Durability of clamp-on handguards in AR type rifles rifles

My Toy said:

I've built an AR10 upper receiver using a Fulton Armory handguard that uses a barrel nut and clamp-on aluminum float tube. It seems like a pretty solid installation but I got to wondering how durable this type of float tube is with respect to sling tension. Compared to the type of float tube where the barrel nut screws on to the receiver and the float tube screws on to the barrel nut can the clamp on variety where the float tube clamps on to the barrel nut ever be pulled off or askew with sling tension.

This is the particular float tube I used:

Handguard Float Tube, .308 AR, 15" Guardian
Price: $149.95
Part #: FA-TU-067
Ultralight free floating tube incorporating 3 tracks that allow adjustment of detachable picatinny rail sections. The optional 4 or 9 slot Picatinny rails are secured to the tracks via steel backplates for a rock solid fit. A large steel barrel nut secures the tube to the upper and the tube body clamps to the nut with 2 steel screws and a steel backplate preventing shifting or a change of zero.

Weight: 1 lb 3.6 oz
Length: 15.375"
Inside diameter: 1.4"
Outside Diameter: 1.925"
Material: CNC Machined 6061-T6 Aluminum, Hard Coat Anondized, with all steel fasteners and hardware

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lazarus said:

Sure it could...but you are also taking a huge amount of clamping load on the handguard. If you whacked it with a hammer pretty hard you could probably cant the rail, but even non-casual bumps and bangs isn’t likely to do that.

Also the description is lies. 20oz is not a lightweight handguard, that’s a porker!

By comparison my 12” handguard for my Aero M5 is about 13oz and I am unhappy with it. My latest one for my 24” grendel build is 9.6oz (though I used its aluminum nut for a different handguard, but even with the steel nut it is only 12oz) and my 12” setup on my 18” grendel deer rifle is 7.5oz. That’s light weight.

My only real issue with clamp on style is it’s more material, which means more weight and in taking off the handguard it’s harder to achieve zero again when putting it back on if you’ve got a front sight on the handguard.

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trickg said:

All of this makes me want to chuckle - it sounds like a solution in search of a problem and much ado about nothing. Are any of these AR builds going to see any combat or rough action to the point where it would ever become an issue? Do these ARs get slung across the shoulder and packed on long hikes over miles and miles of rough terrain to the point where weight would be an issue, or do these guns generally find themselves going from the safe, to the case, to the range, and then back again?

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Ranchero50 said:

I've knocked mine over a couple times. It happens. I also like gas block mounted sights versus hand guard mounted ones.

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trickg said:

All of this makes me want to chuckle - it sounds like a solution in search of a problem and much ado about nothing. Are any of these AR builds going to see any combat or rough action to the point where it would ever become an issue? Do these ARs get slung across the shoulder and packed on long hikes over miles and miles of rough terrain to the point where weight would be an issue, or do these guns generally find themselves going from the safe, to the case, to the range, and then back again?

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