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Posted: 10/22/2012 4:36:46 PM EDT
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I am hoping to get some input on a rail for my current build. The rifle is going to be a 14.5" lightweight with pinned flash hider. I have narrowed my options down a just a few choices with weight and functionality being my main consideration. So here is what I am thinking about.
1. Midwest industries 10" SS gen 2 2 Midwest industries 12" SS gen 2 3. Rainier Arms 11" 4. Samson 10" 5. Samson 12" I am leaning towards a 10" or 11" rail to save a few tenths of an ounce over the slightly longer ones. Does anybody have any personal experience with any of these rails. Mainly, are you satisfied with the weight, fit and finish, feel, and stability? Any flex with any of them? I will be using flip up MBUIS on the front of the rail. |
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I am hoping to get some input on a rail for my current build. The rifle is going to be a 14.5" lightweight with pinned flash hider. I have narrowed my options down a just a few choices with weight and functionality being my main consideration. So here is what I am thinking about. 1. Midwest industries 10" SS gen 2 2 Midwest industries 12" SS gen 2 3. Rainier Arms 11" 4. Samson 10" 5. Samson 12" I am leaning towards a 10" or 11" rail to save a few tenths of an ounce over the slightly longer ones. Does anybody have any personal experience with any of these rails. Mainly, are you satisfied with the weight, fit and finish, feel, and stability? Any flex with any of them? I will be using flip up MBUIS on the front of the rail. I have two MI SS gen 2 handgaurds and love them i also have two Troy TRX extreme Handgaurds the MI"s are lighter and have a smaller O.D. |
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Have you considered checking out the Daniel Defense Omega rail? I've been happy with mine thats on a 14.5" pinned. Light weight, rock solid, and was able to install without removing anything. Not the latest and greatest, but still as good as it gets and and good as anyone will ever need. Love mine. I especially love the slender profile. |
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That is pretty sweet looking! How is the weight/balance? |
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Have you considered checking out the Daniel Defense Omega rail? I've been happy with mine thats on a 14.5" pinned. Light weight, rock solid, and was able to install without removing anything. Not the latest and greatest, but still as good as it gets and and good as anyone will ever need. Love mine. I especially love the slender profile. I could not agree with these guys more. Do yourself a favor and at least consider a DD Omega. They pop up on the EE here all the time, and can be had very reasonably. No mods required, and you can go from a rock solid rail back to a standard handguard in about two minutes. |
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Have you considered checking out the Daniel Defense Omega rail? I've been happy with mine thats on a 14.5" pinned. Light weight, rock solid, and was able to install without removing anything. Not the latest and greatest, but still as good as it gets and and good as anyone will ever need. Love mine. I especially love the slender profile. I could not agree with these guys more. Do yourself a favor and at least consider a DD Omega. They pop up on the EE here all the time, and can be had very reasonably. No mods required, and you can go from a rock solid rail back to a standard handguard in about two minutes. Uh, and why in the h e doublehockeysticks would you ever want to do that? OP, I've got a Rainier Arms Evolution 12" on my 16", and with a standard profile barrel, light, and optic (as well as the heavier STR stock), it weighs 8.1 lbs (unloaded, no mag, sling weight not included): 
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That is pretty sweet looking! How is the weight/balance? Weight and Balance are great. The gun is light all the way around and easy to use. I use it for 3 gun and I hove how grippy the rail is. |
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Have you considered checking out the Daniel Defense Omega rail? I've been happy with mine thats on a 14.5" pinned. Light weight, rock solid, and was able to install without removing anything. Not the latest and greatest, but still as good as it gets and and good as anyone will ever need. Love mine. I especially love the slender profile. I could not agree with these guys more. Do yourself a favor and at least consider a DD Omega. They pop up on the EE here all the time, and can be had very reasonably. No mods required, and you can go from a rock solid rail back to a standard handguard in about two minutes. Uh, and why in the h e doublehockeysticks would you ever want to do that? OP, I've got a Rainier Arms Evolution 12" on my 16", and with a standard profile barrel, light, and optic (as well as the heavier STR stock), it weighs 8.1 lbs (unloaded, no mag, sling weight not included): http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/Snarky15/P1010606_zps00f9c83f.jpg Uh, maybe to change the configuration of your rifle? Why is the sling in your photo equipped with QD swivels? Why would you ever want to remove it from your rifle? |
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I think the MI gen 2 SS is the best for the money, but the Rainer Evo and the Troy Alpha and TRX-E are a close second and third(s).
