Free Floating Handgaurd vs Nont Free Floating?

AR/M4 AR Technical Discussion
1

Being an admitted NOOB to the AR-15 M4 Carbine rifles, I am reading post after post on this site and I have seen the argument of a free floating being better than a non free floating. My problem is that I dont understand what the dif is? Drop to my level…lets say the level of an idiot for the sake of this question. My Stag 1L M4-Carbine and my Charles Daly Defense D-M4 M4 Carbine both have 1-9 barrels and both have the OEM style plastic 2-piece hand gaurds. I remove the handgaurds during cleaning, so I am familiar with the wave washers keeping spring pressure on the rear of the hand gaurds that keeps the front and rear trapped inside of the retention device.

Now, in my mind, I picture a “free float” handgaurd as one that the front is not jammed into that retention ring, rather it is suspended out and way from the barrel and thus limiting the recoil induced energy from being introduced to the part. Based on my assumption, I also would expect a less rigid part because it is not trapped on the front and rear ends like the stock plastic handgaurd…so I would expect more flex and movement…?

I want to get a 4 rail alluminum handgaurd for my CDD D-M4 and relocate the LED light that I have on the side of the front sight to the front of the lower rail, and behind that I want a verticle grip with bi-pod legs that can be lowered out of it. This is for me to use to practice longer shots, out past 75 yards. I have a large issue with bio-induced movement and trying to hold a target in sight while standing and aiming at anything out over the 70 yard point. I thought it would be interesting to see what I could do at 100 or 200 yards if I were able to steady the rifle on the bipod, but yet not always have the pi-pod visually hanging from the gun.

So the question is multi-facetted.

Can anyone explaine or show picts explianing the change from a free-float to a non free float so that my understanding is not based on my assumptions.

What cost effective (Quality/price=Value) quad rail would be suggested? I know you can go from $50 to $500 on this. I was thinking somewhere in the $150-$200 area. No plastic. Machined alluminum.

What cost effective (Again quality/price-value) verticle grip with bi-pod would be a good suggestion?

I dont want to buy some “Cheaper than dirt” plastic junk that cracks when the first pull of the trigger is over, but I dont want to buy based off of price and just slam $500 on a handgaurd because its the most expensive and therefor must be the best. Same for the vertical grip.

If I could keep this around $250 (+$50/-$50) I would be happy.

My next thing would be a scope for shooting out to about 400 yards max. Thats a long distance for the hills of Western PA., so dreaming of 400+ yard shoots are just not possable. I see 100-200 yards being my average long range shot.

I have a red dot, and I have the iron on the carry handle. Its a one or the other. I would also like to change that into a combo red-dot with a iron witness. Again, all of these things are so widely priced and I can’t tell a difference in them by looking at pictures on a website…any suggestions on the witness sight?

Larry

2

Least expensive quality FF tube I’d use you add rail pieces in the locations that you need them.

3

Your suggesting one of the VIKING TACTICS MODULAR HAND GUARD SYSTEM and then to the left of that is the JP TACTICAL RAIL KIT that you can pick and choose what size you want to bolt to the hand gaurd? I never have seen anything like that before.

The $150 price on the base unit is in the range. What of the 4 would be the best fit to the CDD D-M4 16" carbine?

Would you put the JPTR-C on the top and 3 of the JPTR-L (4" Sections) on the sides adn bottom?

That would be about $350 total, a bit more than I had envisioned, but not out of the question.

4

There’s some good comments on why to FF rails in this thread…

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=7766

5

I would attach a rail at the bottom for the grip pod you’re talking about using, and a short rail on the side since you mentioned a light. I think you mentioned putting the light on the bottom, in which case you’d only need a slightly longer bottom rail.

Brownells sells the system too. What you want is the carbine-length, and a 4" tactical rail to put on the bottom for your light and Grip-pod.

Personally, I’d put the Grip-pod on the bottom with one 2" rail, and the light on the side with another, but YMMV.

6

I have the light on the side right now with one of the front site picatinny rails. I dont like it there because it widens the overall profile and you have to remove it to put the gun in the hard case. I want to situate the light under so that I can store the gun in the hard case but be ready to go at a moments notice.

I dont want the light on top because it would force me to jack up the red dot to clear it, or I would have to do the dress/undress based on how I wanted it set up. I want to find a way to “set it and forget it” with the accessories.

7

What light is it?

Personally, I would never let my storage situation dictate my firearm setup unless I had a department mandated issue re: said storage.

In other words, I’d change my case to fit my gun, not my gun to fit my case.

8

I got a Streamlight TLR-1 mounted on the right hand side of the front site post. I have the hard case that came with the gun, and you can bend/flex the case around the gun with the light on, but I dont really want to crash the light by doing this. I got the light with the gun for $100 and the mount was $29. It was a good idea at the moment, but now I think a verticle grip with the TLR-1 directly in front would be a slimmer profile and the control for the light would be right there at my finger tips. It all just seems to make sense in “My Minds Eye”.

9

That light should work fine on the bottom.

Your carbine(s) have a standard FSB, right?

10

O.O <---- Deer in the headlights!

Whats an FSB? Front Side Bus…LOL?

I don’t know what the ackronym FSB is…sorry. I’m trying to think of what those letters might be…and I am drawing a blank.

11

FSB = Front Sight Base

12

So the answer i’ll have to give is…I assume its all standard issue stuff. I never really looked at enough to notice that there were more than one type. Im going to go with standard…and thats my final answer!

I cant imagine Stag using something above standard issue. And the Charles Daly D-M4 is the basic M4 carbine set up, so again…I dont think they would be higher end or custom stuff for something that seems (to me) as trivial as a front sight base.

13

What I meant was, you have the standard A-frame type front sight, not a low-profile gas block or something like that.

In other words, your front sight looks like this.

14

In the light mount thread, [this post](http://m4carbine.net/showpost.php?p=276333&postcount=38\) shows a TLR-1 on the bottom with a vertical grip. Your grip pod would need to be in about the same spot.

15

That front sight looks like both of mine. Sort of like a letter “A”.

16

I like the looks of that one setting against the H3. Now just change it so that the verticle grip has the retractable bi-pod feet and we’re in business!

How did he get a picatinny rail on the bottom of the stock plastic hand gaurds?

17

You’d have to ask him to be sure, but one way is to use a Midwest Industries rail. I don’t recommend that solution, however, as the standard handguards aren’t a very stable platform. It may be a good way for you to test out your potential setup for cheap though. All you need is the $20 piece of rail to mock it up.