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Adding an ARCA rail to slim AR handguard

T

Tim_WNC

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Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 4, 2014
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Western NC
I have an upper with the BCM MCMR hand guard. It's relatively slim on the bottom and I'd like to add an Area 419 MLOK ARCA rail. The rifle is an 18" 6.5 Grendel that will be used in DMM type shoots.

My first thought was to swap this hand guard out for a Seekins SP3Rv3 with the wide flat bottom and then add an ARCA rail.

But, if I'm adding the ARCA anyway, do I need the Seekins wide flat bottom? The ARCA would become the most bottommest part of the system, right?

Would adding a rail to the narrow BCM hand guard seem out of place, unstable, etc? WOuld it give weird geometry/grip for off hand shooting?

Current hand guard:


apiz3lkmp__59547.original.jpg
 
If you are considering a new handguard, consider one with a built in arca rail.
 
I’ve got a 16” Grendel with an ALG handguard. This is my deer rifle but I wanted the same 419 rail so I could mount it on my tripod. I ended up going with a RRS 3” rail so I can mount it but still feels good carrying thru the woods. Grabbing that 3” rail confirms that if I went with the full length 419 rail I would dislike walking thru the woods with it.

As far as the seekins handguard, I just built a 20” 223 with it and added Sawtooth Rifles Arca rail. It feels good holding it in my hand. A different feel than the ALG but not bad on a longer rifle.
My next rifle is going to be a 18 or 20” Grendel with another Seekins handguard. If the Geissele handguards were a little wider I would get the one with the built in Arca but I’m worried about it being too narrow for the gas block.
 
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I have a RRS rail on a LMT Mlok upper, I dont think there's a much slimmer forend out there and it is fine on it. I also have had a sawtooth rail on it and it was fine as well. I milled the tabs off a foundation short rail and run it on a slick sided MRP upper and that's fine as well. It's also a thin forend.
 
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The Area 419 rail will be just fine on your handguard. I also use their barricade stop as a hand stop for shooting offhand, this makes holding the handguard pretty comfy.
 
I have a SP3R on my precision AR that only gets used as a prone/barricade gun because the SP3R excels at that. Its horrible for anything else I'd do with an AR. Then I put an Area419 rail under it and made it even more horrible for offhand shooting. Its like jacking it with a Mason jar on your dick, it doesn't matter how bad you want it to work, the feeling is all wrong.
 
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TonyTheTiger said:
I have a SP3R on my precision AR that only gets used as a prone/barricade gun because the SP3R excels at that. Its horrible for anything else I'd do with an AR. Then I put an Area419 rail under it and made it even more horrible for offhand shoting. Its like jacking it with a Mason jar on your dick, it doesn't matter how bad you want it to work, the feeling is all wrong.
Click to expand...

Try the barricade stop, it makes it really nice. I just switched over to this for 3gun, and it’s working out well.
 
Push said:
Try the barricade stop, it makes it really nice. I just switched over to this for 3gun, and it’s working out well.
Click to expand...
How would this make it less like holding a 4x4? I'm not really interested in trying to make it something its not though, I already watched several 3 gun buddies try them for a season. They all talked about how great it was off of props, even at the expense of the other 99% of 3 gun rifle shooting, but they all got tired of them and went back to comfortable handguards.
 
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I don't 3gun, or run and gun of any sort. I've got an arca rail on one gun- one being built for PRS style comps. Just holding it I can tell that its not what I'd want on a hunting/field rifle. I'll leave the jacking with a mason jar to @TonyTheTiger, but I think he's got it right with the 4x4 feel, and I've never been one for ultra slim rails on AR15s...
 
TonyTheTiger said:
How would this make it less like holding a 4x4? I'm not really interested in trying to make it something its not though, I already watched several 3 gun buddies try them for a season. They all talked about how great it was off of props, even at the expense of the other 99% of 3 gun rifle shooting, but they all got tired of them and went back to comfortable handguards.
Click to expand...

ARCA in 3gun has little utility outside of open division. In open though it offers a lot of versatility that makes it worth it to me. The barricade stop allows me to use a looser grip around the handguard and use the stop to pull the gun in. Perhaps it’s hard to conceptualize, but if you try it it becomes obvious pretty quick.
It’s not more comfortable than my handguard without ARCA, but it’s good enough to not be a hindrance.
 
Push said:
The barricade stop allows me to use a looser grip around the handguard and use the stop to pull the gun in. Perhaps it’s hard to conceptualize, but if you try it it becomes obvious pretty quick.
Click to expand...
I get what your saying, I tested stops for a while. My PCC has one permanently now, because as you say, it makes it easier to pull straight back without inducing lateral movement, and the PCC needs all the help I could get because its so rowdy.
But on my main 3 gun rifle it was only in the right place when shooting offhand. Any awkward positions or forced bad barricade stuff and it was always in exactly the wrong spot.
All that said, I can't even get my hand around an HG of any size with an ARCA rail on it, so VFG, AFG, stop or whatever doesn't matter, I just can't drive the rifle.
 
I don’t 3gun and I have the SP3R handguard. I like it. I like to shoot PRS type shoots and hunt. It seems to work for me. I have their scalloped rail too. I like they way it feels better than Area 419 rail. That area 419 rail killed my hands when I was standing. It seriously hurt. I use all of my guns for hunting so I need to be able to freehand with them. I like the flat bottoms for shooting out of blinds which is similar to barricades.

Regardless, I would recommend the Seekins Arca over the Area 419 based on feel with ungloved hands. I have their longest rail. I also have the slider for it too.

https://www.seekinsprecision.com/product/upper-accessories/mras.html
 
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