I have seen the ones offered by Pete-in-NH (I think that's what he goes by) also by Gunsmoke & even the Rock River ones.    Some are single heat shield where others are double.   Are there any other difference between the ones I have listed or have I missed some?

Which would you recommend & why?

Thank you very much.

Colt's are the only ones with the double heat shields.  They have the patent.  Do you want the handguards for the look or for the hand protection?

I'd go with the Colt's.  That's what I've got.  They're wider, have a better texture, and have better heat protection.  They certainly don't feel like cheap plastic...unlike the Bushmaster HG's.  

I ordered 2 sets from Pete, and I couldn't be happier.

Are you guys sure that Colt is the only double insulated handguards? I've got a set of RRA M4 handguards and I thought they were double insulated.

For what it's worth, I got mine through Gunsmoke and have also bought a few other things from them. Always great service through them, and highly recommend them.

What is Pete's site, or where can I see his product?

I apprectiate the replies, so far, guys.  A couple of things that have not been touched upon.

- Do all of the other M4 style handguards (other than Bushmaster's) share identical external dimensions to Colt's?

- Do the double heat shields make a dramatic difference on semi-auto AR's?

Grock, Pete-in-NH can be found over in the Equipment Exchange area in the parts for sale (I think) area.  Do a search over there.   He should be easy to find.

Quoted: What is Pete's site, or where can I see his product?

Don't know if he has a website, but check in the Equipment Exchange for his posts.

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=84183...a link to the handguards he has for sale.

Well now I know. I guess I just assumed that all M4 handguards were double insulated. Thanks fella's for setting that straight.

Quoted: I apprectiate the replies, so far, guys.  A couple of things that have not been touched upon. - Do all of the other M4 style handguards (other than Bushmaster's) share identical external dimensions to Colt's? - Do the double heat shields make a dramatic difference on semi-auto AR's? Grock, Pete-in-NH can be found over in the Equipment Exchange area in the parts for sale (I think) area.  Do a search over there.   He should be easy to find.

Yes, the knock off M4 "look" exactly like the Colt handguards.  texture wise and rigidity, you can tell a Colt from a knockoff if compared side by side without checking for the double heatshield.

Techinically Bushmaster doen't have M4 guards, they just have the Shorty guards and they say they are shorty guards on their M4 type rifles.

Do they make a difference in semi auto?  depends how fast/much you shoot.  I've never gotten to the point where I couldn't hold my buchmaster, but I could feel it was hot.  Last weekend I emptied 3 mags in just a few seconds with no problems.  when I set the weapon down the barrel did burn my knee.

Hmmm, I bought some M4 handguards from Sableco that I assumed were Rock River and they definitely have double-heat shields in them. For that matter the Rock River website specifies that their "A4" handguards do have double-heat shields.

Do the double heat shields make a dramatic difference on semi-auto AR's?

Depends... most of the time, the single-heat shields would do OK; but my experience has been that when you start shooting the carbines in a 100 degrees plus Texas sun and they'll get too hot to handle comfortably in less than 100 rounds (firing rate was about 30 rounds every 2-5 minutes). Rather than break out the nomex flight gloves, I got the M4 handguards with double-heat shields and they seem to fix the problem nicely.

I haven't seen the same problem with the longer (dissy or rifle length) handguards though. They seem to cool much better than the shorty handguards do.

RRA "A4" handguards are double heat shielded and look just like the Colts. Do not know how they got around the leagal issue or if they did. I can't tell the difference between these and a pair of Colt M4 guards, except for the price. $49.95 vs. $26.00.