I’m planning on upgrading/changing hand guards on both rifles and stocks too.
First rifle is a Spikes 16 inch carbine that I want to install Troy Alpha rail in place of UTG quad that came with this weapon. The problem I have is I don’t know what kind of mounting hardware I would need to mount the Alpha rail in place of UTG
Here is the picture of how the rail is mounted right now.
Can someone tell me what I need to order as far as hardware goes so that I can mount Troy in place of UTG?
Also I’m stumped on what kind of stock to get for it, there are too many choices. I want it to be collapsible, but it needs to be more comfortable to shoot. I’m 100% open to suggestions here. The weapon is my night stand rifle and it’s the rifle I take to carbine classes with me.
Second rifle is a 20 inch BCM that is plane flat top iron sight weapon. I will use it mostly for range, shooting out to ~600 yards and occasional varmint hunting. I want same Troy Alpha rail, maybe a different flash hider and a fixed stock. I think that Troy offers Battlerail with hardware to mount with existing barrel nut. If I’m wrong someone please correct me. The reason I want to replace flash hider is mainly for looks, but if new hider is functional then it’s a huge plus too. As far as the stock for this rifle goes, I would like just plain A2 but if you have a better idea let me know.
Here is the BCM rifle.
I chose the Magpul UBR for my 20" rifle because I like the cheekweld, the adjust-ability and it’s toughness. However, it is heavier and more expensive
For a carbine, I like the Magpull CTR. It’s adjustable, light and comes with QD sockets for a sling
I added the thicker butt pad to both stocks because I like the extra bit of length, it grips against my shoulder a little better and offers greater protection of the butt end of the stock.
Stocks are a very personal thing. Best to try what stocks you can and see what fits you best.
I wouldn’t spend money replacing the A2 birdcage flash suppressor. It works well (especially on a 20 inch barrel). They normally cost less than $10. You’ll spend quite a bit more than that for something else for little practical gain in performance
Thanks for the info. I reckon I’ll have to call troy and see what they say about mounting that Alpha rail. I really want to be 100% sure it will work with what I have.
That Magpul MOE stock looks great and the prices is right. As does the STR. If I understood you right, you had to add those rubber pads to each stock?
Roger the A2 birdcage, I’ll leave it be.
Thanks again for your input.
For the carbine, you will need a standard barrel nut to mount the Troy Alpha.
You will also need to remove the gas block in order to install the barrel nut.
The Troy should come with a barrel but wrench and an Allen wrench for the install.
That is the info I was looking for. If I understood you right, for carbine I’ll need to take the flashhider off, the gas block and the barrel nut off in order to install the alpha, right?
For the rifle, I’ll need to take the flashhider off, take the front sight/gasblock off and cut/grind it in order to get the alpha on.
Just want to make sure I order the right parts the first go round.
I removed the thin pads that came with the stocks and installed replacement thick pads. The thick pads don’t seem to be as hard or slick as the thin pads and have better traction when I shoulder the rifle. The thicker pad should offer a bit more protection to the butt stock if I should drop it or bang it around. Magpul also makes a medium thickness replacement pad
You won’t need to cut or grind anything unless you are going to turn the FSB into a lo-pro gas block.
The delta ring assembly can be removed with snap ring pliers to access the barrel nut for install.
Thanks for your help guys. Now it’s just a matter of gathering all the parts. There is so much crap that is out of stock every where it’s unbelievable.
If I am understanding correctly, you want to run a Troy Alpha on both uppers.
The 11" in your link should work over the low profile gasblock that must be under the UTG rail. You will need a USGI barrel nut (as others have mentioned) and the Alpha rails do not come with a barrel nut wrench, so you will need one of those. The old TRX rails came with a wrench, but in my experience, the Alphas do not.
Again, if I am following correctly, I think you may need to consider something else for your BCM rifle length upper. 12" rails fits behind a rifle length gas system with FSB, so the Alpha in 11" will be an inch short and a 13" Alpha will be too long. You could shave down the FSB and use a 13" or 15" Alpha, but that may be more work than you want to do.
As a final point of interest. The price at the sears link is VERY high for an 11" Alpha. I have seen these recently for <$150 with free shipping.
