Ar 15 trends

Rails on hand guards were a big thing several years ago.

More common now are M-Lok and to a lesser degree keymod grips that have a rail on the top but slots on the side.

They do away with what you refer to as cheese grater.

As for the longer grips. I just put an AR together with a 15” grip. I like it as it allows me to extend my weak hand out and get a more stable grip.

I agree I do not like rails on the sides or bottom of forends. I recently put a new forend on mine. I went from a 12" vented tube to a 15" keymod one. I actually bought this to go on my 20" 223 upper to save some weight but thought I would try it on my 16" 7.62x39 upper instead. It is keymod but the only thing I will be putting on it is a bipod mount.

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after



I'm kind of indifferent as to the looks of them but I do like the narrower grip and being able to put my hand further out toward the muzzle seams to help my offhand shooting.

I can't see a need for anything longer than a 15" forend though regardless of barrel length. With the 15" it feels good offhand with my hand right at the end of the rail, which coincidentally I have been seeing run and gun competitors using this form.

Recall - telescoping stocks were illegal until Sept of 2004, so it’s not so surprising to some of us to see them as a “recent trend.” AR’s as a whole were relatively neutered during the 1994 Federal AWB, and there really weren’t many folks building them throughout that decade. We’ve come a LONG ways in ~13.5yrs, with dozens of new manufacturers and hundreds of new companies founded to pump out AR’s and components. The early 2000’s saw the first boom for 3 Gun competition, which drove even greater demand for customization of the average AR. Throw the sunset of the original patents in there as well which opened the door to these new manufacturers.

You also need to consider the evolution of media coverage in this time - wartime reporting and coverage changed dramatically in the 80’s and 90’s, and visibility of M16/M4’s in the hands of America’s fighting men and women during Desert Storm and the subsequent conflicts increased markedly. We transitioned from a generation of soldiers who didn’t like to talk about their service in Nam, and who also denigrated the Mattel Mouse Rifle, into a generation of folks who saw the platform fighting and succeeding around the world. Layer onto that the permeation of loosely-historical video games, which evolved into modern conflict eras, and have been around long enough a new generation of firearm buyers played these games as young adults. The Enfields, Garands, M1a’s, M1 Carbines were all popular after their wars, why would we expect any different from the AR platform?

And of course, the AR wouldn’t be praised for its strength in versatility if it weren’t for folks being dissatisfied with its original chambering. When these folks started developing new cartridges to make the base platform more effective, it opened the door to a much broader audience. The inherent serviceability in the design lent itself to easy cartridge conversion, so when these folks pioneered new cartridges in the early 2000’s, we’re left now 10-15yrs later with seemingly endless PROVEN options.

It also has the luxury of a small case, such it is universally low in recoil, which makes it “casual gun owner friendly.” Much like the 38spcl, the light 5.56/223 isn’t particularly potent, but that’s part of the allure - it’s potent enough without being punishing. And inexpensive to feed as well...

Add this all up, and you get guys like me who are quick to point out the fact all AR’s are AR’s, but no two AR’s are really the same...

Young industries evolve. The AR market is young.

I like 15" handguards, but I don't like excess pictinney. I like M-Lok over KeyMod, mainly for looks and feel. The M-Lok allows one to have a smoothe area to place one's support hand and on a 15" rail it allows one to get their hand out towards the muzzle for support and a longer sight radius on BUIS if one so desires on a 16" barrel'd rifle. The handguards I use have short 2" of pictinney in front of the upper receiver and the last 2" of the rail near the muzzle for sight placement, other than that it is smoothe M-Lok which is comfortable to the hand but allows one to place a short M-Lok pictinney rail anywhere something is needed (i.e. flashlight, laser, thermal, etc)

I think you distaste rails comes out of the quad rails of 5 years ago and more, and I agree those were cheese graters, heavy and obtrusive, at least to my tastes and desires. I prefer as slim a handguard as will fit over a lower profile adjustable gas block and call it good.

Here is a picture of the handguard I like, it eliminates a lot of unneeded weight (one of the lightest in it's size and class only weights 9.3 oz with barrel nut for the 15") and only has pictinney where most needed, everything else is smoothed out to feel good in the hand, and comes with a couple of QD attachments.

I can understand the longer handguards on rifles where the user wants the suppressor inside the guard. I can also see them being usefull for guys that like to hold as far forward as possible, or who bang their rifles into stuff, or shoot from improvised rest like barricades or other things.

Personally I dislike quad rails, and guards longer than necessary to cover the gas tube. I also only want one or two places to add picatinny rails. Thus I buy alot of the slim keymod handguards.

Slim keymods are my go to for most builds, but I put longer than gas system forends on uppers that will have a bipod. Don't like a bunch of junk hanging on my rifle, so i leave off the extra rail chunks except for a light mount.

Fixed buttstocks are out there, just not as many. I like the Magpul MOE fixed rifle stock.
Primary Arms has them on sale for $55.99 right now.


When it comes to rails, I prefer the 15 inch ones but I used a 12 inch on this one to show off the barrel and keep the rifle light.

I don't like quad rails, but I do like for an MLOK hand guard to be as long as possible. Part of this is asthetics. I just think the rifle's lines look cleaner and the weight added is minimal. The second part is being able to grip the rifle as far forward as possible. I've got long arms and I like to reach out and grab that hand guard towards the outer ends of my reach. I feel like the rifle is much more controllable that way. It really comes down to personal preference though. My 6.5 Grendel has such a hand guard as does my 6.8 and most of my 5.56s.

