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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Round Mid-Length Handguard ? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/19/2012 11:56:29 PM EDT
| Has anyone found a nice set of round, mid-length handguards that have a profile closer to the small, round CAR retro handguards as opposed to the fatter m4 profile? I bought a set off the internets recently (DSA, or something like that) and they have the fat, m-4 profile. The heatshields are flimsy to boot. I am looking to do a 652 clone, but in a mid-length 16" barrel. Thanks! |
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How small does it have to be?
I ordered two sets of OD midlength HGs for a .22 dedicated midlength upper we put together. One is definitely larger than the other - even though it is tapered and not the straight M-4 style. I find that the Armalite and RRA midlengths that I have on my midlengths are the smallest diameter at the rear. Others are noticeably larger at the back. I've had Cav Arms M-4 type midlength HGs - quickly found they weren't for me. Be aware that almost all, maybe all, midlength HGs fit only the triangle HG cap. YMMV Edited to add: I've always wanted to clone the early 16" Colt prototype midlength from the 1960s - looks like a 602 or 604 - just shorter. |
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Yes! Speaking of a 652 middy... http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/46565/2197366250041331668S600x600Q85.jpg Those are very close to the standard carbine profile. Don't forget you need a triangle cap. I got them from Rock River Arms, under $20 plus shipping. Nice carbine! What/whose barrel are you using? |
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Yes! Speaking of a 652 middy... http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/46565/2197366250041331668S600x600Q85.jpg Those are very close to the standard carbine profile. Don't forget you need a triangle cap. I got them from Rock River Arms, under $20 plus shipping. Nice carbine! What/whose barrel are you using? That is a Kotonics / Cardinal LW 6.8 barrel. They're out of business; owner got bad product back from a supplier and broke the bank making it right with the customers. Posted By YoungFrankenstien856
Nice looking Middy ZO9SS,you really kept in the spirit of Retro. Except for that 6.8x43mm SPC II part... This is one of my very favorite ARs. It's got good balance, it's not too heavy, it's very accurate and it's got more thump. It's more modern cousin doesn't get used nearly as often. |
Every time I see pics of Middy 'E1's' I think about scrapping my one SBR build for a Middy...lately I've been thinking as a dedicated .22 it would make up the 1/2"or so to the FSB. Dammit I hate you guys when you post pics like this. Cracked, you have to STOP posting that pic!!! 
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Great timing! I recently finished a simple midlength and I'm not happy with the handguards I have. These are the larger diameter ones, they're solid but too fat for me:
(If A2s offend you, avert your eyeballs )
I think these are CA. I also have a set of slimmer ones with black liners, but they're flimsy and creaky. I'll try and post a pic of these to see what the opinion is as to the manufacturer. |
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Every time I see pics of Middy 'E1's' I think about scrapping my one SBR build for a Middy...lately I've been thinking as a dedicated .22 it would make up the 1/2"or so to the FSB. Dammit I hate you guys when you post pics like this. Cracked, you have to STOP posting that pic!!! It's way too late Morg. That pic is what caused me to do my middy 607.Once you see Crackeds pic,,it burns a spot into the lower back of your brain,,right at the top of the spine.It will NEVER leave you and one day will cause you to build one. Just sayin,,and speaking from my personal experience Bro... BTW,,slings all done and will mail on Monday to the return addy on your original box 
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| You gotta repost pics of your middy m1sniper! Thanks BTW for all the great work on the slings. I know I'll love em. Going up next weekend. Been in a ditch for 2 weeks doing underground - 110 degrees ABOVE the ditch - thought I was going to die Wed. Heat cramps in my legs when I got home so bad I literally screamed like a little girl for 20 minutes. Fortunately we are almost through the hard part. The rest is cake...well, dirt cake, but much easier. Good thing I'm a tough old fart. |
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RRA hanguards have a "solid rib" section at the front from what I can tell (first gun pic in this thread- look at the front of the handguard), and IIRC the heat sheilds are stamped "do not remove" My loose and creaky ones must be RRA, them - thin black liners stamped DO NOT REMOVE and that blank panel at the front. 
