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I am not making this a pissing contest but I use a vertical grip so how long the handguard can be held has little influence on my purchasing decision.
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Good points in your entire post.
About holding the handguard .... it seems that with the rail systems, having the [i]ability[/i] to put out lots of rounds in a short time while effectively dissipating the heat is an important feature.
To my knowledge there are NO STUDIES OR REPORTS on this site or anywhere else comparing barrel temperature of any handgurd system.
Many of you seem to not look at the studies and find faults. For example the FIRSH vs SIR (FF RAS was not included BTW) measured the heat in the FOREARM not the barrel heat. A FIRSH or FF RAS will have a hotter forearm 100% of the time as it acts as a heat sink. If the heat is in the forearm then less heat is in the barrel right?
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I get what you're saying, and it's a great point.
Bottom line is that we're all pretty much AR enthusiasts, and not engineers, but there are board members that give it their best shot with their tests.
Which is MUCH MORE than I can say about my efforts.
.... A FIRSH or FF RAS will have a hotter forearm 100% of the time as it acts as a heat sink. If the heat is in the forearm then less heat is in the barrel right?
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Then if I don't have a vertical grip, then I won't be able to hold onto the foreend, right?
Isn't one of the points of the rail systems is to be able to dissipate heat better than the standard handguards, and probably keep the user safe from injury during high rates-of-fire?
Yet noone has determined which system allows the barrel to stay cooler and thus more accurate and have a longer life. If you use a vertical grip who cares about how comfy the rifle is to hold? In fact if you have to hold the magwell instead of the forearm who care about that either? I would rather have a forearm that keeps the weapon from loosing accuracy or failing prematurely. Id hold the magwell or lay the forearm on a support gladly if it would increase my accuracy and reliablity while keeping the rifle barrel from wearing out as fast.
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Is it possible that if the SIR has a lower outer temperature, that the barrel also is cooler because the SIR is dissipating heat faster?
I REALLY wanted buy a SIR but several things kept me from it. If I had some kind of DATA to support it over my KAC foreend I would have purchased it. So until the URX comes out I will use the FF RAS as a budget alternative. If they come up with a SIR that mounts optics at the correct height and can come up with a reasonable explanation to why it will cool better than a FF RAS or URX I will buy it. I am not dedicated to Reed Knight's products in any way. I just like the best equipment and ask questions that challenge established dogma if they dont make sense.
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Again, great points that you mention.
For me, I'm pretty sure that there's a RASII that's going to compliment my two SIR's pretty soon! [:D]
Chris