It seems that everyone is moving towards the handguards that are not true “quad rails”. The LMT MRP has moved to this type of system and it looks like VLTOR is moving towards that with the KEYMOD. Troy has come out with the Alpha rail which seems popular.
Does everyone like this?
I don’t think I want to have to detach and reattach rail sections every time I want to move something around or if I am just playing around with the placement of a particular item.
I understand why people like it, I am just not a fan of it. Kind of reminds me of when the LW barrel became huge and everyone started to produce one. I have held one of the new SR15s with the removable panels, and while it felt really nice, I just preferred a fully railed forend is all.
if you don’t like moving a piece of rail around, then it looks like quad rails are the right choice for you as it’s your personal preference.
Yea… I understand it is personal preference but I was wondering if anyone knew if the quad rails were going to be phased out in favor of the newer style. Thanks
I like the VLTOR concept way more that the tube faggotry.
With the fad of really long free floats over low pro gas block, there is a lot of wasted rail space.
I’m fine with a good old fashioned cheese grater rail. 
+1!!!
They are indeed the future imho, and it shouldn’t really be that much of a question for the AR platform.
Why should we stop the show now after 50+ years of slowly evolving Eugene Stoner’s rifle into the truly unmatched modular rifle it currently is today.
So yes I believe by in large over the next year or two we’ll see huge strides in both advancements, and amount of end users running a true modular rail design.
The improved feel is worth it alone in my book…the SMR MK1 rail feels like a million bucks in your hands, and unlike anything else I’ve tried, or owned. I’d imagine the new MRP/MWS chassis feels equally as well.
ETA…Mark, what you see as faggotery wasted rail length space…others like myself see it as nothing short of a huge stride forward into control-ability/handling of the AR platform. Keep rocking your magwell grip, I won’t bust your balls, but please realize that others have different needs than yourself, and they aren’t automatically wrong believe it or not.
By extending your lead or support hand grip on a long rail you control that much more of the rifle, and ultimately that allows the user to get on targets faster, as well as transition from target to target faster.
That’s my opinion by the way, what’s yours? J/K we certainly already know it on the topic of Ghey rails
SMR MK1, Who makes this??
I used to have a quad rail. But I like the longer 15 inch troy trx extreme. That I now use I can get my lead hand on more of the rail. Its also lighter than a quad rail
I am not sure about this faster target acquisition claim… I don’t think the rounded nature of these newer rails has anything to do with speed but is more for “comfort”. Some people don’t like having to hold a rough surface and that is that. I can understand this to an extent… when I first started weight training I would where gloves but my instructor told me I was being a b**ch and I would never get strong with gloves on… I am glad that I took them off because it has toughened up the skin on my hands which helps when you are actually doing work so holding a rail doesn’t bother me whatsoever. Removing 3 of the rails can take away from the weight which is a good thing but when you throw on a 13-15" rail it kinda negates that. The idea of not having 4 full rails isn’t exactly a complicated revolutionary idea. So, progress?? not really IMO… its just change / one more option. Kinda like democrats… just because you are changing the system doesn’t mean that you are making it better for the majority of people.
I don’t mind the rail on your rifle quite as much… I think it looks good. My main issue is that I really hate screwing anything onto my rifle. I do most of my shooting at my farm or down in the Congaree swamp. Everything that screws on will screw off with extended use in my experience unless you loctite it down. The rail sections are just one more thing that has to be screwed onto the rifle.
Two words…
Bill Mahar! 
Nah… I don’t do a magwell hold… I still have to run the light and so forth. I just don’t like the “scorpion” hold.
I’ve got no problem with long handguards… I just hate the stupid tubes.
Going with a rail-less tube means you can decrease the overall diameter of the handguard but still adding rails where needed. For shooters with small hands that is pretty nice.
Basically, add rails where you need them and keep the rest clean. After all, how often do you really need to swap things around once you’ve figured out what to add to your weapon? And if you do need to swithc things around, do you really swap EVERYTHING around or just what’s up front and on which side?
Personally I’m waiting for Spuhr to start production of his forend but am leaning towards a Troy VTAC Alpha rail to carry me over.
A- A manufacturer who sits back and does nothing new will find the market passing them by. The ability to mount rails as needed is simply an extension of the original product. The Keymod moves past this, but is still a variant.
B- The only reason it is of consequence to me is based on my involvement in the industry. If it weren’t for that, I would not care even a little what other people thought of accessories and products. People should worry about what works for them.
C- At some point you will learn where equipment goes, and you won’t be putting it all over. Your NEEDS will become apparent, and you won’t worry about it. Perhaps at that point you will look at lighter rails or similar options, perhaps not.
I like the feel and function of the NSR rails, much as I like other equipment. I don’t see everyone changing over to this any time soon, but it certainly beats trying to use backer pieces on an installed rail.
The idea behind KeyMod is to reduce the number of things that mount on a rail. As more direct KeyMod mount products are made you will need less attached rails.
I hear ya Mark, your still a brother from another mother…but your just too damn old school for me:p
Like most on here, the AR platform is easily my passion within the world of firearms, and a large reason for that is the fact I know the AR is the one gift that keeps on giving in terms of continually refining itself. As long as one is willing to constantly keep an open mind, and objectively test out the ever new products made for ARs these days, the sky will literally remain the limit for what one can do with an AR, and what the future will hold for AR design.
I remember just a year or two ago when Duffy sent me a proto 45 degree ambi selector with attachable levers, and I instantly saw the AR take a giant step further in terms of controls. Now flash back to today where we see people almost every single day chime in that they finally went to the dark side, loved the cookies, and state that they only wished they had gone this route earlier.
Somethings just seem so natural for progression of AR design, reducing slow 90 degree throws to 45 degrees, and incorporating a ton of end user configurable ambi levers to go along with that has for now thousands of AR owners completely refined and perfected one small aspect to Mr. Stoner’s design that had remained the same since the late 1950s.
Like the 45 degree BAD-ASS ambi selectors, I feel more and more people will inevitable see the light as time goes on with regards to a bomb proof fully modular rail, that incorporates an idiot proof/dead nuts reliable method of rail attachment. The SMR already does that easily in my book, and now with a refined lightweight model in the works…I don’t foresee myself running a railed rifle as any kinda primary for the foreseeable future. If LMT ever refines the LM8 design significantly, I’ll shoot modular railed rifles exclusively b/t MRPs/MWSs, and various SMR railed ARs I imagine.
It’s pretty simple really, most people use very little available rail space. Removing unnecessary rail space saves weight and reduces diameter, allowing you to get a better grip on the fore end.
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I like them and also believe they’re gonna continue to increase in market share in the next couple years. I like the tubes but settled on a URX, which is more modular than tube, with the built in rails out front, the only place I myself might need something attached. If I had a second rifle, I’d give that Geissele rail a try.
I also don’t care what some random internet loudmouth says about them…quad rails are for stubborn asses who just have to have 70 inches of rail space on their handguards when they only use maybe a quarter of it on a busy day…
Old School??? Since when did these new fangled quad rails become Old School???
It depends on the use of the rifle, honestly.
With the rise of MOE handguards and FSP-mounted sling and light attachments, most users don’t need ANY kind of rail system.
For military/LE applications, rail systems are perfect because each user can adopt whatever configuration works best for them and the armorers don’t need to worry about getting special attachments when new accessories come out. The modularity in this area is a big plus.
For an individual user who already knows how he wants to setup his weapon, these free-float tubes with movable rail mounts are superb. But all the extra parts involved and the effort it takes to move all of it around makes it less than ideal for military/LE applications.
No kidding. AR fashion changes faster than womens clothing!
That’s exactly it.