Crap. Anyone know how the Armalite midlength A2 handguards compare to the RRAs? Edit - these are almost certainly Armalites. |
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RRA hanguards have a "solid rib" section at the front from what I can tell (first gun pic in this thread- look at the front of the handguard), and IIRC the heat sheilds are stamped "do not remove" My loose and creaky ones must be RRA, them - thin black liners stamped DO NOT REMOVE and that blank panel at the front. http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac123/HDF62/Midlength-Handguards.jpg Crap. Anyone know how the Armalite midlength A2 handguards compare to the RRAs? Actually - the pictured HGs do not look like RRAs - at least not the two pair I have. Might be Armalites but the Armalites I have on my AR10 carbine uppers aren't particulary "flimsy". I'll try to post pics later today. Armalite, Del-Ton, CMMG, RRA 
Del-Ton, CMMG, RRA, Armalite 
I believe many HGs are/were made by CavArms. The Del-Ton and CMMG look kinda like CavArms HGs. YMMV |
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RRA hanguards have a "solid rib" section at the front from what I can tell (first gun pic in this thread- look at the front of the handguard), and IIRC the heat sheilds are stamped "do not remove" My loose and creaky ones must be RRA, them - thin black liners stamped DO NOT REMOVE and that blank panel at the front. http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac123/HDF62/Midlength-Handguards.jpg Crap. Anyone know how the Armalite midlength A2 handguards compare to the RRAs? Actually - the pictured HGs do not look like RRAs - at least not the two pair I have. Might be Armalites but the Armalites I have on my AR10 carbine uppers aren't particulary "flimsy". I'll try to post pics later today. YMMV You know, I think you're right - the Armalites look just like these, gap and all. Here's a set on their website in green: http://www.armalite.com/ItemForm.aspx?item=EG0060&ReturnUrl=Categories.aspx?Category=39e63cea-4031-4d87-b20b-6a74d13f00ec ETA: I'm almost certain the creaky set I have are Armalites based on the pics Mike posted - the telling part is that they don't have locating pins on the seam line. And I agree with his assessment - the CMMG and Del-tons look just like my CA tapereds. Nice and solid, but too fat for me. I just ordered some RRAs to try. Thanks for taking those pics, Mike! |
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I believe you're right - Armalites.
Wonder if the RRA HG's wider side rib is a way to stiffen the HGs? HG fit has always been a crap shoot for me. A set that fits well on one upper may be loose on another. Some uppers - because of the HG cap or delta ring or something - simply will not hold any HGs tightly.
YMMV |
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The heat shields in my RRA handguards say "Do Not Remove" and match my M16A2 rifle heat shields exactly up to the point where they were shortened. +1 - The RRA and Armalites I have are equipped with shortened heat shields which appear to be A2 HG shields. Military contract overruns?? |
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Very nice - perfect KISS carbine. If you don't mind my asking - what barrel are you using? |
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Showing up at this party late...this is what I have:
Cav Arms measured top to bottom - 2.520 Rock River measured top to bottom - 2.360 I also was on a quest to find the smallest diameter midlength handgurds and went through RR, Cav Arms and Armalite. RR was the smallest I found. Shown on left in the picture compaired to a set of Cav Arms.  " target="_blank">
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It looks like to me that the Armalite and RRA are designed to work with either a triangular or round end cap - is that correct? Just came from my shop to do some test fitting. Cav Arms will fit both, and RRA only will fit the triangular. So, you are saying RRA will NOT fit a round cap? Sorry if this seems obvious, but I want to make sure. I guess I'm surprised if RRA only fits triangular caps - seems weird to me. |
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RRA and Armalite have the same profile and the RRA seem to be better made. This ^^ I have both I have both plus the Cav Arms, and I'd say Armalite > RRA, personally. The Cavs are just a little larger than either. It's been discussed before, the desire for midlength handguards of the same diameter as the slim carbine types. |
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You guys need to stop with the middy A2 handguard crap already. I have a set of RRA middy carbine handguards, and someone has placed them in one of my retro project boxes! They say things to me sometimes...am I the only one who hears...the voices? The voices say you hear nothing. |
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You guys need to stop with the middy A2 handguard crap already. I have a set of RRA middy carbine handguards, and someone has placed them in one of my retro project boxes! They say things to me sometimes...am I the only one who hears...the voices? The voices say you hear nothing. Says you. Mine said build me into a 603 (had to be my spare A1 lower talking) |
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You guys need to stop with the middy A2 handguard crap already. I have a set of RRA middy carbine handguards, and someone has placed them in one of my retro project boxes! They say things to me sometimes...am I the only one who hears...the voices? Send them to me and the voices will stop. Garantee it. |
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My RRA handguards arrived today. They are slightly larger diameter than the Armalites but fit much better with no creak or movement; they're also considerably smaller than the CA.
