Noveske NSR Airsoft handguard mod

I'd like to share with you all my latest mod. Previously my 15-22 was setup to match my AR15 to simulate the same feel during practice. I had the tacticool22 adapter, true shot tech front sight and Magpul MOE handguards. I've recently decided that I'm going to freefloat my AR so of course the 15-22 will have to change to match. I narrowed the handguard choices down to a few, but being the frugal person I am, one of the factors was whether or not there was an airsoft replica version so that I can get the real one for my AR15 yet save some money while putting the replicas on my 15-22 and my airsoft M4. Anyway, I decided on the Noveske NSR and got the officially licensed replica by Madbull. I wasn't able to thread the airsoft Noveske barrel nut all the way on, even with lube but I'm happy with it. Here are a couple pics of the installation and of the final product. On the last pic the 15-22 is on the bottom.










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Looks good. I think I would elongate the screw holes and remove some stock on the bottom so it mounts right against the the upper receiver. Then again, I have taken the drill press to my lower receiver and the Dremel to my upper on more than one occasion.

Looks great. Take some better pics in some light. The pic is dark.

So what are your thoughts on the quality of the rail?

this is the exact handguard I want to fit. I've seen somewhere that the anodising on the threads can stop you screwing anything on to it and removing some with a knife will allow to screw all the way on.

BillyJack2012, the quality is very good. The markings are engraved, the edges are finished well and the anodizing seems durable enough. Noveske requested that Madbull make a few changes. There is a pin somewhat riveted in that is to block a gas tube and prevent this handguard from being installed on a real AR15. Also, there are no keymod slots on the 6 o'clock face. There are only regular slits where you would have to add on picatinny rail sections the traditional way with backer nuts on the inside of the handguard.

Sco77w, I wish I had known that before hand. I suspect that if I were to try remove the barrel nut now, the tacticool22 adapter would unscrew along with it and I don't see a way that I would be able to separate the two.

Here are a couple more pics, one the 15-22 by itself and the other with my AR15 and airsoft M4.

Do you think by removing the anodizing from the Tacticool adaptor would help the NSR barrel nut to seat further?

"if I were to try remove the barrel nut now, the tacticool22 adapter would unscrew along with it and I don't see a way that I would be able to separate the two."

Simply take the rifle apart and lock the barrel in proper barrel vise jaws after you put the hand guard on backwards. When the adapter bottoms on the breech block it will not turn any more and the hand guard will unscrew from the adapter.

Here is a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Rg6onX4OA

I worked up the courage to try tightening it down some more. While both would turn together as a unit, almost every quarter turn the adapter would catch and allow me to screw on the handguard nut a bit more. I was able to close up the gap on the bottom considerably. I can't exactly measure it but I could only fit 8 pieces of paper in the gap.




By the way, the modified version of the tacticool22 adapter is much improved. You don't have to worry about damaging the threads since the hole to use the spanner wrench is on an extended unthreaded portion. I am more than satisfied with this product.

I have three things to bring up...

1. It would seem that the only reason the handguard can not seat flush to the upper receiver would be the pivot point. If you rounded off the inside straight section of the pivot point attachment (just dremel out a very small portion that shouldn't effect the stability or strength of the pivot), would you be able to get the handguard attachment closer to the frame and close that gap?

2. Looking at the gap, it allows you to utilize the full rail... without the gap, the rail section that joins the upper to the handguard would be too long to support a mount that may happen to need a connection point on that very spot. At least the gap allows you that extra slot in the rail to support a device being mounted over it. So would you even want the handguard to sit flush with the receiver?

3. What prevents the handgard from rotating once installed (other than the torquing of the nut)? I understand that the handguard attaches to the nut once tightened, but what prevents the nut from backing off or rotating? I've seen some handguards that come with anti-locking ring or even some that have mounting screws that secure it and prevent rotation. Or even some that overlap the gap and use the receiver to prevent rotation... but I would assume that a simple aluminum ring with mounting hardware or even a small bracket that attached to the rail would solve the issue (if there is one). How has anyone confronted this, if it's even a problem?

Personally, I have a riser that will be over the joint and should prevent any movement of the handguard... but again, I was just wondering.

Thanks in advance.

Looks like there's a small height mismatch between the receiver rail and the handguard rail? Or is that just illusion in the pic?

Wouldn't maintaining the "notch" spacing across the across the "joint" define the handguard placement? If they're different heights I guess it wouldn't matter...

kingfhb:

1. I considered removing some of the material from the front of the pivot pin upper receiver housing but being that the 15-22 receivers are polymer and not knowing enough about their strength I opted not to. I considered that the gap may just be the result of the "stacking" of tolerances between an airsoft replica and the handguard adapter. Even the authentic NSR has a gap on most installs. Please see picture below.

2. I'm really not too concerned about the gap and it's practical effects as I don't expect to utilize optics which have mounts that span both the receiver and handguard. At most I would use a cantilevered mount from the receiver only. The only optics I've seen that would span across would be something like an Eotech 512 or 516 and I believe those only have two cross pins which I would put fore and aft of the gap. I only intend on putting a flashlight and a folding front sight on the handguard. The gap will have no effect on either of these especially with the front sight having an elevation adjustment and rear sight a windage adjustment.

3. I was also concerned about this, and with this particular handguard being a replica, I reverted to the original to search for details. The authentic Noveske NSR attaches the same way, albeit with a different barrel nut. The authentic NSR does have a provision for an anti-rotation pin, but to use it you must either drill a shallow hole into the front of your upper receiver to take the pin or use one of their Noveske/Vltor upper receivers which are pre-drilled. However, users that have not utilized the pin have reported no problems with the handguard rotating. Consider that to install the barrel nut, you must use a wrench perpendicular to axis of the rifle with the additional leverage that a wrench would provide. I personally would not be able to provide that much torque using my bare hands when holding the handguard along it's axis. Additionally, with the operation of the action being straight backwards without any twisting motion and the low recoil of the 22LR cartridge, I don't see how any vibrations would overcome the at least 40 ft-lb of torque necessary to begin loosening of the barrel nut.

tomcatt51, The small height mismatch is an illusion of the pic. The screw holes to fix the handguard to the barrel nut are large enough that they provide some movement. When screwing in the handgard onto the barrel nut, I placed my primary arms red dot spanning the receiver and handguard to line it up and prevent rotation as I tightened the 6 screws down. I had no problem placing the optic here. After the screws were tightened down, I moved my red dot back to its original location.

This is a picture of a real Noveske NSR on a real AR15 receiver:

Looks Great!

I wouldn't worry about that tiny gap either.

The airsoft handguards must fit better than the actual AR handguards... I've tried two of them and neither has lined up properly (vertically that is). They sit just ever so slightly higher than the 15-22 rail. It's not really a problem for my setup because my scope mounts on the last slot of the 15-22 rail on the receiver... but if I tried to mount it any further, it would definitely cause an alignment issue due to it being on a slight slant upwards (if I mounted it crossing from one rail to the other).

It's very slight... only about two or three index cards in height... but definitely makes a difference.