I know this will tick off some “tacticrap” type folks, but I don’t care. Why must some folks demand rails all over the stinking weapon? Rails on optics, rails covering up each inch of the barrel, rails at every angle imaginable. I hate to burst the bubble, but putting a bunch of crap, even if super high $$$ crap doesn’t make you a better shot!!!
Sick of the Mall Ninja wanna be garbage!!!
Learn when and how to safely and properly use the weapon in its most basic form as it was designed and then we can talk.
What I’m tired of, more than anything else in the entire world, is why people care so damn much about what other people are doing with their money, equipment, gear, cars, houses, clothes, etc.
Don’t want rails on your carbine/rifle? Have it your way. Go M4 clamshells, and rock on. Who cares what John Q. Public at the range has? Stay in your lane, doing your thing – and just hope, or pray, he does likewise for you.
Already had this response teed-up at the lock, so I’ll add it as a post-script.
No one is going to argue the point that baseline competence is Job #1, but you’re likely over-simplifying things just a bit, as different configurations serve different purposes, and rail space in and of itself isn’t really the problem. The typical M4C member would consider a weapon with a light and a sling to be sufficiently kitted-out for most applications, so it is somewhat more likely that you’re reacting to the “pimp my rifle” phenomenon that passes for the norm elsewhere on the web. That’s not really our thing here.
If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that what you’re really seeing is the proliferation of shorter barrel lengths (especially 14.5" and 12.5") in conjunction with longer rail systems. The purpose of this configuration generally has nothing to do with getting more “rail space” nearly so much as it allows the operator to move lights and handstops/VFGs as far forward as possible. In other words, tactics are driving the push to get the light and support hand farther to the front, and a longer handguard obviously faciliates this. Add a mid-length gas system to the equation, and you’ve got a very logical solution set.
Can you accomplish much the same thing with a Magpul MOE handguard and a bolt-on rail panel or two? Yes.
Are we seeing more rail systems (tubular or otherwise) being designed with less rail space, and/or removeable rails which are biased toward the front? Again yes. The KAC URX-IIIis a great example of contemporary thinking on this topic.
You’re not likely to offend the tacticool crowd here, as we’ve long since chased them off (or mentored them back to reality), but I would encourage you to be cautious about engaging in rants when you do not fully understand the school of thought behind a particular component or configuration, as that isn’t likely to turn out particularly well for anyone. There are definitely times when the market at large just blindly follows a trend, but around here that is still pretty much the exception to the rule, and if you’re seeing something that is strange or unfamiliar to you, the odds are better than 50-50 that there is some very good reasoning behind it.