I just received my ranier arms xtc yesterday, i soaked just the muzzle up to the end off the threads in hoppes #9 overnight. Got up this morning & put the barrel in my vise which has a polymer pipe clamping attachment that fits the barrel perfectly. Tightened up the vise & tried to remove the flash hider & it the rifle spun, so I tightened the vise some more. This time the rifle did NOT spin & the flash hider came off pretty easy. I had the rifle clamped muzzle up, & looking down at the upper I noticed my eotech was pressed against the leg of my workbench, just barely though, not dug in. I cleaned the threads up good & while doing I noticed if I hold the handguard & with the same hand push on the barrel with my thumb it will move/flex a little. Ive never noticed this before & im pretty sure its the barrel flexing & not my samson 12 inch evolution handguard. Is this normal flex?? Could I have possibly loose the barrel nut? Or do I need to look again as it may well be the handguard? Plan on shooting tomorrow but need a resolution to this matter before I pull the trigger. Help please.

I just checks my rifle equipped with a Troy Alpha rail. When I grasp the handguard, I can wiggle the barrel just a little bit. There will always be some play. Due to the limitations of the written word over the internet, I would highly suggest consulting with a friend with the requisite background experience to take a look at your rifle. There are some things I can't really tell you for sure because I'd have to inspect the rifle in person and judge the amount of play myself in the real world.

I know this doesn't help but Hoppes No.9 is a cleaning solvent. If you want to loosen a nut or any other threaded on device, penetrating oil is to be used. I also think that your clamping method is fine, but to be safe an AR upper vise block clamp is a good idea.

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-John

Also ... Kudos on the Star Wars reference in your screen name.

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-John

Haha. Thanks. I found some info on the interweb & it seems to be normal. Only a small amount of flex & it returns right back to its starting point. As 1 person pointed out, hence the use of FREE FLOAT handguards to keep consistent accuracy. After more investigation I feel 99% sure its good to go, since during the process of removing the fIash hider I didnt have any violent wrench slips or anything along those lines. I may pull the handguard off to just give it a closer look & check the barrel nut torque

Barrel to receiver I would expect ZERO flex that could be felt. However, with a tenth reading dial indicator you may be able to "spring" the barrel a few tenth thousands.

Barrel to handguard I would expect some flex. These handguards are basically plastic and not the most rigid material on the planet.

Its a samson evolution freefloat handguard, not the standard handguard. Yeah I had soaked it in hoppes 1st because I usually don't go town cleaning the birdcage then I hit with a brush to knock anything out that may have been baked into the crevices. Then I did the same thing & soaked it in plain old 3 n 1 oil after that. Just got back from the local gun shops & found the same type of flex in other ARs set up as close as possible to mine, 12inch free float, hold at the end of the handguard & pushed on the barrel with my thumb. All yielded the same result, a very small amount of flex & returned to starting point as I released pressure from my thumb.

I have a vise block set but didnt want to use it because its possible to flex&twist the upper itself if it were to take an excessive amount of force to get the birdcage loose. Thats why I opted to clamp the barrel close the the flashhider,