** Your NEA102 build **

For those of you thinking of going to a lighter forend / handguard have you thought of milling it out some to shed some weight?

The only thing going on my handguard is a Harris bipod.

I plan on shooting it as is for a while (when it finally comes in that is) and if the handguard is way heavy my plan is to mill some slots to shed pounds.

The handguards on my two NEA 15's are heavy also and I have been debating doing that vs buying expensive new ones.
 
For those of you thinking of going to a lighter forend / handguard have you thought of milling it out some to shed some weight?

The only thing going on my handguard is a Harris bipod.

I plan on shooting it as is for a while (when it finally comes in that is) and if the handguard is way heavy my plan is to mill some slots to shed pounds.

The handguards on my two NEA 15's are heavy also and I have been debating doing that vs buying expensive new ones.

That has crossed my mind.
 
I posted this in the FAQ but I found a few more since then. List of aftermarket companies offering handguards in the Armalite pattern barrel nut. Our handguard is 16-17 oz (could be off by an oz though, my scale isn't super accurate) and the barrel nut and receiver extension will add another 3-4 oz. Be careful when choosing aftermarket, almost all are lighter than our stock except for maybe some of the quad rail versions, but sometimes they are weighed with the hardware and sometimes without.

Stock: 14" long. Weight: roughly 16 or 17 oz without the hardware, 20-21 oz with the hardware

Aftermarket:

Armalite Armalite makes a lot of reasonably priced ones
Midwest Industries Many lengths, reasonably priced
Leapers UTG Reasonably priced, Lightweight, more lengths
Precision Reflex Carbon Fiber tube style handguards
Apex Handguards Lightweight Tube Style
Odin Works Many styles and lengths, very light
Lancer Systems Carbon Fiber tube style, multiple lengths
SLR Rifleworks Tons of selection, be sure to option the Armalite barrel nut
Aeroprecision Very nice, multiple lengths
Wilson Combat Here's a 12", also comes in a 14"
Superior Weapon Systems Quad Rails, A little on the heavy side
Noveske (Anything Pre-Gen 3) Look at "Armalite Compatible"
JP Rifles Comes in more sizes, Tube Style
Troy 308 AR Lightweight Tube Style
Samson Manufacturing Quad Rail Style
 
Last edited:
Is there anything specific a person should be looking for If someone wanted to change the dust cover to a fancy aftermarket one with a design on it. Like is this just a standard mil-spec dust cover? Is there a difference in sizes between ar 15 and ar 10 type dust covers?
 
I just picked mine up about an hour or so ago and I have to say I am impressed with the build quality.

I am going to use it as is for a while before thinking about modding anything.

First Impressions:

Trigger is a little bit gritty and I would estimate it at about 5 lbs max.

Charging handle is also a bit gritty but neither the charging handle or trigger are horrible.

IMI and PMags drop free and both work with the bolt release and hold open when cocking with an empty mag.

IMI mags do wiggle a tiny bit as I think someone mentioned before. I am picking up some XCR-M Mags on the weekend and hopefully they work without mods needed.

Tight upper to lower fit, and I think it balances exceptionally well with the Bushnell Tactical Elite 5-15 and Burris PEPR QD mount i added.

Total weight comes to 11.4 lbs on my crappy digital bathroom scale as outfitted above with no mag. Not sure if that is right or not because it seems a lot lighter.

It came with the bonus unmistakable aroma of G96 :)
 
Last edited:
Mine arrived today.
20170823_190033_zpsneqp28o5.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Just got mine today. Tomorrow I will pick up a k2 grip, a qd buffer plate, some sort of m-loc qd mount for the rail as it seems the ones on the rail are not qd holes or are not to spec.
I think I might get some better flip caps for the strike eagle as the ones on it are ####. Sunday I'm taking the rifle out to test out my work up loads. Those poor deer won't know what hit em.

 
Last edited:
Just got mine today. Tomorrow I will pick up a k2 grip, a qd buffer plate, some sort of m-loc qd mount for the rail as it seems the ones on the rail are not qd holes or are not to spec.
I think I might get some better flip caps for the strike eagle as the ones on it are ####. Sunday I'm taking the rifle out to test out my work up loads. Those poor deer won't know what hit em.


Looks great, I have that same stock ready for mine. :) I'm assuming that's where it sits fully closed?
 
Back
Top Bottom