Hi, i’m on my way in completing my AR build. I decided to go with the MI free float and traditionally I would go with a pinned front sight base.
Question: if I install a low profile gas block with flip up front sites on the free float handguard is it going to be as durable,reliable, and rugged as an FSB
Thanks in advance
No, of course, it wont be as rugged and reliable as a solid steel FSB pinned directly to the barrel.
However the bigger question is weather it matters on not and increasingly it doenst matter as much since optics are the primary sighting system more and more. This trend is even more apparent in weapons used by US and Western SOF - as they pretty much all use longer FF rails with folding BUIS of one sort of another.
I am of the personal opinion that for durability in the extreme the FSB is going to be hard to beat on an AR. However, that said, I don’t think that most of us on here are going to beat the holy living shit out of a rifle to where fold down BUIS are going to break or lose their zero. That said, I think it was Pat Rogers who has been quoted, “Never give up a fixed front sight base in exchange for rail space.” Or something to that effect.
It’s a moving part, I doubt it will be as reliable or durable as a FSB. If you using a free float handguard I would think both choices go against the whole idea of a free float. Free float handguards seem best for someone using an optic with folding sights. The whole gas block with folding sight seems like the best thing to use if you are using a drop in handguard and an optic. If you are using a true free float I suggest you use a pure gas block and either folding sights with an optic or irons like the Daniel Defense on the rail itself. Is your handguard a true free float or a drop in rail? I like the Troy better than the MI, they are both on sale on many sites right now.
I vote FSB…
The subject of FSB v. rail mounted sights has been discussed numerous times and the Pros and Cons of each.