mid-length hand guards

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

I’m sure the answer I seek is embedded somewhere on the forum, but my search did not turn up what I was looking for.

I have a BCM mid-length upper on order (I’m hoping to get it before the end of the year, but who knows). I can’t afford a rail system, so I will need a mid-length hand guard.

The only two mid-length hand guards I’ve seen are RRA and Cav Arms. Price is about the same, so that is a non-issue. I’m trying to not cut corners on this rifle build. Quality is important. Can anyone recommend whose hand guards to buy, and why? Thanks.

2

Cavalry Arms makes mid-length handguards, including some that are M4 style only longer.

3

YEP Cav arms ,top quality and priced right ,check Bravo when they have them they are $19.99. :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Thanks for the info. I checked Bravo Co’s web page, and they are out of stock. These are the M4 style hand guards. I have more range time with tapered hand guards, and these feel better to me, but that may only be due to familiarity.

Other than personal preference, is there a reason to prefer M4 over tapered, or tapered over M4?

5

Armalite sells them too. Unsure if there’s a pecking order between the three. They may all be made by the same company for all I know.

6

if your in a hurry go direct and order them from Cav arms.

7

I bought a set from Armalite, the fat M4 style. I really like them they seem well made and I even got them in OD.
-Jesse

8

I purchased a set of C8 handguards (mid-length tapered) from Cavalry Arms and love them. Not only are they dual-shielded, they lock up very tight.

9

are you saying that Armalite makes a midlength upper?

how would you measure an upper to make sure what you have?

10

Yes, if I’m not mistaken Armalite invented the ML and others followed suit.

If gas system is approx 7" long, it’s a carbine gas system.

If system is 9" long, it’s a ML.

11

I used Cavarms C8s that I got from Brownells

12

Cav arms are not duel heat shielded ,they have a single heat shield 1 top, 1 bottom . there is realy no need or ad vantage to duel heat shields ,they get just as hot just as fast .:rolleyes:

13

These are the Cav Arms C6 untapered guards, which I also got from Brownell’s.

14

Will I have to buy a mid-length 16" barrel for a mid-length handguard, or will a standard 16" barrel work?

15

a mid lenth has the FSB moved foward as the hole drilled in the barrel for the gas is futher foward .

16

Other than cosmetics or comfort, is there a reason to prefer either the M4-style or the tapered?

17

Just wanted to say that that is a nice clean build, great job! Almost exactly what I would like, but maybe a flip up front sight too. Otherwise you built exactly what I have in mind for a build. Thanks for sharing the photo.

18

Nice looking rifles.

19

Other than cosmetics or comfort, is there a reason to prefer either the M4-style or the tapered?

Looks like I’ll be answering my own thread. I called Cav Arms today to look into ordering their hand guards, and spoke to a very nice and apparently knowledgeable person. He told me the advantage in the M4-style hand guard was two fold…

Being larger, it does a better job of keeping both your hands and the barrel cool. This is more of an issue if shooting full auto, but even in semi-auto, it can have an impact on barrel life.

The other advantage is if one attaches a white light to the hand guard via drilling or via the vent holes. With the M4-style guards, the light is still parallel to the barrel. With the tapered guards, the light is now pointed inwards.

Don’t know if either is true, but it made sense. The tapered still “feels” better to me, but the issue with a light might make the M4-style worth it.

20

You could always put some sort of plastic spacer to compensate for the angle.