Best Handguard Lengths for Rifles
                     Best Handguard 
Lengths for Rifles
Best Handguard Lengths for Rifles
Handguards are an indispensable rifle accessory. They offer protection from the 
heat dissipated from the barrel, allow slots to mount other accessories, and 
improve your grip on your rifle during firing, improving the accuracy to an extent. 
The handguard is such a crucial part of your rifle that without it, the scope of 
modifications is severely limited. Based on the purpose of your rifle build, whether 
hunting, range shooting, or home defense, there are multiple barrel sizes available 
and based on it the handguard types also change. Choosing the correct handguard 
length is important as the weight of the handguard will change accordingly and 
may cause the rifle to dip forward while aiming from the excess weight.
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Why use a handguard?
Longer sight radius for Iron Recoil control is improved: This Better Accuracy. According to 
Sights: Iron Sights provide a depends on your shooting style some calculations, the rifle 
larger sight radius because the and skill level. In general, you with a Free Float Handguard 
rail may be pushed out past may have your support side has a.5 to.75 MOA advantage 
the gas block and closer to the hand further out if your rail is over drop-in rails. This can 
barrel’s end. A wider sight longer, regardless of the barrel imply the difference between a 
radius enables accurate long- length you use. Using an AFG, hit and striking the soil around 
range shots. front grip, or the tried-and-true the target at greater 
C-clamp hand posture, the engagement distances. This is 
wider you can extend your accomplished by allowing the 
hand on the rifle, the better barrel to float freely within the 
you’ll be able to manage recoil, handguard, making no touch 
resulting in faster follow-up throughout its entire length. 
shots. The harmonics of the barrel are 
unaffected by forces applied to 
the handguard.
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Different Handguard Lengths
Out of the multiple handguard lengths, 
three are the most standard offerings by 
most manufacturers: 
▪ 10-inch 
▪ 12-inch 
▪ 15-inch
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10-inch Handguard
This pistol handguard length is suitable for rifles with a barrel length of 10.5 inches or longer. 
These can be safely used on pistol, carbine, and mid-length gas systems but not suitable for 
Marlin loop lever rifles or similar build from Henry Repeating Arms. You can also install the 9.5 
inch M-LOK handguard but about 1 inch of the barrel may remain exposed which might affect 
the accuracy. Not many manufacturers offer handguard lengths shorter than this, as the gun 
loses serious firepower. For smaller barrel lengths it is never recommended to go for a 
handguard that leaves the gun barrel exposed more than 2 inches unless you are sure about 
the build and have consulted a registered gunsmith beforehand.
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12-inch Handguard
This mid-length handguard is more suited for rifles with at least 12.5 inch or longer gun 
barrels. It is the most preferred handguard length for 14.5-inch rifles, even though it does 
leave a few inches of the gun barrel exposed. Most people prefer this arrangement as their 
hand will never come in contact with the exposed area and the absence of a handguard over 
the 2.5 inches of the barrel means the rifle is comparatively lighter and more stable due to the 
changed center of gravity.
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15-Inch Handguard
Suited for full-length rifles, the 15 M-LOK handguard length is ideal for longer barrels used in 
precision shooting. Since they have more slots compared to the shorter ones, it is suitable for 
tactical purposes to mount things like Angled Forward Grips, hand stops, Keymod, or M-LOK 
accessories. Moreover, the extended length helps achieve accuracy in long iron sights and 
offers more space for hand placement.
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Wrapping Up
For first-timers and novices, the handguard length may seem overwhelming and they might opt for 
the longest handguard for attaching the most rifle accessories. Later they realize their flaw and 
revert to the right handguard length only after an eye-opening mishap. As time passes, they 
understand that when it comes down to the right handguard length, you may utilize any handguard 
length you like as long as you stick to the minimum and maximum lengths specified. 
The  blog was originally published at networkustad Blog panel.
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