Quality is subjective, but IMO they're a notch below the CAs and several steps above the Armalites (but my Armalites may be dogs.) |
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You guys need to stop with the middy A2 handguard crap already. I have a set of RRA middy carbine handguards, and someone has placed them in one of my retro project boxes! They say things to me sometimes...am I the only one who hears...the voices? Nope. I heard them for two years before I did something about it! |
Well thanks a lot guys. I broke down and did it - ordered a middy barrel from PSA and some RRA HGs. The barrel was a great deal BTW - and shipping was only $6 !  I am going the middy E1 route instead of SBRing it - basically not paying for a tax stamp will pay for the barrel and HGs.
The beautiful part of buying parts over time off the EE is, you end up with a lot of misc. stuff that allows you to build an AR for what feels like very cheap. I already have a spare .625 FSB, and the moderator, BCG, LPK, furniture and recievers. By buying a part here and there, you can get top quality and it's pretty painless. This is hard to explain to someone who wants a 'turn-key' retro, but once you've had a part sitting in the 'pantry' for so long, it's free right? I guess it just feels that way because there's no huge outlay of cash all at once. I have one more thing to pick up and the machine work to do, and I'll be operational. I've been staring at these 'Middy E1' builds for two years, I have a feeling I'm really going to dig it.
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Well thanks a lot guys. I broke down and did it - ordered a middy barrel from PSA and some RRA HGs. The barrel was a great deal BTW - and shipping was only $6 ! I am going the middy E1 route instead of SBRing it - basically not paying for a tax stamp will pay for the barrel and HGs.
The beautiful part of buying parts over time off the EE is, you end up with a lot of misc. stuff that allows you to build an AR for what feels like very cheap. I already have a spare .625 FSB, and the moderator, BCG, LPK, furniture and recievers. By buying a part here and there, you can get top quality and it's pretty painless. This is hard to explain to someone who wants a 'turn-key' retro, but once you've had a part sitting in the 'pantry' for so long, it's free right? I guess it just feels that way because there's no huge outlay of cash all at once. I have one more thing to pick up and the machine work to do, and I'll be operational. I've been staring at these 'Middy E1' builds for two years, I have a feeling I'm really going to dig it.Parts that have been in the bin long enough for you to have forgotten how much they cost are "fully amortized" parts. |
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My RRA handguards arrived today. They are slightly larger diameter than the Armalites but fit much better with no creak or movement; they're also considerably smaller than the CA. Quality is subjective, but IMO they're a notch below the CAs and several steps above the Armalites (but my Armalites may be dogs.) I can squish my Armalites, they seem kinda cheap. |
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Every time I see pics of Middy 'E1's' I think about scrapping my one SBR build for a Middy...lately I've been thinking as a dedicated .22 it would make up the 1/2"or so to the FSB. Dammit I hate you guys when you post pics like this. Cracked, you have to STOP posting that pic!!! lol..yeah, I've been kicking around a middy retro build to, then I seen this pic, now its killing me: 
I mean, how bad ass would this be with a A1 upper and 3 prong? |
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Every time I see pics of Middy 'E1's' I think about scrapping my one SBR build for a Middy...lately I've been thinking as a dedicated .22 it would make up the 1/2"or so to the FSB. Dammit I hate you guys when you post pics like this. Cracked, you have to STOP posting that pic!!! lol..yeah, I've been kicking around a middy retro build to, then I seen this pic, now its killing me: http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn115/wjtwining/RockinDissy.jpg I mean, how bad ass would this be with a A1 upper and 3 prong? I'm with you - but it's still an SBR right? Looks like that barrel is not 16" to me. Hell, I like the thing just the way it is! I got my barrel,and HGs but am watching my $ lately - work might end soon for a few weeks, then will be gangbusters again. Still working out in the damn sun - thought I was going to pass out yesterday. |
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Round Mid-Length Handguard ? (Page 1 of 2)
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