I just finished my last upper AR15 build. I was aiming at spending the least amount of money possible and at the same time a low weight.
On my search for a 12" free float barrel handguard, I came across so many of them in the $100 plus side and some as high as $300.
Finally I decided on a $65 one by AeroPrecision, but when I got it I discovered that it had a 2" diameter!!! It was like holding a big salami. Didn't like it but I cannot put the design or the quality of manufacture down as it was designed for being able to house a suppressor inside.
I checked e-bay and found one for $28, (not a misprint) and ordered it. At that price I could risk it and throw it away if it was found to be unsatisfactory.
I received it Saturday. The design is pretty good, with good quality black matte anodizing. A little sharp on the ends but I intended to paint it anyways, so I took the sharpness away with 300 wet sandpaper.
The installation was straightforward (comes with its own barrel nut).
For $28, I love it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/201831097759?_tr...EBIDX%3AIT
For the first time I'm using a Chinese made part in one of my builds. I don't feel comfortable about it, but $150 or so difference for a product made here is very significant.
While building my father-in-law's Grendel we too were trying to go inexpensive where we could and so tried to find blems, sales and discounts wherever possible. Obviously I didn't want to cut corners on parts that really mattered. Chandler Hardwoods Inc. has a lot of options and their blems are very inexpensive - But still all made in the USA. I got him a 13" Foxtrot Lightweight Keymod handguard for $35 which seemed crazy to me, but it is not bad (shipping for just this one part was $12 which was too bad, but it came in two days) As a bonus I don't have to time the barrel nut with the gas tube/gas block. Worth a look at least. http://www.chandlerhardwoods.com/category-s/1837.htm
I bought a Rousch Sports handguard. Might be worth checking out. Several members here have bought parts from them. The only disadvantage I can find on my Rousch Sports handguard is anti rotation tabs. The barrel nut could come loose and let the handguard turn. I haven't experienced this problem but I'm not using this 6.5 Grendel for defense. If the barrel nut comes loose I could use thread locker. I used enough torque I don't think the barrel nut will come loose but this handguard was very easy to install.
Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your input. It drove me to inquire various sources about the use of Airsoft equipment in real AR15s.
After reading and reading and reading I came to the following conclusion: Yes, there are items that can be used, specially furniture and some iron sights without jeopardizing safety. Others, and in particular this case, the barrel nut, being made out of aluminum, might be a problem.
To make sure, I did buy a handguard from Rousch that looks exactly the same as the one I had purchased from E-Bay and I will compare. The one from Rousch comes with a steel nut, so I found a steel nut to go with the E-Bay handguard and bought it also. This will allow me to make a final assessment of the differences. I will keep y'all informed of my findings. Meanwhile I will abstain from using my new upper.
By the way, this type of handguard is part of what is called the NSR System. (Haven't checked on that yet).
NSR is a handguard system marketed by Noveske.
The dimensions and built of the cheap Chinese one, the Noveske or the low priced handguard marketed by Rousch seem to be identical. Soon I will be able to compare the Rousch one against the cheapo one.
Another piece of knowledge I was able to pick, is on the matter of the apparent lack of anti-rotation means. It happens that this design incorporates and uses a 9/16" pin between the handguard and the receiver. I disassembled mine today and yes, there, in the back end of the handguard, is the little hole to hold the pin. Noveske sold their receivers with the matching hole already drilled.
VASCAR2: In a matter of half an hour, I measured, centered and drilled the hole in the receiver and made the pin out of a section of a 9/16" drill bit. Now my build has an anti-rotating pin installed.
I read that Noveske and sombody else invented the Key_Mod sytem. What is not clear, is if Noveske actually made the handguards in house or adopted a design already in production and marketed it with the Noveske logo. The sad part would be if Noveske invented the whole thing, gave it to a Chinese firm for manufacture and now his design is plagiarized.....but we really don't know and probably never will.
05-03-2017, 05:31 PM (This post was last modified: 05-03-2017, 08:23 PM by 85_Ranger4x4.)
