and save $100 over the RIS. The other rail I like is the LITE III, which is only about $10 cheaper than what I paid for the RIS.

So basically, looking only at out of pocket expenses and ignoring the rail's current market value, I don't need to feel bad about using it. I got a normal price for it (seems close to MSRP?). All I need to decide is if, a, DD will make more rails and lower the market value of mine for future resale or b, I need the cash it will fetch for other parts. It's "no" to both for now so I'll probably use it.

Check out SLR Rifleworks as well. I just grabbed one myself for a recce build. Should be in today.
In my search, I kept getting a recommendation for SLR from just about every other user.

Geissele MK4, DD lite rail or keep the RIS.

If your just looking for cheap, there's plenty of budget rails on ebay for less than $100.

some picts to help you decide.

One sold on the ee for 600 not to long ago.

I wouldn't worry about future value. Keep it if it is what you want (as long as you can afford it). If it isn't exactly what you want you can probably get what you want for less and use the difference to get other things you need.

Pros and cons of the RIS II are:

Pros:
strong
easy installation
versatile (works with low profile gas blocks or rifle length FSBs)
removeable lower rail (not necessary but nice to have)
optimum quad rail profile
cool factor/bragging rights etc. (if you are into that sort of thing)
color (depending on taste)

Cons:
heavy (about 1 lb 2 oz)
expensive
color (depending on taste)

I used a RIS II for a few years.

It's not that heavy.  It's kind of wide though.

I prefer Larue rails greatly over the RIS II.

I tried a Lite Rail III when they first came out.  It so sharp it had to be handled with gloves.  Had a RIS II like that too, I took a little file and dehorned the whole thing and Kryloned it.

I bent the bottom rail of an early RIS II sliding into a barrel at a class.  DD replaced it with no drama.

If you're a clone guy, the RIS II is cool.  But there are better choices.

I would put a Larue 9" on that upper.  An accurate, free-floated stainless barrel with a FSP is not something you get just anywhere...

A bit confused here...

A common complaint about the RIS series is their weight. But using this widely referenced sheet, the C4 and RIS II are the same weight, the Larue is heavier, and the LITE III is only 3 ounces lighter. Why all the weight complaints since the RIS seems to be middle of the pack?

Rail Weigth Comparison Chart

I hear ya...kinda like Filthy 14. It's just that I bought this upper to make into a RECCE/mini-SPR build and I don't need another FSP carbine.

RIS II M4A1 17.7 oz

Lite Rail III 12.0 13.2 oz

SLiM Rail 12.0 9.9 oz

LaRue 12.0 16.8 oz

Noveske NSR 13.5 11 oz

BCM KMR 13 7.7 oz

The RIS II weight is from my Postal scale, the others are from online.

I have no experience with the RIS II but it seems like a real nice rail that is becoming more rare with the lack of production.  With that being said, if you decide to sell it and want a full length quad rail, the Centurion Arms C4 rails are very nice.  They mount to the factory barrel nut and are very solid.  It is also a two piece rail so you can remove it even if you have a pinned muzzle device.  

Well...I ended up going with the RIS II. Might swap it in the future but I'm happy right now.

It looks nice OP. Just keep it!

the RIS II is a great rail. I went with it for the following reasons.
1) It feels solid and durable.
2) Its the key component to making/calling a SBR a MK18, without it you just have a random SBR.
3) I like the shape and profile of it, feels more circular than some rails which are taller than they are wide.

What I don't like about it
1) it's expensive, but I watched on EE and found a black one for $250
2) it's 3-5 oz heavier than most of the modern light weight rails.

With that being said I highly rcommend it.

There are many places to reduce a rifles weight, and light weight is pretty much out of the picture if you are running a 16"+ rifle with large optics so to worry about a few oz on your rail is stupid when you have a 2 lb scope, 1 lb bipod, 1/2 lb stock, 5lb beta mag, etc....

As for cost if you can't afford it go with a light weight rail from MI, or just suck it up and realize firearms are expensive, buy once cry once or whatever they say.  I can remember being in college and worrying about paying $20 more to get the chrome slide on the $250 pistol I bought (btw it was a piece of crap) now I drop thousands on custom made suppressors, MGs, Etc... I know everyone's financial situation is different but to worry about $100 price difference on a rail is silly, and if someone financial situation is that tight they prob shouldn't be building AR15

When putting together a firearm these are my criteria from most to least important.
Function
Weight
Style
Price

I have been in the same boat for past few months now. I have a FDE RIS II also and a DD RIS II FSP (Black). I am thinking of selling both and getting a suppressor, or at least having majority of the cash for one and getting a Geissele rail or something. I really like my RIS II, the weight doesn't bother me very much at all.