Anyone ever set up their AR15 like this?

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Or seen it done by someone else?

-16" lightweight bbl

-Carbine gas system & Carbine-length hand guards (and lo-pro / lightweight gas block)

-With extra non-gas-block "dissipator-style" front sight up by the muzzle?


In order to get the extra sight radius of a 20" or dissipator, but retain the lighter weight of shorter handguards? It would look strange indeed but be quite functional I think.

 

[Eightball]

With the CAR handguards, no. You lose part of the point of a dissy if you don't have the extra hand-hold space to go with your improved sight radius.

And frankly, if you're going to have a separate gas block unit in a dissy, it makes no sense to NOT go with a mid-length getup--you won't be able to tell anything but positive difference (operating pressures, etc), and it's still just as hidden under the rifle-length handguards.

But a handguard setup far short of the FSB is not a getup I've even seen offered by a reputable manufacturer.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

But what if you don't NEED/USE the extra handhold space with your particular style of shooting? Or would it be too front-heavy with a "carbine-length hold" as your pivot point, with that big steel front sight out there?

And a carbine system IS a bit lighter than a mid-length, is it not, particularly as far as the handguards are concerned? And I don't mean hiding the gas block at all - nothing is hidden, using the shortest possible handguards.

What about an *aluminum* lightweight front sight, since it doesn't have to function as a gas block - anyone make such a beast? I'm focusing on lightest possible weight here, while retaining maximum sight radius.

Probably a dumb idea.

 

[benEzra]

I would expect that the weight of the extra gas block would exceed the weight difference between CAR-length handguards and midlength or full-length handguards. The handguards are thin fiberglass or zytel, IIRC, and don't weigh much at all, though I don't have any figures handy.

The setup you describe might save significant weight if you were considering a quad-rail setup, though.

 

[Dan Crocker]

I've always wondered about that. You basically lose out on having extra sight radius by having that 6" or so of barrel sticking out past the gas block. I understand that to maintain pressure that the gas port from the barrel to the gas tube needs to be set back from the end, but having some sort of setup that moves the front sight further towards the end of the barrel would be interesting.

 

[Zak Smith]

I've seen one or two -- generally older 3Gun rifles set up for "Limited" class either set up that way because they were built before the ML gas system and low-pro gas blocks were available, or because the builder was "cheap." IMO, no reason to do this on purpose.