TheDroz66 Wrote:While building my father-in-law's Grendel we too were trying to go inexpensive where we could and so tried to find blems, sales and discounts wherever possible. Obviously I didn't want to cut corners on parts that really mattered. Chandler Hardwoods Inc. has a lot of options and their blems are very inexpensive - But still all made in the USA. I got him a 13" Foxtrot Lightweight Keymod handguard for $35 which seemed crazy to me, but it is not bad (shipping for just this one part was $12 which was too bad, but it came in two days) As a bonus I don't have to time the barrel nut with the gas tube/gas block. Worth a look at least. http://www.chandlerhardwoods.com/category-s/1837.htm
My grendel is getting the 13" Foxtrot MLock handguard from Chandler. For $57 and being made in the US it is hard to beat, especially being MLock. I think it is a fairly new offering so no blems or anything. Still a lot of bang for your buck though.
Check out "keymod steel barrel nut" on ali express. Some of you will be terrified. Some of you will probably laugh. Thinking about using my credit card info online is one thing. Sending it directly to Chi-nah, um you really gotta want it. https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?cat...barrel+nut
Steamburn, you can get a steel barrel nut for your NSR clone or get a NSR clone with a steel barrel nut there. Some very nice handguards use aluminum barrel nuts. These are not very nice handguards but they could be a fantastic deal and be worth way more than what you pay for it. I didn't just play airsoft, I lived it. Over ten years of thrashing gear in the woods some holds up some doesn't. So its not that most airsoft stuff is not good enough, its usually well made. Would I use that NSR clone in hostage interdiction? Am I interdicting hostages? If I ran in to a tree with my Geissele and it broke, is it quality control? Make sure people back their product, take returns, provide service... you're not going to get that with ali express with return shipping to china and some language barriers. But there are steel barrel nuts for $10 shipped. You might also want to checkout the Matrix Arms keymod. $60 for a 15" from a US retailer. Check out some reviews and note the color difference.
Wow and I thought I was cheap! You guys should check out the Matrix rail available from Joebob's. It's quite slim and is very well built. They have a few different designs on Joebob's with differently cut ends. You'll need a wrench of some sort that will fit 1-3/16" to tighten the (included) barrel nut. I bought a crow's foot off Amazon for $12 bucks and torqued it to spec.
Their 13" is $65 bucks. This is the 15" (On top). An added bonus is they are actually built for real rifles, not airsoft:
VASCAR2 Wrote:Sounds like a good idea on the anti rotation mod for Rousch handguard Steamburn. If I take my handguard off I may do the mod to mine.
I just received the Rousch handguard and it is not identical. It lacks the anti-rotation pin hole and weighs 241 g. The ebay one weighs 225 g.
The steel nut that came with the Rousch, fits perfectly inside the ebay one and weighs 99.1 g.
One step that a lot of the cheap key mod rails have in common is the backside of the key mod cut outs. The cheap ones generally do not have the proper bevel to properly fit key mod items, they usually have no bevel at all. It may look good but you really cannot depend on it to hold.
Finally I found some time to photograph and compare the eBay vs Rousch handguards.
They ended up being similar but not identical. The differences were significant. The Rousch one is heavier at 244 g while the eBay one weighs only 227 g. Also the Rousch barrel nut is heavier at 95 g, vs 79 g for the one from eBay.
The barrel nuts are not mutually compatible, as the distance from the end of the handguard to the screws are different as you can see in the pictures.
The difference in weight is not much and in practice doesn't make much difference.
A minus point is given to the Rousch one for not having either anti-rotation tabs or pin, but as stated by 85_Ranger 4x4, there is a very little chance of the nut/handguard rotating once the nut is torqued correctly.
I left the Rousch nut and handguard in place because the steel nut from eBay did not come in the mail until just a couple of days ago, and as I stated before, no big difference.
In the first picture, you can see the details of the pin hole in the ebay specimen and in the second one the hole I made in the upper to match.
In the comparative side by side picture you can see the difference distance of the screw holes from the butt end if the handguards.
Again I reiterate, that the differences are so small that either is OK, but one thing is for sure, I will never buy again expensive handguards.
NB: Notice the difference in weights against what was posted before. Paint made the difference.
Lastrites,
The Rousch one has the bevels. The one from ebay does not, so I tried installing in the ebay a picatinny rail and it went in without problems and tightened well.
![[Image: 33485816394_f461297841_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2891/33485816394_f461297841_c.jpg)
