Midwest Industries Gen 3 M-Lok

Here

Your welcome

/thread

meh, I've never been a huge fan of MI's rails, but thank you for the input



 

I love the Aero Precision M4E1 uppers. You are somewhat limited by what hand guards you can run (and they're 1.8'' ID) but they're rock solid. Closest thing you can get to a monolithic upper without spending shit tons. You get a complete upper receiver and handguard for $200. You mentioned simplicity with the barrel nut, this is as easy as it gets. No timing - just install it as you normally would and do your final torque to 50 ft/lbs

Schuyler

What is it about the MI forends that you don't like?

ALG...it's hard to beat a $100 rail that is Geissele made....

http://algdefense.com/rails.html?dir=asc&order=price

My vote is ALG

I looked at these, but with the proprietary wrench and shim kits, I'm not sure. And the mounting slots are located at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o'clock. These are still on the list due to price, but they are definitely 3rd behind the Troy and SLR.



 

Prior to the Gen 3's, my biggest gripe was the mounting interface, the same with the Samson rails. The new torque plate/tab is interesting. Style-wise, they just don't have the looks like the SLR. The Troy is just stupid simple.



 

JL Billet? Custom barrel nut but can use a crowfoot and torque wrench for installation.

If you want to go for something new and kinda crazy check this out:

http://www.rainierarms.com/vella-industries-trident-rail-system-16-5
It's probably out of your price range considering your budget requirement.

Another vote for ALG, choose V1, V2, or V3 based on how much top rail you want.  I'm not sure why a proprietary barrel nut is a big deal when the tool is provided at no charge and it makes the installation process so much easier.  It's by far the best bang-for-your-buck handguard out there and I absolutely love mine.

I also vote for the alg handguard. Very easy to install with the included tool and detail instructions on which shim to use. And the rail doesn't wobble/bend/misaligned over time because it's secure on all angles by 6 allen bolts.

Goddamn those are nice... thanks for making me rethink my budget



 

If you're looking in the $150-is range, I just put a Parallax Tactical FFSSR Lightweight Series, M-LOK in 13" on order, and it was about $155 + a few dollars for shipping.  At the $200 range there are a ton of options, just think about what exactly you're looking for.  I specifically wanted a very light 13 or 15" rail with a small diameter and that has a solid and quick mounting method with screws into a beefed up barrel nut (or similar).  Most importantly I wanted something that's easy to take off and reinstall with minimal realignment headache (think advantage of the Aero M4e1).  I also have a troy alpha rail on a SBR, and while it hasn't budged on me yet under gentle range use, having to install it on my kitchen granite countertop while turning each screw a teeny bit at a time while alternating screws really irritates me.  It never seems to set up the same each time it gets reinstalled.  I admit its not a huge deal and not worth taking off and replacing, but it just aggravates me.  I have a low profile adjustable gas block under the rail that I want to get to for cleaning from time to time.  Otherwise it does seem to be a decent rail.  I think the "uses the standard barrel nut" argument is overhyped if you are barreling the receiver yourself.  Its great if installing the rail on an already built upper and don't want to touch the barrel nut, but when building from the ground up I think there are better options.  The Parallax barrel nut goes on and off with a 1.5" (I think) crow's foot.  I really like the advantages of the Aero M4e1 upper when it comes to taking the rail off and reinstalling, but once again I opted for the standard upper rather than the Aero.  I'm not crazy about how fat the Aero rail is.  Plus, one can find 2 - 3 built but un-barreled uppers (even blems from Aero) for about the price of one of their un-barreled enhanced upper receivers.

I vote ALG!
 I just installed an ALG V2 EMR 13" handguard on my rifle that I was re-configuring to DI from an AA Gas Piston set-up and I originally ordered a Matrix Arms 15" Foxtrot Key-Mod handguard but the Ti low profile gas block I was using would not fit under the Matrix handguard(I also got one of the handguards that the keymod slots were machined backwards, got an email to them for that). I then ordered an ALG 13" V2 EMR handguard and when installing the handguard I was very surprised that you do not need a torque wrench to install the rail. It was so easy!

The quality of the rail is top notch and feels really good in my hands. I am very impressed with this rail so far. This will be my first M-Lok rail also.