This might have been covered before but… Certainly I am not a novice shooter. But in an effort to get a better grip on the rifle by keeping the rail as thin (and light) as possible, I tried shooting my DD upper with RIS II without rail covers. I shot without gloves, and low and behold, I had great grip on the rifle, and no problem with heat. No mag dumps mind you, but just sighting in and a few drills. Does anybody else prefer naked rails? Are there any issues with this? In the past I have used XTM and SCAR panels as well as ladders, but nothing was as gripy (and light obviously) as going “naked.”
Yes. I like the “bite” of a naked rail.
To me rail covers (except for ladders) generally add to much bulk to a rail. I like the slim feel if I am gripping it with my hand.
I do. I have nerve damage to both hands. And don’t have a lot of sensation.
I prefer naked.
In the Marines I didnt have a choice we got what we got and I didnt mind the naked rails but it gets old after awhile ( I rarely use gloves)
Ladders work good for me, best of all worlds, if your hand is slipping you may want to try Larue hand stops, good kit and they dont add bulk.
Yup.
I also run a RIS II naked, no gloves. Sent over 5K rounds downrange like that so far, Ain’t changin’ anything anytime soon.
I do like the traction they afford, but I don’t care for the size and shape and worry that if I were to stumble or have some other awkward moment, I might hurt my hand
I’ve tried running my rails “as-is”, but found that heat could be a bit of an issue. I’ve tried ladders, Magpul XT and XTM panels. My favorite (and current) setup is LaRue Index Clips.
They add minimal bulk to rail and don’t require any cutting to length (although I have had to dremel out some of the back of an index clip to fit over a screw on my Omega X and Centurion hand guards). While they don’t have a very aggressive surface texture, I find that I get an adequate grip on my gun nonetheless (and that is with and without gloves). I do intend to stipple a batch of index clips though. I think a slightly more aggressive texture would be just right.
I’m partial to ladders. I wouldn’t want to run them SHTF without ladders, but at a range - with gloves - I’d give it a go.
This is why I bought a Troy VTAC Alpha rail for my build. I like the sleekness of it and it isn’t as hard on your hands as a quad rail. Never been a fan of quad rails in general, with or without covers.
get samson evolution or troy trx rail. perfectly fit in hands
I use a VLTOR VIS rail and it is a little on the large side. At first I ran it “naked” and liked it. Then started using Surefire ladder covers. For the most part they feel great but can get slick. I have used KAC panels as well but they add bulk. Finally I settled on the Surefire ladder covers coupled with Gear Sector hand stops. If I had the choice to do over though, I think I would have gotten a KAC urxiii to run “naked”. It is one sexy rail.
Ladders for me.
One option that is intriguing to me is the Troy alpha with the rubber “squid” inserts.
Born naked…Be naked!
I like the Surefire ladders as well. Panels are just too much IMO.
Ladders for me.
I’ve always run naked with gloves.
Never hurt my hand or dinged a rail, FWIW. That includes some pretty nasty falls in the middle of the night in Afghanistan…
Ive never liked any rail protector, till I used the LaRue clips. Theyre perfect to me .
I like the idea of it, but I put XTM panels only right where my hand wraps up the handguard because of the heat.
Naked for me I wore gloves overseas and mine were painted tan so they didnt get as hot in the sun as the butt stock and reciver extension did. I really wish I had the slick side rails like the KAC I think thats tits.