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Posted: 8/17/2003 4:37:47 AM EDT
| OK, somebody educate me. What's the free-floating handguard all about? Apparently it is preferred over standard handguards. Exactly what is a free-floating handguard? What benefits does it offer? I've heard that they enhance accuracy but I don't understand how. Someone please give me a "Handguard 101" lesson. |
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A free-float handguard is attached in a way that leaves it "floating" around the length of the barrel without touching the barrel. This is helpful to accuracy because ANY pressure on the barrel from the handguard can theoretically effect your point of impact or barrel harmonics and effect where the bullets land. Under normal circumstances, shooting at normal ranges, it may not make much difference. Shooting at longer ranges, or shooting when the barrel has already heated up, especially with a bipod, the FF handguard will help to keep your point of impact where you expect it to be. Tex78 |
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A free-float handguard attaches to the rifle at the barrel nut ONLY (where the barrel is attached to the upper receiver). It allows the barrel to vibrate consistantly with each shot, improving accuracy, and this will not change even when using slings, bipods, forward grips, lights, lasers, and other items on the handguards. Without a FF tube, adding these items affects your accuracy and your zero. For a target rifle that will be used for low volumes of fire, the original aluminum FF tubes are adequate. For an action/defense/combat rifle, the volume of fire is much too high, and the tube will heat up enough to cause serious burns or worse. For these, you need one of the newer designs such as the Knight's RAS family, the ARMS SIR family, or the Daniel Defense forend. These are well-vented and offer rails to attach gear to, such as flashlights and forward grips. -Troy |
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