Questions for AR shooters: free float tubes and barrel heat?

[awp101]

I've just noticed free float guards like that one don't have heat shields like regular guards. How does that work out with a metal hand guard? It doesn't seem to take much to get regular hand guards warm IME. Is everyone shooting these using gloves or bipods?

[arokcrwlr]

I have several ARs with free float fore ends. I have never noticed them getting warm when shooting, but I don't rapid fire.

[medicdave]

When I was in the army many moons ago there were times running m16's hot and heavy (repelling an assault etc.) that the barrels would heat up enough to start warping the plastic hand guards through the heat shields. Normal sustained fire had mirage and clp smoke coming off the barrel much sooner than the handguards got to hot to handle. I've never had a civi ar with a tube running fast enough to be uncomfortable to hold, but I don't run them like an m16 either. Just thinking on it aluminum doesn't hold heat well so it's kind of like a giant heat sink around the barrel as well.

[bigbrowndog]

Having shot 3-gun competitions for the last 20 years, as well as being a small arms instructor in the military. Today's vented free float tubes are way ahead of the old plastic and heat shield technology. It is routine for us to fire 40-50 rounds they our guns in 60-90 seconds, as long as the float tube is vented, you should not have any issue. Unvented tubes will hold heat no matter if it's alum. Or carbon fiber. Today's tubes are vented 360 degrees and provide more than adequate cooling.

Trapr

[awp101]

bigbrown, I was wondering how it worked in 3 gun and other matches, thanks!

I'm kicking around ideas for another AR build and the majority of the barreled uppers I've looked at come with either a rail and shroud set up or a free float tube. At some point I realized I was seeing daylight through all of the holes instead of daylight through some and heat shield through the rest.

Dave, I remember fusing the blank adapter to the muzzle of 2 M249s within 30 minutes when I decided I was going to play Rambo near the end of an FTX. Fortunately the armorer was able to get them off and saved my hide once we got back on post.

[cherokeetracker]

AP custom Carbon Fiber make some awesome hand guards.

[Markbo]

I got an all aluminum tube with rubber around it. Hogue I think it was. This was 10 or 12 years ago. In very short order I had vents machined around it just for fear of over heating. Don't know that it ever would have. I don't compete and never shoot a whole lot of rounds too fast.

Even PD hunting when shooting ARs I had 3 laying in a row and swapped them out pretty continuously just to keep the heat down. I sure wasn't able to control my shooting in such a target rich environment!

[medicdave]

Oct 28, 2015 20:29:23 GMT -5 awp101 said:

bigbrown, I was wondering how it worked in 3 gun and other matches, thanks!

I'm kicking around ideas for another AR build and the majority of the barreled uppers I've looked at come with either a rail and shroud set up or a free float tube. At some point I realized I was seeing daylight through all of the holes instead of daylight through some and heat shield through the rest.

Dave, I remember fusing the blank adapter to the muzzle of 2 M249s within 30 minutes when I decided I was going to play Rambo near the end of an FTX. Fortunately the armorer was able to get them off and saved my hide once we got back on post.

Those blank adapters were a pain in the a** anyway. Only played with a 249 once after I "borrowed" one from an infantry unit, when it didn't take out the motor of an unarmored truck I gave it back lol. Ok hijack over.