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SHAW

Affordable Free Float


Affordable? Yes. Durable? Again, yes. I have gone through a few parts from the 6.8SPC that I am slowly putting together. (In case you missed it, here is the trigger, the grip, and the barrel) Here is another one that I thought I’d try out and ended up liking. There’s really no name for it. It’s simply the free float handguard by Double Star. The initial thing that attracted me to it was the price. $65 for the accuracy advantage of a free float tube was something I couldn’t pass up trying out. The rifle it was going on was purely for South Texas hunting so I wasn’t looking for a lot of rails anyway. Here’s what I was looking for in the handguard.

  1. Attractive price point. This is a rifle on a budget so it had to be cheap but not a P.O.S.

  2. All metal construction. Durability was still a must even if it is a rifle on a shoestring budget.

  3. Integral barrel nut. I’m not doing the clamp on garbage. Simple, sweet, and to the point.

  4. Rail attachment possibility for a sling. With an adapter, I can have that sling point where I want it.

I did most of my search on Brownells. They are my go-to supplier for rifle parts. When I came across the offering from Double Star I had to do a double-take. It fit every qualifier if had.

I was like a fat kid on a cupcake the day it arrived. I ripped the box open like it contained Mana from heaven. Here’s my hard nose opinion.

  • I like the thickness. Good construction but light weight.

  • I like the “cooling” slots around the muzzle end. It’s perfect for the adapter for my sling.

  • The barrel nut is good. Not great but good. It has a nice torque shoulder (friction point to torque up against)

  • Barrel nut design is fine. The only critique I have is that it has no set screw to ensure that it doesn’t loosen. So you have to rely on thread locker. For what it’s meant for I’m okay with that. That and if it becomes an issue I’ll just add my own set screw. “We have the technology”.

  • Is "Tactical Rifle" worthy? Probably not. Is it great for the hunting/range rifle? That's an absolute yes.

So for a rifle that will never see battle...maybe a charging wild boar...but no combat...this is actually a great handguard. Get yourself one HERE.


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