Thinking about the 15" NSR handguard for a 18" SPR build. How do you guys like them? What about the keymods, easy and effective to use or not? Plenty of room to cover a low profile gas block? Any other pros or cons to this rail? Thanks!
- Thread starter AberdeenReb
- Start date
Yes, I love them. I replaced all the Daniel Defense rails I use to have on my AR-15's with Noveske NSR's. The only thing to keep in mind is you need a real low profile gas block. The Noveske low-pro gas block works great. I love how the keymod accessories attach and I love the weight.
I have the 13" on my SPR. I would not want any longer.
18" Noveske SPR
AR-15 18" SPR by X Ring, on Flickr
16" w/ 11" NSR
AR-15 16" REECE 2 by X Ring, on Flickr
I have the 13" on my SPR. I would not want any longer.
18" Noveske SPR
AR-15 18" SPR by X Ring, on Flickr
16" w/ 11" NSR
AR-15 16" REECE 2 by X Ring, on Flickr
I just put together a 14.5" with a 13" NSR and I love it. They are so light weight and slim. I also used a Noveske low pro gas block. I will be using them on all futur AR projects.
The NSR KeyMods are great handguards... I like how the barrel nut has two sides so you can try both to get correct alignment within the torque spec range.
Here's a 13.5" KeyMod on a 14.5" Sabre Defence gov't profile barrel.
Here's a 13.5" KeyMod on a 14.5" Sabre Defence gov't profile barrel.
The future of rails so you can't go wrong imo. KAC and BCM have both jumped on the keymod bandwagon so expect a ton of accessories. I have run a 13.5 on a 16 barrel through various carbine courses and have never had an issue with heat transfer also.
16.7 on my 20"
Ive got three of them and love em, I'd have more if I didnt want to mix it up and try other handguards. Theyre awesome, especially if youre looking for lightweight and hate having grips on the rail.
Ive got three of them and love em, I'd have more if I didnt want to mix it up and try other handguards. Theyre awesome, especially if youre looking for lightweight and hate having grips on the rail.
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I just bought a 15'' NSR for my Seekins build. What sold me was how light the thing is. It's very well machined and built. There are both the aluminum keymod rails, and Bravo Company sells polymer rails that are chearper, I ordered some just to test them out and check thier durability. I will obviously use the aluminum rails for anything load bearing i.e. Magpul AFG, flashlight ect. I am running a Surefire X300 Ultra with the rail mounted momentary / on off switch and use a polymer rail for that. I will tell you that the system does not have any type external anti-rotation tabs that engage the upper receiver, but there is a pin hole that allows you to drill a hole into your upper above the gas tube. When the rail slides onto the barrel nut the pin sit into the drilled hole, it's optional. I am not worried about the rail rotating after my smith uses proper torque specs on the barrel nut.
The other thing is the barrel nut is a proprietary nut and requires you to use a crowfoot wrench or spend the $15.00 for the one from Noveske which I did. My smith has one, but I wanted to have one just in case for whatever reason. The rail covers attach directly to the keymod without the need of the rails. You will need to buy 2 packs of rail covers if you want to use the hand stop and have covers on either side. The great thing is that you dont have to use them because the NSR rail is smooth as silk without them. I have a low profile gas block and the rail is designed to slide right over it and uses 6 screws to secure the NSR to the barrel nut allowing you to remove the rail if needbe to get you the barrel. There are a few reviews on You Tube for what its worth.
The other thing is the barrel nut is a proprietary nut and requires you to use a crowfoot wrench or spend the $15.00 for the one from Noveske which I did. My smith has one, but I wanted to have one just in case for whatever reason. The rail covers attach directly to the keymod without the need of the rails. You will need to buy 2 packs of rail covers if you want to use the hand stop and have covers on either side. The great thing is that you dont have to use them because the NSR rail is smooth as silk without them. I have a low profile gas block and the rail is designed to slide right over it and uses 6 screws to secure the NSR to the barrel nut allowing you to remove the rail if needbe to get you the barrel. There are a few reviews on You Tube for what its worth.
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I have a 13.5 on my 14.5 and love it. It's super light and the diameter is perfect for my hands. The only problem I can see with it is now I have to buy at least two more for my 10.5 and my 16 RECCE.
Built a lightweight gun before Christmas as a Christmas present for a friends dad with a 16" mid length, light weight, DD barrel and an 11" Noveske NSR. Super impressed. Used a Troy low pro gas block and it fit just fine. The ONLY issue I had was getting the barrel nut lined up and on the torque spec. I messed with it(both sides) for over an hour and probably 25-30 torque sequences on each side and couldnt get it to line up at max torque and I used TONS of MS33 grease. I ended up at around 95 ft. lbs. to get it to line up. While not ideal, the guy I built it for will never take it apart so im not worried about any future issues with the upper receiver or anything like that. Head space was still good to go and the gun is a tack driver for such a light weight barrel. I read about this issue being quite common and quite a few guys did like I did and said screw it and torqued it above max spec and they also reported no issues.
On the alignment issue I just use barrel nut shims from seekins.
The NSRs are awesome. The only handguard I like more is the KAC URX 4. I put the 16.7 NSR on an 18" Grendel. Absolutely beautiful, has about 1/3" between the end of the handguard and the suppressor.....
I have owned a few Ar's over the years, I never really got excited about them, but I really like this rifle
Ward Lewis at Precision Tactical knocked this one out of the park
Ward Lewis at Precision Tactical knocked this one out of the park
I just got my Noveske 14.5 back from ADCO last week with a 13.5" NSR mounted. I was surprised by the weight of the assembled rifle. 6lb 13oz empty with troy irons and no glass. Standard Noveske Afghan barrel so its a little bit bigger of a profile but still the gun is so light! And I really like how it feels. That being said:
My only complaint is that there were no rail sections included in the kit. I use very few things on my rail so this is a minor complaint. When I ordered my TRX rail for my AR308 it came with 4, I think, rail sections to mount on the rail, whereas the NSR came with NONE. At least mine from Midway came with none. $18/rail section @ DSG and $22 @ BCM (metal ones) plus shipping. DSG had them in stock but they went quick. Still... it should have included some rail sections IMO. I knew this going in, but still... at least one?
Because the keymod for rifles is so new there are very few direct connect attachments. Your best option as of right now is mounting a rail section and going from there. Hopefully magpul will get on board, if the polymer can handle the heat, and we'll have some foregrip options. I like the AFG but would like to maintain the slim profile of the rifle and mount the afg directly to the rail. I've seen one thread on ar15.com where it was done but don't really want to hack anything up and epoxy it on sort of correctly.
I do really like the rail though. Very light and very solid and very slim.
My only complaint is that there were no rail sections included in the kit. I use very few things on my rail so this is a minor complaint. When I ordered my TRX rail for my AR308 it came with 4, I think, rail sections to mount on the rail, whereas the NSR came with NONE. At least mine from Midway came with none. $18/rail section @ DSG and $22 @ BCM (metal ones) plus shipping. DSG had them in stock but they went quick. Still... it should have included some rail sections IMO. I knew this going in, but still... at least one?
Because the keymod for rifles is so new there are very few direct connect attachments. Your best option as of right now is mounting a rail section and going from there. Hopefully magpul will get on board, if the polymer can handle the heat, and we'll have some foregrip options. I like the AFG but would like to maintain the slim profile of the rifle and mount the afg directly to the rail. I've seen one thread on ar15.com where it was done but don't really want to hack anything up and epoxy it on sort of correctly.
I do really like the rail though. Very light and very solid and very slim.
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