Seeing so many rail questions going on with different types and manufacturers, I have a question that I have yet to find an answer on.
Rail length. I am seeing different lengths, and different variants, is there a benefit of a full length over the small or mid size or is it just a preference?
What did you not get from those 2 threads? I think Iraqgunz covered it in post 2. It depends on your need. Advantages will go to the reliability of the rail. IMO depends on what you want to add onto your rails ( a light, VFG etc) also the way you hold the rifle… Different strokes for different folks. The advantage will change person to person. Also weight and profile can also influence people’s decisions. There is a thread floating around now about low profile rails, check that out for some more info.
I think I need to be more specific, my apologies about that. Why a full length rail? My perspective is, you can accomplish the same thing with a shorter rail as told by iraqguns. So other then all the real estate, is there another advantage I am just not seeing?
That does by tons! There is more to then just the real estate. Which is what I was originally thinking. In those threads I posted, I was thinking the only advantage was gaining more slots. If that was the case, then why spend the extra for it. Now understanding the other aspects it clarifies some of the fog.
The same three parts bolted to a handguard don’t require any more slots whether they go on a carbine or rifle length hand guard. Some people prefer the longer handguards for ergonomics. This is why you are seeing the development of the low profile handguards with moveable short rail sections or direct-attachment of accessories.
That was my original line of thinking. One of those “Why do I need to put a light way out there at the end of my rifle?” Not fully understanding that there were other aspects. With the added info, I was able to get a better idea, of some of the theories. Some report better control of the rifle having their preferred method as close to the barrel end as possible, as one type of example. There were tons of threads about that subject alone on the improvements they gained.