Rails were and are the answer for military and certain LE and even civilian applications. They address the need for devices like lights, optics, and night vision modules or lasers, and other items, like forward grips, hand stops, etc. They all work well for these applications. The majority of the items mounted on handguard rails primarily address the issue of engaging targets in the dark, as human vision isn't good for this, while at the same time dealing with the reality that the mil and LE are expected to fight, win, and survive 24/7 in all conditions. The night vision component of mounting rails is applicable for those who want to "pay to play" for civilians (where allowed) for hunting applications such as coyotes, wild hogs, and the like, as well as for those who just want to shoot targets in the dark for whatever reasons.
Regarding buttstocks, VLTOR and others make collapsible stocks that have flat bottoms to facilitate shooting pron with a rear bag or other support.
As far as the trend in longer handguards that reach almost to the muzzle, these things will allow the shooter to move his or her support hand further forward and enhance stability. I am a fan of them, and if you look at what 3 gun competitors, and even at what is used on the weapons used in the Special Ops community, you will see that this "trend" works.

It's not that one needs all that rail space, but that you want your accessories as far forward as possible. Having back up sights, lights, and lasers further out tend to work better.

I also like my support hand further out as well. Helps keep things stable especially fast transitions.

Damon555 said:

Good points gentlemen. That's the great thing about our hobby....we can build 'em like we like 'em. I was just wondering about the logic behind some of the more outlandish designs.....The hand guards posted in the pictures above are all actually quite nice looking IMO. Although you swapped it out someguy I especially like the clean look of the hand guard in your first picture....although the replacement is not bad looking either.

I do have a follow up question....How exactly do the accessories affix to the Keymod and Mlock stocks?......I suppose a simple internet search will reveal the concept........

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You buy either M-Lok or Keymod accessories, and they have differing ways of attachment. Here's an article that explains in great detail the differences Lucky Gunner Article.

Your boy in your profile reminds me a lot of mine, he had curly blonde hair when he was 2.

How much useless junk can you put on a rifle.

Here's my example of function over form.

Photo 1 depicts my 8.5" pistol with a 7" handguard and handstop near the muzzle. Nice fit for support hand. Edit: Had already removed handstop but you can see the diffence in length.

When they become available, I will be mounting a Crimson Trace CMR-300 which is a 300 lumen / green laser combo up front and below. The device is approx 2.5" long. Even with the handstop removed, which it will be, my support hand will be in an awkward location.

Therefore, I installed a 9" (actually 9 9/16") handguard (photo 2). This will put me back to being very close to my original hand position. In order to accomplish this, I installed a Kaw Valley linear compensator so that it sends the "blast" forward and not partially into the handguard as would the A2 style muzzle device short of clocking it 180*.

Perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing to some but it will work as I intend it to. Very limited role for it but the layout is just right for me.

The handstop will be removed and the light will actually mount a tad more forward.

This is a couple with Alexander Arms handguards. Smooth, with 10-32 inserts for adding pic rails where you want them. They ain't cheap and pic rails are too high to be real, so I buy the longest rails I can find, cut and drill to fit.

Quads are a bit much for most civilians but to each their own. One benefit of many free float style handguards is they're typically slimmer than the waffle / old school military style. That alone can make them very appealing to folks.

Remember that rails come in different weights and sizes.
These three rails are all different. The top two are slim ultralight, 15 and 13.5 inches. If you notice the center section of the top rail has been cut flat.
The bottom rail is a 15” lightweight.


My side charger has an 18” barrel and a 17” ultralight rail. The butt stock is a fixed Ace Skeleton.


My son’s AR has a slim lightweight rail by Gun-Tec


I set this one up for a friend. It’s a fat 13” quad rail.


Here is a Troy Industries slim rail.


My daughter likes the wider rails and purple.


This is an older Diamond Head rail. It’s a little heavier but feels great.


And here’s a lightweight I got from PSA.

Damon555 said:

Although you swapped it out someguy I especially like the clean look of the hand guard in your first picture....although the replacement is not bad looking either.

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Your little guy must have been cute as a button too. Scout was probably 2 or 2 1/2 when that picture was taken.....not that long ago really, he'll be 5 in June. He was a lot more fun back then.....lol He's too smart for his own good now! And he never shuts up!.....Never! I sure hope when he gets in school they can handle him. His energy is just endless........typical of kids his age I guess......but he can plumb wear you out! But I love him dearly....our little bundle of joy that showed up when his mom and I were both 43!
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Tell me about it I have a 2 1/2 year old girl that has not sat still for 10 seconds since the day she was born and jabbers like a chipmunk! I sure hope she calms down a bit before she goes to school so they don't try to put her on Ritalin, which I will not do. Me and her have tons of fun.

last year ice fishing,


this year ice fishing






Oh yeah, and here is an AR

Kind of an aside, the free float evolution seems to be 3Gun driven.

But also there seems to be movement back to original "clone type" rifles. Makes sense, if everybody has "X" people will get something different and I see more IDF and M4 and AR15A4 clones being built.

I think the varmint hunters are the ones that really started the free float push. Thats how I remember it anyway.

someguy2800 said:

I think the varmint hunters are the ones that really started the free float push. Thats how I remember it anyway.

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I agree that does/did drive it originally. It just seems the way forward wrap around hand grip used in 3Gun works the best with these thin FF rails. Trend seems to be a wee bit heavier for these race guns compared to varmint guns. Trends, tastes and fads change like the seasons and at some point everything old is new again.

One thing for sure whatever AR you want you can build it, now. Anything a persons heart desires and that's pretty cool.

Damon555 said:

ponchh.....The 20" 6.5 Grandel upper that I have coming is an AA. While it just has their basic hand guard it's exactly what I wanted. The one you have pictured looks nice....I just didn't really care to pay for the upgrade when their plane jane one will work great for me.

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They are the same handguards, one has holes the other doesn't. The best thing about them is they don't get hot after several rounds.