I used to carry an M4 with rails, a VFG and a Scout light and on long calls found it too heavy. I currently carry a KAC SR-15 E3 with a Surefire X300 and recently ditched the VFG.
After playing with a completely stock 6920 I’m thinking of ditching the KAC and going to a stock 6920 with a X300 on it somewhere (bolted to FSB?) to just keep it basic. I’ve come to accept the reality that while free float tube is cool its not necessary for the distance I’m likely to be taking shots and the rails are in reality totally useless to me.
Have I lost it?
I think I’m just getting sick of how complicated M4’s have become.
I am almost in the same boat with you - I went with the Magpul forend to mount a VFG, and am using a Mossie Mount for my light. I like the smoother, easier to grip forend and the reduced weight. Go for it.
Yes you have lost it!!! Haha! Everybody has their own “thing” that they like though. I personally love the length of reach rails give me. To me it just feels right. Probably because it is all I have ever known. I will definitely have a bone stock Colt plus a light and sling sometime in the future. There is something about it that intrigues me. It couldn’t be my only option though. Just me.
I don’t think you’ve lost it at all. My DDM4 V7 has no rails other than the permanent one on top. Mount-n-slot QD for the sling. Mount-n-slot for the flashlight. Nice, smooth and light.
I would have easily went for a 6920 with an MOE front and the same setup if I could have found a 6920 anywhere at the time I bought my DD.
I did basically the same thing. I started with the MOE, went to rails, and them immediately came back. If I used anything else on my rails other than a weapon light I might have liked them, but I generally run pretty slick so it was a waste of money and space for me.
You haven’t lost your mind. After humping my work gun (colt with kac rails, flash light, VFG and Comp M4) and realizing that is even no fun on a long haul especially with plates ammo and a sidearm I built my personal with the MOE handgaurds, MOE scout mount with an MX3 on there for now, Comp M4 and a VFG which Im still debating on because I use the front lip as a hand stop with these handgaurds. Yes its not free float but for my needs its perfect, light weight and increases my mobility which is always a plus.
One of my 6920s has the Troy TRX extreme 10 or whatever, inch tube with just two short rail pieces. One for my light and the other for my vertical grip. I’d probably just use a hand stop instead, but i like the battery storage in the grip.
My other 6920 had a DD Omega on it right now, but I’ll probably replace that with the newer Troy Delta. Basically a two piece extended TRX, just like the DD FSP 12.5 without the rails. Just to hold my light and grip, and let me reach out just a bit further.
I like to have my hand at or just behind the gas block on a carbine gas system.
My wife’s carbine just has mid length MOE hand guards with one short rail piece for the light. She doesn’t like the vertical grip at all.
If you aren’t going to use all that rail space, then one of the smooth handguards that lets you customize makes a lot of sense. Or if you don’t want a free float, the MOE or even the stock round or oval hand guards makes sense. I like the MOE because I find them to be more comfortable, look better, and easier to add a light too.
And since I mentioned it, one of the reasons I like the TRX, or the new DD MRF is that I like the way they look. If I can have equal functionality and one looks better, I’ll most likely go with the one that I like the look of better. Seems a win-win to me.
I did this, and am coming out of it to some extent.
In 2008 I spent the whole year shooting an AK in matches and classes instead of the AR I was used to. When I got done I had a greater appreciation for a basic carbine and also began to question why I had done the things I had on the guns that I had, which led to a move “backwards”. I used the Magpul MOE though, for the most part, rather than the standard A2 or M4 parts.
The thing is, after doing all this I still come back to my carbine with the DD M4 10.0, thanks largely to the Larue Index Clips which I think are the best rail covers going.
For my own use, I’ve never had any need or desire for rails on my handguards. I honestly don’t know what I’d do with them. To be quite truthful, I’ve not liked them from the first time they came out.
I do think the railed upper and the free float tube are two of the best thing to happen to the AR.
Here is a picture of my first AR, bought back in the 90’s. Believe it or not, it’s still all original. I was told by someone once that I must the only unmodified AR in the country. I sold it to a younger family member to help him get started
My two current ARs. Look Ma! No rails!
You’ve gotta configure your rifle the way you want it. If it works, who cares if it’s crazy?
I was just issued a new 6920 and it came stock. Dept put on a vickers sling (padded version) and I have been testing both out.
So far I like the sling but don’t care for the added pad. The lack of a rail is a non-issue since before I had a 7" free float.
Now that I am shooting with my support hand much farther forward I think I am going to go back to a rail and opt for something extended. Either the new Troy Delta or switch out to a gas block and go with a TRX or Alpha rail.
I need another month of shooting before I make that decision for sure but right now it is leaning that way. The ONLY purpose I see for that is to keep my hand off the barrel bottom when I am shooting.
So, the jury is still out. I have pretty much eliminated full quad rails from consideration after finger banging a TRX equipped gun.
I’d say that any business AR absolutely needs two add-ons: a light and a good way to mount your sling. If the need dictates otherwise, just add items as necessary.
This is crazy since I have begun this path myself. I started everything off with a colt 6920, then moved to putting rail on it, then sold that off to go with a DD upper with Mid length gas and RIS II. This is a great combination with a lightweight barrel. However, I have found that I dont need most of the things on the rail. I stopped using the VFG, now all that is on the rail is a sling and flashlight. The simplicity of moving back to a A-frame fixed sight base in a mid-length MOE configuration appeals to me so much that yesterday I ordered a BCM BHF lightweight with fixed front sight and MOE handguards. For me, the rail is just an extra complication that adds weight and no functionality to me. In attempting to strip everything down to only what I need, I found out that I dont NEED the rail and its capability to attach many things on it since I dont attach much at all to it at all.
I’m kind of in the same boat. I don’t run PEQs, NV, copious amounts of foregrips, multiple lights, etc. However, i don’t want to necessarily ditch a free float for a couple reasons.
it kind of defeats the purpose of something like a SS or CHF barrel that has great inherent accuracy.
I like running my support hand as far out as possible. On something like an AK, it’s less of an issue because of the fixed stock, but on ARs I prefer running the stock as collapsed as possible. Sure, you can do something like a Dissipator with plastic handguards, but if you run optics then the extra FSB is more or less dead weight. Longer rail = shorter stock.
Then there’s a third - that may or may not apply to the user. Cost. To dump a rail (some) you have to purchase the plastic handguard and all the connections (barrel nut, delta ring, etc) to make it work.
I feel like the tube style - or Brazilian as Rob humorously calls them - really is a good option for many who don’t mount a bunch of stuff on their guns. They have their own flaws though.
I dunno, I’ve been thinking about handguards too much lately. I’ve got 2 14.5" lightweight barrels on hand, so I’m over analyzing what I feel like I want and need out of additional ARs.
My working and shooting guns have standard GI type hand guards on them. I bolt on a section of rail for a light on most, but I don’t use a VFG or railed sling attachment.
I’ve gone back and forth with an internal rail-or-no dialogue, and always seem to come back to the lighter weight, lesser expense, and simplicity.
Nothing wrong with rails if that’s what you need, however, and I’m not a pundit of them.
