AR Accuracy and Handguard/Barrel Nut Q’s

[lawofsavage]

A couple of q’s for the guys on here that like sharing your knowledge:

(1) Shooting from a stable position like prone and with a 25x optic, will I ever see the difference on target between say a Larue stealth upper and/or vltor mur upper compared to a standard run of the mill type mil spec forged upper?

Same question goes for barrel nuts and which ones should I be looking for as far as not limiting the accuracy in the barrel?

(2) What options are out there for 18” + mlok Handguards. The Midwest looks nice. I’ve seen a few others like ODIN O2 but I don’t like the way some of them look and they don’t seem like they’d be quite as strong. I was really hoping I could find one with an ID around 1.5.

 

[trob_205]

I don’t think they make anything that long, but if you want the most robust rail/barrel nut to upper i wouldn’t look any farther than Giessele.

 

[RifleBlog]

After the Mega stuff was discontinued, I’ve been building with the Aero M4E1 Enhanced upper, which is pretty similar in concept to the Mega, LaRue and Seekins designs that take the handguard stress / flex off of the barrel / nut and into a separate protrusion that projects from the upper.

Personally I can take a mil-spec upper with a long barrel and rail and load it heavily in different directions and get POI shift based on how I position the tension; with my Mega MML / Aero enhanced uppers I don’t get that flex or POI shift.

I have no experience with any rail over 15” so I can’t really comment there, but I definitely have both Geissele and Aero M4E1 enhanced rails that suited me well with barrels 20-22”.

 

[Mute]

If you have a high quality barrel, properly installed and a free float handguard that won't affect the barrel, you're accuracy should be no worse than these more premium platforms.