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Posted: 10/25/2008 8:19:39 PM EDT
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Went to shoot my S and W M&P15 OR for the first time today. Flawless! Feels nice and tight just like my other M&P 15.
When I got home I noticed the front plate for the hand guard where it connects to the barrel moves up and down about 1/8". No side to side movement. This is the first AR I have with a hand guard (my other has a free float rail). Is this movement normal or is something wrong? I don't think it will cause any problems but it is kind of annoying. Thanks for any help! |
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Quoted:
You mean the handguard cap moves? You better check to make sure your FSB didn't come loose. Cap? if you mean the stamped metal plate that hols the handgaurd, then yes that is what is moving. FSB? Front site base? nothing else is loose. The gas block does not move at all. the front site is connected to the gas block. |
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Thank you QUIB!!!! I was disappointed that my new rifle might have to go in for warranty. But what you describe is exactly what I am seeing. The plate is sammiched  between the barrel flare and the gas block.The plate is prevented from moving further or around in circles by the gas tube. What do you think of trying to get some high temp thread lock squirted between the plate and barrel flange? Worth it? Or just leave it alone? Thanks again for your help! |
| An 1/8 th of an inch sounds like way too much play in the handguard cap to me. S&W is certainly capable of punching a round hole in a piece of sheet metal that matches the diameter of the barrel. From the OP's description, it's not even a round hole! I'd send it back in for a warranty repair. |
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I went back and looked at the movement. It is probably more like 1/16" of an inch of movement. I am a little surprised that the hole is not the same size as the barrel. It does seem pretty simple. In fairness it was tight as a tick's ass when I received it and only loosened up after the first day with some rapid mag dumps. I don't think it is something QC would have caught since it was tight off the factory floor. Maybe heating the barrel up so quick loosened it? Anyway, I am going to call smith and ask for a new hand guard cap. I may install it if it becomes too annoying for me. Or maybe this will be a good excuse to get a free float rail.
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Quoted: Again, this is normal movement. Trust me. I do trust in Quib 100%. I have seen many people on here trust your advise, you always know your stuff. I am going to not worry about it and enjoy my new AR and shot it like I stole it. Thanks Quib for your help! |
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Its normal. Just like a little wiggle between lower and upper and wiggle in a standard collapsible stock. The front plate moves on the handguard, the upper and lower have a little play to ease disassembly and have a bit of 'combat' tolerance to allow for mixing and matching-and the fit of the pin that holds a standard 6-pos buttstock in place has a little extra room so it doesn't get jammed up easily with a little grime. The big advantage of a 'free float' handguard upgrade you see listed all the time is to have a firm no-wiggle mount for acessories and not put any load on the barrel for greater accuracy when under tension from a bipod, vfg, or tactical sling use. For normal use, the wiggle in the hand guard won't ever cause any issues. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
You mean the handguard cap moves? You better check to make sure your FSB didn't come loose. Cap? if you mean the stamped metal plate that hols the handgaurd, then yes that is what is moving. FSB? Front site base? nothing else is loose. The gas block does not move at all. the front site is connected to the gas block. Your FSB is your gas block. The handguard cap is sandwiched between the step in the barrel and the FSB. I have two uppers with handguard caps, and neither of them move at all. The only way that they could move is if the FSB got loose and moved forward. If QUIB says it's normal, then it's normal. |
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