Can someone explain free floating an AR?

[Notalentbum]

I have a couple AR-15s and have read free floated ARs run more accurate. Not sure if that's even true but figure it is worth investigating. Both of my ARs are carbines, one has standard handguard the other is a Stag with their proprietary quad rail. I don't know what is involved in floating the barrel or whether it is even worth doing.

Matt

 

[saintnick81]

My understanding is that the handguard makes no contact with the barrel. More accurate because the barrel doesn't flex when you put pressure on it while holding onto it. I am an AR noob so this may not be 100% accurate.

 

[Roadie]

My understanding is that the handguard makes no contact with the barrel. More accurate because the barrel doesn't flex when you put pressure on it while holding onto it. I am an AR noob so this may not be 100% accurate.

That is my basic understanding of it as well.

 

[Spear Dane]

Free floating the barrel means the only connection it makes to the rest of the firearm is through the barrel nut and into the upper. Yes it is a desirable thing to do, it will improve accuracy potential of the rifle. When shot, barrels flex harmonically. This is not bad of itself. But the key to accuracy in a rifle is that the rifle is absolutely consistent in behavior shot after shot. This allows the shooter to compensate for known factors. But a rifle is never absolutely consistent, nor is the ammo or shooter. A barrel will shoot differently on the 15th shot the it did on the first just because it got hot. If your barrel is connected with the handguard you've added another measure of complexity to an already complex system. Things like where you hold the rifle and with how much pressure then become factors that have to be accounted for. Better to eliminate as many variables as possible.

 

[Notalentbum]

Everything mentioned has been my understanding of the situation. I guess now I'm curious how the floated hand guard is mounted. I almost stopped in USDS last Saturday to see if they could give me some direction but decided if I was going in a shop, I wanted one of my uppers with me.

Matt

 

[dhamby]

Everything mentioned has been my understanding of the situation. I guess now I'm curious how the floated hand guard is mounted. I almost stopped in USDS last Saturday to see if they could give me some direction but decided if I was going in a shop, I wanted one of my uppers with me.

Matt

It is attached to the barrel nut only.

 

[CAT 1000B]

The barrel is attached to the upper received with the barrel nut and the free floated handguard is attached to the outside of the barrel nut. The barrel nut is the only thing on the rifle the handguard is touching. When you are holding the handguard or have the handguard on a rest, the barrel is allowed to basically vibrate the same every shot because there is never a difference in pressure on it.

 

[rsaylor8326]

It's a very easy process with the right tools. And the way most new free floated hand guard's are installed now there is no indexing the gas tube and any adjustable wrench will do it. Just make sure you look up all the torx specs and do it right. But as Spear Dane said it has a lot to do with the shooter. Google and Youtube cannteach you anything.

 

[Bigtanker]

Ya'll is wrong. A free floating handguard makes you rifle float incase of a "boating accident."

Come on INGO, you disappoint me.

 

[Jeremy1066]

Another big benefit of changing to a free float handguard is that you can use a much longer tube (if you change/chop your gas block/front sight base). For example, I have a 14.5" rifle with a 12.37" handguard which gives me more options for it's use. You mentioned that you have a Stag with a "proprietary quad rail". That may actually already be a free float handguard. The easiest way to tell (usually, but not always) is the lack of a Delta ring.