You must have had the old Gen 1 or Gen 2 units. The Gen 3, and especially the Combat Rail, SLH, and Ultgra Light weight rails are not going to walk off the handguard and they not require the use of adhesive like the old Gen 2 rails did.
That being said, IMO it is a bad idea to mount any optic on the handguard. Too much flex even in the best of them. As said, unless you have a heavy-assed monolithic handguard, there is going to be some flex. Mounting sights on the handguard are good enough for front sights that are designed for use up close and personal, but for a scope, I wouldn't recommend it.
You might be able to use something like the super extended ARMS mount that mounts to the upper receiver but extends way out over the handguard. I had one and it worked very well, as well as being quite rigid.
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