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8/12/2017 6:14:19 AM EDT
I'd like to remove the front A2 sight and delta ring off my Spikes AR15 and install a light weight rail.  This is something I've never done before so don't know much about what to be looking for when purchasing my parts.  Do the replacement rails come with all the new parts for installation or will I have to piece out some parts?  Is there a nice budget light weight rail and low profile gas block that you guys recommend?  I'd like a full length rail of some sort, about 16 inches.  Any help would be much appreciated.
8/12/2017 10:49:58 AM EDT
[#1]
Rails will come with barrel nuts that are specific to the rail. The gas block will need purchased separately. The roll pin to attach the gas tube to the gas block is not always reusable and some gas blocks will come with a new pin, some do not. If you have access to a belt sander and a hack saw then reshaping the front sight into a lo pro gas block will be better than any block you could replace it with.
8/12/2017 10:58:50 AM EDT
[#2]
There are many FF rails that can utilize the standard bbl nut, such as MI. Only removal is Delta pack. As mentioned, either cut down the existing block or remove(I use a 2x4 that's shaped to drive pins out). Or take to local gunsmith.
8/12/2017 2:30:12 PM EDT
[#3]
Quoted:
I'd like to remove the front A2 sight and delta ring off my Spikes AR15 and install a light weight rail.  This is something I've never done before so don't know much about what to be looking for when purchasing my parts.  Do the replacement rails come with all the new parts for installation or will I have to piece out some parts?  Is there a nice budget light weight rail and low profile gas block that you guys recommend?  I'd like a full length rail of some sort, about 16 inches.  Any help would be much appreciated.
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Maybe rather than ruining a quality factory built upper, just spend the money on a PSA, or SPINTA, or CBC upper with the configuration you want.

There has to be dozens upon dozens  of threads in the build it yourself section, the AR discussion section, the AR beginners section,  dozens of afcom vendors with parts,
youtube videos of the parts being assembled and used, that is what  you should be reading, watching, and learning from.

All that info is out there, you just need to go get it.






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8/13/2017 10:06:34 AM EDT
[#4]
What is the twist rate on the Spikes barrel?  Older ones might be 1:9.  If it is, you might want to use this opportunity to replace it with a 1:7 or, my preferred 1:8. You can stabilize a wider range of ammo with tighter twist, like the increasingly popular 77 grain OTM.

Get a true low pro gas block.  Even if your barrel is the right twist, cutting the FSB might not provide enough clearance for some rails.  As long as the rail is long enough to cover the gas block, it will be plenty secure with set screws and need not be pinned.
8/13/2017 10:53:17 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote History
Quoted:
What is the twist rate on the Spikes barrel?  Older ones might be 1:9.  If it is, you might want to use this opportunity to replace it with a 1:7 or, my preferred 1:8. You can stabilize a wider range of ammo with tighter twist, like the increasingly popular 77 grain OTM.

Get a true low pro gas block.  Even if your barrel is the right twist, cutting the FSB might not provide enough clearance for some rails.  As long as the rail is long enough to cover the gas block, it will be plenty secure with set screws and need not be pinned.
View Quote
I have never seen a rail that I couldn't get a cut down FSP to fit under. I have had to shape some fairly small ones to fit under Daniel Defense rails but they do always fit.
I don't like FSP's and none of my AR's have a FSP. That being said, I have a few AR's that I specifically started with a FSP barrel so I could sand them down. I have a few AR's with standard lo pro gas blocks that I dimpled the barrel and set screwed on but I do not trust them nearly as much as a pinned / shaved FSP. I would not trust a gas block with set screws at all unless the barrel was dimpled under the screws but nothing beats a pinned / shaved FSP IMO.
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