Who makes the stiffest rail in yalls experience? Id guess Geissele but curious what yall prefer..
Stiffest rails?
- Thread starter Forgetful Coyote
- Start date
Lots of very similar rails, better question is what's the best rail system?
There are some that attach to the UR directly like KAC, Aero, & LaRue & those are likely the strongest.
Then there are the more typical ones that use a more conventional barrel nut & rail attachment system to the nut.
Of those, I think Geiselle, ALG & SLR are the stiffest, more or less in that order, with the strongest attachment system as determined by the length & surface area of the nut & the mechanism of attaching the rail to the nut.
JMHO, YMMV
MM
Obviously a monolithic upper will have the stiffest rail and would be ideal if not for the fact you're stuck with that rail, but as far as standard barrel nut set ups go, Geissele seems to be regarded as the stiffest from all Ive read. Apparently A LOT of the railed handguards out there are prone to bending and its readily noticeable if one loads up on the bipod and tries to use a previously zeroed laser. Fortunately your optic will be zeroed to the barrel obviously and rail stiffness aint really a concern there if you aint using a laser, but IMO a stiffer rail certainly won't hurt, especially for chasing that last bit of precision while prone. If going to the trouble of eliminating upper/lower slop, lapping the receiver face, loctiting or thermo fitting the barrel extension, etc might as well try to mitigate rail flex also. JMO.
Like the ones you mentioned tho @MontanaMan , perhaps rails which dont touch the barrel nut at all would have the best accuracy..? I also think theres likely some benefits there with the designs which run a big chunky barrel nut to act as a heat sink. I cant see how it'd have any negative effects anyhow.
Like the ones you mentioned tho @MontanaMan , perhaps rails which dont touch the barrel nut at all would have the best accuracy..? I also think theres likely some benefits there with the designs which run a big chunky barrel nut to act as a heat sink. I cant see how it'd have any negative effects anyhow.
That last part is pretty much it. The problem with accuracy or repeatable POI with an AR isn't so much the rail flexing, but the front of the upper receiver. Especially with over loading the bipod. So for seeking the last bits of accuracy current lore said stiffer upper receiver.
Quite a few High Power competitors who run ARs for their match rifle use DPMS thick walled uppers for that reason, so x2 on that, stiffer upper should definitely be conducive to accuracy IMO.
But from what Ive read at least, re: regular mil-spec type rifles and carbines, several rails were tested and USASOC ultimately went with Geissele for the new URGI(and most likely the next M4A1 Block III ...??) due to what I said above: many rails on the market(esp seems to be a issue with many quad rail designs) flex/move quite a bit.. and while this may not be a issue with your M4's accuracy and wont noticeably affect where your ACOG's zeroed, it WILL f*ck up your rail-mounted laser's zero if you load up on a bipod(or if you use your sling for supported shots if you aint got no bipid).
J/W... does anyone know: is the URGI considered the M4A1 Bk III and replacing it as such? Or is the Bk II still used by everyone else? I wonder how well the URGI DD gov't/M4 contour barrels shoot compared to the Colt M4A1 SOCOM barrels? Because the Colt SOCOM is a helluva accurate chrome-lined barrel. If someone would make a SOCOM contour mid gas barrel, that'd be sweet.
Regardless, DD really knows how to make a nice CHF C/L barrel, yall should check out the Barfcom thread comparing DD vs FN CHF barrels with a borescope... LOL I was quite surprised at the DD barrel excellent quality, and the FN's terrible bore considering the high regard FN barrels are held in. After seeing that, I have no doubt it was a FN barrel that Criterion used in their video comparing accuracy and bore quality with a bore scope between a Criterion vs unnamed widely-known brand CHF barrel. The FN's bore in the Criterion Comparison looked quite similar to the one in the barfcom thread.
@CriterionBarrels - I reckon yall wouldn't confirm it was a FN barrel in a PM? If it was not, would you be willing to at least confirm that it was NOT a FN barrel?
Last edited:
Stiffest traditional design will be the V7 Weapon Systems 2099 handguards due to the material used.
Stiffest non-traditional will by the thickest monolithic upper you can buy which will probably be an LMT.
But for most folks the Seekins IRMT series is fine.
The reason the bean counters went Geissele wasn't just performance. Other models performed as well or better.
Stiffest non-traditional will by the thickest monolithic upper you can buy which will probably be an LMT.
But for most folks the Seekins IRMT series is fine.
The reason the bean counters went Geissele wasn't just performance. Other models performed as well or better.
Mega MKM and MMLs can still be found if you look hard. We have done a large and small frame and they are hammers. Best looking set up IMO as well.
Most Monolithic rails are going to be the stiffest. Beyond that, LaRue rails are going to be right up there. Geissele rails flex a GREAT deal. You can manually flex them and get a POI change with a laser on them. I also know that the BCM rails will also do this as i had a friend do it this weekend.
Flexing and throwing off your shots has nothing to do with the forend unless A. Your optic if mounted to it (dumb) or we’re talking about a IR laser.
What’s flexing is the receiver when it’s under a load. Your answer for this is the VLTOR receiver if you want to be able to run whichever handguard. It’s the shit. A while ago I did a test and mini write up about this and I could not get that thing to flex enough to make a shot walk.
IMO the VLTOR receiver with a Seekins SP3R forend and a top tier barrel is the ultimate precision gas gun upper.
The LMT MRP uppers are stiffer than fuck too, including the rail. They’re the answer if you don’t want the forend flexing.
What’s flexing is the receiver when it’s under a load. Your answer for this is the VLTOR receiver if you want to be able to run whichever handguard. It’s the shit. A while ago I did a test and mini write up about this and I could not get that thing to flex enough to make a shot walk.
IMO the VLTOR receiver with a Seekins SP3R forend and a top tier barrel is the ultimate precision gas gun upper.
The LMT MRP uppers are stiffer than fuck too, including the rail. They’re the answer if you don’t want the forend flexing.
Would you rate this above the Seekins HG with the matching IRMT upper?
Interesting. I always assumed the Seekins upper was about as beefy as anything. What makes the Vltor combo that much better or more rigid?
