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Posted: 9/18/2013 9:47:50 PM EDT
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Just looking to weigh some pros and cons and get input on free floated handguards v/ tradtional mount railed handguards. Just looking for the results people are seeing one way or the other. The rifle shoots just under a minute now on decent hand loads. The current set up is a Bushmaster A3, carbon fiber upper and lower, 20" 1/7 Govt profile barrel and a 4x sight mounted to the detachable carry handle. I am planning to make it into an SPR type rifle, it will be retaining most of the basic hardware of the Bushmaster. I've never cut off a delta ring or actually removed a barrel from an AR-15 before so I'm just a little edgy about doing so. Are there any free floats that don't require the removal of the barrel?
Sorry this turned into a pile of questions: TL;DR 1) Pro / Cons of Free floated over tradtional mount hand guards 2) Any Free Floats that dont require removal of barrel? If so Are they decent Thanks in Advance |
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Two piece rails can be mounted sometimes. Go to CenturionsArms.com and look at the C4 rail. You buzz the ring off and use the factory barrel nut.
That said the CF receivers are known for being delicate. |
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Better accuracy out of a free float due to no pressure on barrel when shooting with the handguards resting on a bag or barrier or a sling pulling on it. I like the free float handguards for the added length of grip surface and mounting ability (hand stop, VFG, bi-pod, light, ect..) and sight radius.
There are MANY makers of free float rails that use the factory barrel nut after you cut the delta ring off. Assuming that you are using a Carbon15 as your upper and lower...I am not sure if the barrel nut is the same or not as far as out outer diameter. For rails there are Troy, MI, Centurion, Fortis, Rainier, and Samson just to name a few. The Troy Delta and Daniel Defense are the only ones I know of that use the factory delta ring. Depends on the style of rail you want. |
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Quoted:
He's going to need a 2 piece rail if he doesn't want to pull his FSB. He mentioned SPR, so I assumed he meant something like the Mod0 or Mod1 with no fixed sight. That and talking about pulling the barrel. Disregard the previous info I posted if that's the case. You can try to find a Daniel Defense Omega 12" rail as well. It does not require the delta ring be pulled, but will require you to remove the FSB, install, and place the FSB back. |
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Quoted:
There are MANY makers of free float rails that use the factory barrel nut after you cut the delta ring off. Assuming that you are using a Carbon15 as your upper and lower...I am not sure if the barrel nut is the same or not as far as out outer diameter. Depends on the style of rail you want. It is carbon 15 upper and lower. Though it doesnt look anything like the ones that they have on their website now. It looks identical to an M16A2, just with a flat top. The ones I see on their site now are kinda strange looking, no brass deflectors, goofy shapes, etc. This one appears to be built to the standard specs, minus obviously the material. Regarding the diameter of the barrel nut, I have no idea if it's standard or not. As for the front site block, I was planning to go with either a Mk12 Gas Block, or an Gas Block that has a flip up sight on it, depending on the rails I end up going with. This project started with me using a set of knight's M5 rails that I had come across at a price that could not be refused, but, I'm not sure of the compatability of them with the Mk12 Gas Block or other LP blocks. Also whether or not they would hinder accuracy when compared to FF rails. Something I was curious about. Like I said, the gun shoots under a minute now at 100m, cant speak past that because up until now it hasnt really been shot past 100. I was concerned that if I took the barrel nut off and re seated it that I may lose some of that accuracy. Is that anything to worry about or not as much? I have attached a mediochre picture of the gun as it is just for reference. 
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If you have the M5 then I would try it. Assuming it mounts under the delta ring and to the barrel nut. It will work with the clamp on type PRI front sight without issue. I run a similar set up with my Dissapator (although it does not use the sight as a gas block, if it did there would be no issue).
My dissy is not a precision rifle, but it's still pretty accurate. |
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I thought the carbon15 uses a special barrel nut. I'm not 100% sure about that though. I would also be a little worried about putting a free float on a carbon upper. As it is now, the barrel also helps support the pressure of the HG's. Maybe that means nothing but I, personally, would worry about splitting up the pressure points. Just my .02
If I put on a FF rail with a bipod I would defiantly would NOT preload the bipod. |
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