I am looking to buy a freefloating set or alluminum carbine rails for my AR. Can anybody give me some ideas as to who makes the best and what people like?

Thanks

i have larue...... ill never buy anything else

DD and Larue get lots of love around here



I have YHM on all of my ARs

I am very pleased with their quality

daniel defense makes good stuff too...

Daniel Defense Omaga 7.  Really really light weight, free floating, and required NO modification to host weapon.  Did I say it was really light.  Installs in under 10 minutes.  

If you plan on removing your barrel nut and front sight etc. I'd go with a Larue.

If you don't want to do any of this and want to go with the "clamp to your exsisting barrel nut" route, I'd go with DD or Troy.  I went with Troy and love it!

+1 for the LaRue.  But, you do have to remove the front site and barrel nut to install.  If you don't have the tools and knowledge to do it, a trip to the gunsmith is required.

There is no "top dog" where it is clearly the best of EVERY rail system out there. But there are a couple top of the line rails. Just depends on which you want. Larue and Daniel Defense seem to be the most highly rated. I have Larue and I LOVE it.

However, the Larue requires you to remove your FSB in order to install it. I believe the Daniel Defense is a two piece, and so is easier to install. But having either, you will be very happy with it.

The natural response will be Larue. I am perfectly happy with my 100 dollar YHM FF hand guard

Has anybody ever used a samson?

Patriot Ordnance Factory makes nice railed forearms as well.  They extand over the upper for a continuous rail.  Their SX line is sharp.  The side rails are shortened, and the grip area is sprayed with a thin layer of truck bed liner.  Many of the photos of uppers and rifle on their sight show the SX, but it is not shown on the parts/forearm page for some reason.

I have the samson mrfs-c (I think they now call them star-c).  Very easy to install, just have to cut off the delta ring, which was really easy with a dremmel.  Very happy with them, they are solid.  Def recommend some rail covers though, I found on mine the rail edges were much sharper than I had anticipated and definately can cut your hand if you're not paying attention.  Stag uses samson rails on one of their models as well...

Any of these would be fine, in alphabetical order.
Daniel Defense
LaRue
Midwest Industries
POF
SWS
Troy
YHM

Troy

Ordered a set of troy free floating rails today from J&T. I will let you know how I like them.

Thanks so much for your input.

Daniel Defense - Their LITE rails is the best rail system out there right now. The mounting system is index free which allows you to torque the barrel nut correctly, they're strong, light (lightest in the industry in general) and they have a great profile...more like a standard M4 hanguard, not fat and round. They recently lowered their prices so they're even a better deal.

LaRue - This would be my second choice. Good rail system and the company makes solid product but I don't like the mounting system and it doesn't give you a continuous top rail. Heavier than the DD and has a rounder profile compared to the DD.

Midwest Industries - Cheap price. Fat and round. HEAVY. Some people are into that kinda thing I guess.

POF - Stay away from this rail, it's the last rail I'll install on my AR's. The top rail mounting system isn't very good and it's butt ugly to boot.

SWS - Not a bad rail system but it could use a better mounting system. No anti-rotation and it's no particularly light considering how much open space it has.

Troy/Samson - Easy install, fairly heavy compared to DD and has a rounder profile. If easy install is your main deal, get the DD Omega rail. It's actually EASIER to install.

YHM - Cheap price, rails are not Mil-Spec, crap mounting system...etc. I do use some YHM items (like their Phantoms) but the rail systems aren't so good. Also, their standard rail is SUPER HEAVY. Their "light" rails are also quite a bit heavier than DD offerings.

KAC - Good rail system. Their Free Floats are decent but the mounting system is antiquated (like the DD M4, LaRue, etc...) compared to the DD Lite. Their URX is very nice and it would be second choice over LaRue if you didn't need $500+ in installation tools.

ARMS - I really dislike their SIR rails. Relatively heavy, unnecessary amount of screwing on of various rail sizes, odd "bi-level" rail on some their rails, questionable material choices, etc. Their newest rails (that mount similar to the Troy/Samson) aren't so bad but still not that great. I'd buy a DD Omega or Lite over ARMS any day of the week.

Vltor - CAS-V aren't bad rails but again, I don't like having a elevated top rail. If that doesn't bother you, Vltor makes great kit.



Honestly, if you don't know any better (ignorance really is bliss), any of the rail systems will probably be great. But once you tried them all, you'll figure it out. I tried them all out  (meaning I've owned every single brand listed) and found the DD the be the best rail system all around. I've actually expunged all the other rails out of my collection.

Daniel Defense Lite.