Grendel Buttstock, Buffer and Handguard

[StraitShot]

OK - so I think I have arrived at a selection for a buttstock.... MBA-1 from Luth-AR. I plan on using an AR-15 Silent Captured Spring Heavy H2 Version GEN 2. The reason for this choice is that I have read that rifles with a 20" barrel feel unbalanced an somewhat awkward with the extra weight out in front in a carbine setup. A longer buttstock seems to offset that... otherwise I'd get the MBA-3..... Thoughts ?

While we are at it...educate me on free float -vs- drop in handguards. I am looking at a 15" hand guard from Troy... M-Lok .... to go on the 20" Bartlein and cover the gas block...

[Kswhitetails]

Physics is your friend, here. You are correct, firstly on the stock, but only because you're placing more weight overall on the weapon, and making that weight extend further behind the fulcrum (which in most cases is somewhere between the center of the magwell toward the front edge) making it feel more balanced. However, consider that in doing so, you increase the overall weight and length of the gun. This makes it decidedly more ungainly and more frustrating when traipsing around in the woods, but excellent on the bench or in a fixed (think blind/stand/rested) position when hunting. Unless you're not taking it into the woods, in which case you probably won't be hurt all that badly by this. Especially if you're still younger and more mobile than some of us...

The hand guard free float question is easier to answer. The AMU discovered a while back that having the sling mounted to the front sight post, and then placing lateral forces (as in the old school sling-supported positions) that the point of impact would change rather markedly. And if that was true then it stands to reason that any force placed on the barrel would do the same. Genius.

In an effort to fix this, the decision was made that if absolute accuracy in a gas gun was to be had, it had to come at the expense of a hand guard that placed as little impingement on the barrel as possible. Enter the low profile gas blocks, and floated tubes. It's really a simple matter of a build from the sounds of things in your case, but the advantage is that you're placing much less outside lateral stress on the barrel itself by placing it onto the receiver and barrel threads rather than on the front sight post or gas block journal. The clam shells still place that stress, especially in supported positions, on your barrel - inducing potential accuracy issues and POI changes. Just make sure you get a reputable hand guard with a proven mounting system, and things should work them selves out when you assemble the pieces. Think of it as a grown man's lego set.