I am working on a lightweight pencil build for my wife’s gun. I am pretty much done but I need a good rail. I already have KAC RAS M4 and a Surefire M4 rail. The Surefire rail seems lighter but I know the KAC rail. Any reason not to use the Surefire rail?
the upper rail on the SF is not at the same level of the upper receiver rail 
:mad:
Both of those rails are heavy, given what they are. I assume you’re keeping the standard front sight base on this?
I have a surefire rail. I still have it on a rifle, but it isn’t my favorite rail. My main isssue is how it is mounted. It uses 2 screws on the top rail to push the lower rail rearward cause the upper rail to push against the front sight & the lower rail against the delta ring. This can put a downward torque on the barrel. If you remove the handguard after your rifle is zeroed, you will need to verify your zero again unless you retorque the screws exactly the same. It is not an extreme change but it did have an impact on my zero.
Also, my came loose during shooting because I didn’t use enough locite at first. I’m not sure that is a surefire problem - anything with screws needs proper use of blue locite.
If you’re just only needing a light or VFG, I would consider the MOE handguard. It is the same wgt or slightly lighter & cheap. Or if you need a rail, I would recommend the DD Omega rail. It is lighter (1 oz), free floating, the rail lines up with the receiver rail & it is rock solid. Only down side is you don’t already have it & it is more expensive.
Since like you, I have the surefire rail, I used. It does the job - mount a light & VFG. I just don’t remove it. 4 years/4000+ rds, it is still secure.
Surefire rails suck ass. Their mounting system sucks and they have the slot cut down the middle of the rails.
The KAC rail is good but a little wider and heavier than newer designs. A benefit of the KAC is the bottom of the rail can be removed for the cleaning of the exterior of the barrel without having to remove the entire rail. I consider this manditory if at all possible when selecting a rail system. If your gun is dropped in mud or it rains on it, the exterior of the barrel will need cleaning.
The DD omega is good but the bottom rail is not removable and I don’t like how it leaves set screw marks on the barrel nut. It is the lightest and thinnest of the rails and has integral QD sling sockets that are anti rotation.
Out of these, I run the KAC rail with a add on DD or Gear Sector QD sling socket.
lightest would be those FF tubes
Yes, this is pretty much a standard M4gery with a BCM lightweight upper. I know the KAC rail from years of working with it on the .mil side.
I am not sure how she will run the gun because she is still pretty new. She can shoot a rifle just fine from the prone but she is just getting started CQC. Just like the rest of us, she will learn what she likes over time. A rail system will give her room to experiment.
Looks like I should just sell the Surefire on eBay. Maybe some Airsoft kid can use it. Or, I may just keep it for another build that I will latter sell. AR’s are in high demand and you can get a better price at a gunshow or gun shop if it has lots of tacticool features.
IMHO, she doesn’t need a rail right now if she is new.
DD 7.0 lite rail or Troy/Vtac 7.0 if standard carbine with FSB. A very lite rail would be one of those composite carbon fiber ones.
Believe it or not many of those wind up being very heavy (relatively speaking) due to a steel barrel nut. Or they were 10 or so years ago.
A DD Lite Rail weighs 7 oz including the steel barrel nut. Im fond of light builds… I would always go to the DD Lite Rail.
Troy TRX-Extreme would be a good option.
Taking your post though:
I am not sure how she will run the gun because she is still pretty new. She can shoot a rifle just fine from the prone but she is just getting started CQC. Just like the rest of us, she will learn what she likes over time. A rail system will give her room to experiment.
IMHO, the MOE handguard would be a good place to start. Let her shoot it KISS first then progress from there.
I agree with getting her the Magpul MOE grips also. As wanted/needed you can add real short sections of rails. You can add a light, vertical grip, etc. And it’ll always be lighter than anything made of metal.