I’m assembling a 7.62x39 AR before too long. I doubt it’ll ever be anything more than a toy. 16" barrel, midlength gas system.
I’d like a free float handguard, relatively light, preferably with M-Lok but Keymod would be ok. Probably 12" or so.
The last time I looked the Midwest Industries handguards looked like a good value handguard, I have an older one on another rifle and it seems fairly nice. What else should I look at? I’d like to stick to $150-200 but if it’s worth it I’ll spend more.
ALG Defense EMR is worth a look. There are multiple versions depending how much top rail you want (none, far end only, full length), and most versions are now MLOK compatible.
Midwest Industries also makes good handguards that aren’t too expensive. I like the gen 2 drop in free float and gen 2 SS. However, if you want smooth and light I’d take the EMR over the MI SS.
I have a 9" MI M-LOK and it is super light. It is slender though, so if you like wider handguards this isn’t for you.
Another vote for the ALG EMR. I have the gen 1 15" on my SPR, the MLOK works well and the rail is a snap to install. Machining/overall quality is excellent, actually surprising for the price. There are several generations for you to choose from now.
IMG_4374 by splittiebus 66, on Flickr
Midwest and ALG, as mentioned above, are both good choices for MLOK hand guards.
I think I’ll go with Midwest as I have one on a different gun already, and they all use the same barrel nuts, so I can swap between them if I want (the gun it’s on has a permanent muzzle device). Now I need to find the right deal on it, I just dropped $400 on barrel/BCG. I’ll have to look through my stuff and see what triggers I have around too.
As soon as I read what you were asking for this is what came to mind.
Midwest or ALG for this.