It's not the Vltor stock, but honestly I couldn't tell the difference. Bushmaster lower, marked in .223/5.56, but oh well.
I'll probably be ordering the upper some time next week from Ko-Tonics. Uncle, damn his black little heart, insists that I (a) go with a railed handguard and (b) get a front sight. I wanted to avoid the railed handguard because I didn't want to get caught in the trap of "Hey, this attachment would be cool. And I just happen to have a place to put it!" It's bad enough I'll be looking into triggers and grips, the last thing I need to worry about is a Swiss Army EBR.
Now, as far as (b) goes... That's a kicker. I can understand that if your batteries die on your sight, your up the proverbial creek. It would be nice to have flip up sights as a backup, and these you can add later as finances permit if you have the proper places to attach them.
The problem I have is that I hate the standard handguards that AR's come with so, for the same price I can get one that's a little nicer. Unfortunately the one I would like requires a low profile gas block which negates the ability to add a front sight on later.
So, this is my dilemma
Handguards are stupidly priced, especially for the civilian market that doesn't require such high grade precision. It's a barrel shroud, meant to keep your hands from burning and is not, as has been indicated, "A Shoulder Thing That Goes Up". A tube of aluminum shouldn't run $400(*just hyperbole, for the sarcamsilly challanged :), but why oh why can't the generic plastic on at least look decent?
I know me. I'm more pragmatic and prefer function over form, so I'm pretty sure I'm going with Option Number Ugly. Of course, sights are stupid in price too, so by the time I'm actually able to afford one I'll probably also be able to afford a new handguard and gas block anyway, but there's no need to spend any more money than I already am, even if it's down the road.
So, if anyone is looking to upgrade their handguards to the 16 rail, picatinny, titanium, USB powered ones they've had their eyes on and want to offload their functional, decent looking ones, let me know.
rolled out on
Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:37 PM