I got the TRX-E 11" a few months ago––I almost went with the 9", but thankfully New-ARguy talked me up to the 11"...turns out, the extra length MORE THAN MAKES up for the ounce it adds IMO. That said, I just removed it to put an Noveske NSR 13.5" on it. (It'll be in the EE in a week or so––once I make sure the NSR doesn't fall off.) I'd say MI gen 2 SS in 12", Rainier Evo (whenever they come back in stock––better get on the notify list), and the Troys (11") are the best for the price and weight. I like them in that order even though the much more expensive NSR is my favorite of the bunch so far––don't shoulder a gun with one mounted or you may end up getting one (wish they had a 12.5"). I'd stray away from the DD Omega just because it's 16.3 ounces AND much more $$ than the other options. If you're not going to use all that rail-space, why pay for it in money and weight? Though I'm sure it's super solid and like DD. NOTE: I'm so weight-snobby, I just sent my perfectly good 16" barrel to get cut down and have the SF perm-attached ($200 for an ounce or so?!? I justified it by saying it would look better, as if I ever cared about looks on a gun). My light is a little 1xCR123 (Fenix PD20 or Olight T10) that weighs 2.3 ounces in a Gear Sector mount...saving me like 2 ounces over a TLR1/X300 (and I got a CAA polymer front sight to save there––though it's probably crap compared to the Magpul, I can't stand the blockiness of the MBUS front). I'm also thinking of ditching the STR, which I love, for a B5 or CTR, since they're both a bit lighter (though the STR beat both by a lot in a drop test)...again, I'd be getting an ounce for a stock I like less (the B5 seems a bit long, and the CTR doesn't have the comfy cheekweld). |
12"
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12" Centurion C4. Installs over factory barrel nut, simple to install, 4 integral QD points, and rock solid.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Centurion-Arms-C4-quad-rail-12-/271087196844?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1e0e5aac |
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This is basically what I am building. I like the MI forearm though, just because it has attachable rail pieces including one with a QD mount. Get the SS Gen 2. It's the sexiest rail out there, save for the Noveske NSR. 
On the other hand, the Troy Alpha ain't bad, either! 
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I own both a samson evolution 10" on a 16" barrel and a MI Gen 2 SS 12" on a 14.5" pinned FH barrel. I prefer the MI GEN2 SS as it's slimmer with less diameter overall and you don't have to fiddle with the retaining peice inside the handguard to mount the rails. The MI Gen2 SS mounts directly to the handguard.
You have to keep this in mind with you handguard weight weenies. The Samson handguard has less thickness because it requires 2 peices to install a rail. One inside the handguard which weighs a few ounces, and the rail itself on the outside which weighs a few ounces, plus the screws which i suspect are longer. The MI Gen2 SS has thicker metal that's already drilled and tapped where the rails go. They include locktite and probably shorter screws than the Samson and the rails mount directly without the extra ounces of the retaining peice that goes inside the handguard. I think both Samson and MI publish the handguard weight without rails, but although i haven't measured it, i suspect the samson rail section addons are heavier than the MI rails. Also, mi has the QD socket included into a rail, which helps shave weight as compared to a seperate QD socket or rail sling attachment. |
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Do you guys like the DD lite rail? What is the differance between the lite rail and the omega? The DD Lite rail requires you to remove the bbl nut. Omega is two piece, allowing you to leave the FSB installed and uses the stock delta ring/bbl nut assembly. Of the two there is no real great reason to get the Lite since the Omega is so damned easy to install and is also free-floating. I was full-retard on the Omega rails for such a long time... They are very light weight and easy to install. My new favorite is the Troy VTAC. It's slightly lighter than the Omega (if you don't stick a bunch of un-needed rails on it) but does require you to remove the FSB. I'm also about to build a 16" rifle with an Apex which looks promising. Here's my newest setup for my 12.5" but I've since traded out the fixed sights for Mbus2s. Troy VTAC 11" on a DD 12.5" light weight bbl. It ridiculously light weight. 
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My ONLY apprehension about the MI rails (even though they were my top recommendation) is that with the smaller diameter and limited venting, I bet they heat up faster than others (Troy, Rainer, etc.). The thought had crossed my mind, but i haven't noticed it as i'm too poor to be doing long mag dumps. Ammo prices are just too rediculous. Even from what i've seen if you watch the military arms channel youtube video of cerakote, he mentions the barrel temperature doesn't get all that hot, about 300 degrees on long semi auto fire. The cerakote stays on the barrel just fine. If you read vuurwapen's blog he shows how he was able to melt a magpul MOE handguard with 500 rounds of wolf dumps. This was from the gas tube. And from other sources you can see the gas tube get red hot on mag dumps, this is probably going to be where more of your heat comes from. In comparison, the MI GEN2 SS has vent holes for the gas tube which is nice. But i don't think the smaller diameter of the handguard around the barrel will cause the handguard to heat up noticeably more than the evolution rail. |
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