Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Handguard decisions on build

Well I have almost all the spare parts just laying around to build a few different ar’s. Mostly decent quality parts

Round 1

Gonna build a 350 legend rifle for Ohio deer hunting and maybe some hog hunting. Kids can use it as well

A1 stock
BCM upper and PSA lower (custom green anodizing on them)
Wilson combat barrel(16” with thread protector)


Let’s pick a handguard??

Prefer mlok. Free float. 13-15”. Light weight or at least not chunky

Prefer barrel nuts that don’t require timed but that’s not a deal breaker

What’s your thoughts

Aero,the one without a full pic rail.
Think it called the Atlas.

I had looked at the atlas S

I like aero products!

UTG pro got good reviews, w note that the supplied screws sucked. Indeed, the factory upgrade to diff screws still sucked.
Odd metric deal, ordered some from diff source and had to dress em down ( torx- stainless ) and then Gunkoted em.
Decent now

Buds have Atlas. Slick setup.

I gotta remind myself I don’t need geissele lol. Doesn’t mean I don’t want one

This gun ain’t going into combat
And deer don’t need vertical grips or lights

I could also go free float tube sans mlok I guess

Lighter weight for this build is definitely a priority

The a1 stock was given to me free because the recoil pad plastic that goes around the storage compartment was cracked. It’s a colt vintage the mid 80s. Came with spring buffer and rifle length tube Wasn’t in great shape. I can fix that though

Gotta track down a top screw for the recoil pad still

Fixed recoil pad plastic with jb weld. Sanded and it is good to go now

Sanded stock because it had been painted. Gonna paint it aervoe FDE or coyote or some kinda green. That’s up in the air still color wise

This is a mix and match build!!!!

Function and form. Not beauty

I got a diamondback mlok 15" free float for $45 at Primary Arms last summer. Works fine for me. They have a lot of sales

I am trying to learn this stuff, what makes one handguard $50 and one $200?

Materials
Coatings
Rigidity
Complexity

But probably
Mostly marketing and name

Same reason folks buy a Harley instead of a honda

Have you seen the price of Hondas lately? 😊

Marketing and branding have a lot to do with the cost - the name sells sometimes mo' betta than the product qualities do.

But - reality, the cost difference is alloy of the metal used - better alloy, more cost - you'll pull accessories off of cheap rails when the soft metal gives way.

Complexity of the handguard - how much machining does it take to make the tube, cut the rails, any mounting points for slings, etc.

Proprietary parts - to use "our rail", you have to use "our barrel nut", or "our barrel nut wrench" - or both.

Hardware - cheap rails "generally" have cheap hardware - either off-sized (the one metric allen wrench you don't have), or are soft metal - they strip out in the head, or in the rail mounts - as noted above.

An noted - metal finish - "hard anodized" verses "baked on" verses "painted" - they all have a different half-life.

Its doesn't take a "combat tour" to have some of these problems show up - it can be as simple as bump going to and from the range, or in and out of the truck.

Good question. If I were in your shoes and wanted a good handguard for a BCM upper, I'd look at buying a BCM handguard. You said 15", look at the MCMR. Its an excellent handguard. Very tough, yet lightweight and slim. I'm running a KMR on my BCM. That is the key mod version, and I like it. Be warned though, you need a heat gun to mount it to the receiver:


If you are wanting a more budget friendly handguard that also works very well, look up KM Tactical. They have some nice ones at very reasonable prices (under $100). Here's one that does not need to be timed and locks up very securely on the upper:



This one in particular was less than $90. I used it and it works great. Fit up was good, but there was a slight misalignment with the rail:

Not too noticeable, but it was there. I think that is where you see the price difference in hanguards. More attention to detail is met with the upper end stuff. Like Troy, BCM and Noveske..

One thing that needs to be said about the UTG pro series is they are made in the USA. Or at least they were when I bought the one for my Armalite. It seems to be a good handguard, but is a little sharp. Not quite like a cheese grater, but still a little sharp.


They aren't bad for the money..

BTDT. After buying my S&W performance center and finding the barrel loose because those idiots didn't tighten down the barrel nut. Scary huh? I tried to find a damn barrel nut wrench for that Alpha rail with no damn luck. I made one that works very well, but before cutting this one out, I ordered one on line. I didn't want to wait a week to shoot my new rifle, so I cut this one out with the plasma..:


After that ordeal, I prefer a barrel nut that takes a crescent wrench or standard sized wrench.. My Noveske NSR's just use a 27mm or 1 1/16" open end wrench.

I like the 13” BCM mcmr in FDE as the receiver set is anodized green

So that could be cool

Can’t find in stock anywhere though.

Some of them are Chinesium junk. Some of them aren't.

Replace "name" with "reputation based on years of producing high quality products".

I buy "the name" all the time. Because of what all has gone into building that name.

If you can handle it being a little on the heavy side, WOA's handguards are very good & are a best value at $140, but you will need a tool unless you can make something work.

Rugged, smooth & a very good steel barrel nut.

I've used a couple of them now.

MM

Truest post ever made Blue.