Best Quadrail....Help

[kenken]

What, in y'alls opinion, would be the best quadrail handguard for the money? I am not a Seal or Special Ops, I just want a quality piece. I would like to put a laser on it at some point and an angled fore grip on it. Would a free float be better, as far as holding 'zero', than a 2 piece replacement? It is not going to be a competition gun or anything like that. I have been wanting an M4 style for a while and have just aquired me a brand new Colt le6920. And I like the look of the quadrail.

It usually only cost a little more to go first class.

kenken

 

[Ludasmith]

I'm guessing a free float would hold a better zero because it's not under spring tension like 2 piece replacement. I can't say for sure though as I have no experience with them other than my Magpul replacements.

Troy makes a nice free float setup, as does Daniel Defense and LaRue. Really, any of the American made names are good although YHM and some others are typically heavier (and cheaper price).

I have a Troy on my other AR and it's a very nice piece. Not a quad rail, just a continuous top with sections I can add in on the sides and bottom to put stuff where ever I want it. I like it better than the YHM true quad rail I had on my first ever build.

My friend has a Daniel Defense rail that allows use of the stock front sight and is pretty cool. It's a free float and goes out past the front sight.

 

[TurtlePhish]

I had a YHM Diamond free float rail- it was nice, and well made. You need a proprietary wrench for the jam nut, though.

 

[JoeMal]

Daniel Defense makes awesome rails

 

[The War Wagon]

Daniel Defense makes awesome rails

I can second that - I have a 12.0 Lite on one build, and a 12.0 FSP Omega-X on another. Both are GREAT kit!

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Best how? What do you want out of it? Do you NEED four full rails? Or can you get by with a slick tube with optional bolt-on rails? Do you want built-in sling points? Do you want a built-in front BUIS? How long of a rail do you want/need? Is weight a factor? Do you need a rail that runs up against the upper receiver or is a gap okay? You need to sit down and make a list of features you want or require, then go from there. Asking "what rail should I get?" is about as specific as "what car should I get?". You have the 6920 which limits you to a carbine-length rail system unless you cut the FSB or go with a cutout rail, if you wished to go longer. There are a lot of answers but you need to ask a few more questions.

Almost all rails manufactured today are free-float. There are several legacy rails by KAC that aren't free-float and a few airsoft-oriented brands which are cheapies and shouldn't be considered. The point of the free float rail is to not exert any pressure on the barrel when shooting offhand, with a sling, or on barricade where pressure will be placed on the handguard. A traditional handguard is going to flex the barrel because it's attached at both ends of the handguard, which in turn changes point of impact.

 

[basicblur]

From a pragmatist...

I finally broke down and installed a rail on a spare AR last year (all my others have round handguards)-didn't want the hassle and expense of a free floater, and since I was turning it into a HD gun, a free floater sounds like a bit of overkill.

After researching, I went with a Midwest Industries 2-piece drop-in.
Seems to be rock solid, and I've beat on it and applied quite a bit of pressure and can detect no flex/slop, etc.
I mounted a SIG StopLite on it (also my first VFG), and the laser seems to still be zeroed after beating on it.

Think I paid just over $100 for mine from a third party vendor.
I see Midwest has their Gen 1 rails (which mine is) on clearance for $99 including shipping (bottom of page). Don't know what the difference between the Gen 1 and 2 is other than I see Gen 2 has the bridge on the top rail, which I don't particularly care for.