Hey guys,
Like many of you I really enjoy reading reviews of new products, especially ones that are not super commonplace or found in most gun stores. Recently I received one of the Parallax Tactical \ PXTreme FFSSR 15" MLok rails and figured I’d drop it on the only 16" gun I have–a nearly brand new Sig M400 that I got in a trade. I’ve been upgrading the gun as I’ve come across good deals, and finally had enough to put together most of the rifle and post up some photos.
Some background on me: I am an independent manufacturing consultant in for extreme sports (in the outdoor segment), primarily with a focus on soft goods and injected plastics. I do dabble with machined and extruded products, and have worked on projects supplying outdoor\shooting products to vendors like WalMart, Academy, Cabelas, and more. Lately I’ve been doing a bit more marketing and web development work, and set up an very amateur photo studio at my house which I enjoy using. I have been an avid shooter since 2008 (about when I graduated from university). While the photos are pretty amateur in nature, I think they are useful for people to see a closer look at the product as it would arrive to you.
Specs from Parallax (taken from the Keymod page, since the MLok ones do not seem to be posted):
[ul]
[li]15" OAL[/li][li]6061 T6 Extrusion[/li][li]Type III, Class 2 Hard Anodized and Bead Blasted Finish[/li][li]9.9 oz Rail Weight[/li][li]13.4 oz with Barrel Nut and Screws[/li][li]Features our new barrel nut, 18% lighter than previous at 92g. (Noveske at 84g.)[/li][li]10-32 holes on top rail to mount Sling Studs and future accessories.[/li][li]Included anti-rotational QD hole[/li][li]Includes Barrel Nut, Screws and Includes Optional Shims for spacing[/li][li]Installation Instructions Included[/li][li]Made in USA with Domestically Sourced Materials[/li][li]1.52" OD[/li][li]1.35" ID (Will not fit most suppressors and KX3.)[/li][/ul]
The rail came in a pretty generic cardboard box, with the instructions, barrel nut, hardware, and shims:
The inside cuts that comply with the MLok standard:
The victim. A bone stock Sig M400, the Parallax rail \ barrel nut, VLTOR MUR replacement upper, and the wrench I used for doing the work. Not pictured is the gas block I intended to use.
Made a few mistakes, most of which were due to the very-poor construction of the Wheeler AR Wrench. The barrel nut portion the wrench is seemingly sized incorrectly, which led to snapping off a few teeth from the barrel nut. While I neglected to get any photos of the wrench (the barrel nut side), you can see from the castle nut wrench that the nubs are quite rounded and sized incorrectly. I then replaced it with a Tapco AR tool (the new made in USA green one) and have been thrilled with it.
Got the FSB removed by angling the FSB in a vice, and then closing the vice to push out the pins. I read about this on the Vuurwapen blog and it worked SO much better than beating on it with punches.
I had planned to use the extra BCM gasblock I had, but I realized my LGS had it marked as a .750 and it was actually for a .625 barrel–so I rush ordered a replacement off Amazon that was allegedly made by Troy. Of course I had discovered this after I’d already put the pin through the gas block, so here’s a pic of the BCM that was excited to use.
Troy gas block arrived the next day, and they were kind enough to not include a roll pin. So, I had to grab one from my tech box and then compromise with a slightly longer pin.
Got it all mounted. I was sad I had to replace a BCM product with a Troy, but I wanted to get the gun up and built.
I torqued the barrel nut in place. I must admit that the shims \ timing of the barrel nut to get the screw holes was tedious, but I got it to work:
Fully mounted up after torquing the side bolts to 50in\lbs and the bottom to 30 in\lbs:
I am waiting on a Burris XTR II 2-10, Geissele trigger, and my suppressor to show up. If you look carefully you can see that my A2 Flashider is canted, as I am simply using it as a thread protector until I get my Specwar brake in. Then I will update the thread with a complete build.
I am happy with the product and would recommend it to others looking for a lightweight MLok rail at a good pricepoint. The anodizing is uniform and the part was free of burrs, defects or inadequacies (more than I can say for the MI rails that I’ve owned).
Pros:
[ul]
[li]Inexpensive compared to similar options ($180ish)[/li][li]Very lightweight[/li][li]One of the first fully-compliant MLok rails to the market (sorry ALG)[/li][li]Adequate packaging, instructions etc[/li][/ul]
Cons:
[ul]
[li]Not from a comparatively “cool” brand[/li][li]Did not include a crow’s foot torque wrench attachment[/li][/ul]
If anyone from Parallax is reading this, I my two suggestions would be to include the correct crow’s foot wrench needed and to host your instructions on your website. I went through 2-3 crow’s feet before finally just emailing you for a brand recommendation for a wrench of the correct head width (the thickness of the actual wrench head) that would fit on the flats of the barrel nut. I am sure that you could find a tool wholesaler that would sell an inexpensive wrench head in bulk for a few dollars like I did on eBay. I very pleased otherwise, and look forward to grabbing some of the new Arisaka products for my MLok rail.