How the V-Tac Modular Hand Guard System came about

With the input of Kyle Lamb from Viking Tactics, Bennie Cooley from CTRS and other highly-experienced military and police operators, the JP modular hand guard was redesigned to offer the best versatility of any hand guard system while retaining the light weight and cooling capacity of our original design. The new design was named the V-Tac Modular Hand Guard System.

Four items were addressed:

First, depending on the optic/sight setup, it was possible to grab the rifle in such a way as to touch the hot gas tube. The outer nut design and tube was changed completely shielding this area to prevent this from happening. The new nut also completely covers the transitional area between the receiver and nut, preventing the exposed tube from being crushed if the rifle is dropped on a rock in just the right manner. The chances of this are remote, but in a place like Iraq, anything can happen. A fringe benefit of this new design is the reduction of the thermal optical distortion effect from hot air off the barrel/gas tube rising in front of the scope or sights under calm conditions.

Second, the tube is now secured to the outer nut with seven flathead screws for a rock solid relationship that will never turn and remain precisely aligned to the upper receiver. Thus, any accessories such as secondary sights, co-witnessed sights or tactical lights stay in precise relationship to the upper receiver improving accuracy and hit probability with those accessories.

Third, full-length rifle and carbine rail systems was designed that extend the upper receiver rail interface forward at 12:00 on the hand guard, allowing for the use of co-witnessed IR equipment, secondary sights or flip-up iron. V-Tac also comes in a CAR shorty and Mid-Length versions. Four rail lengths are available, two inch, four inch and full-length carbine and rifle.

Fourth, a dual-nut system with a 6061 T6 outer receiver extension nut combined with a carbon steel internal barrel retainer nut can be secured with a standard armorer's wrench. This improves the overall structural integrity of the barrel/receiver relationship and makes it possible to achieve a precise 12:00 index of the tube regardless of where the internal nut needs to be for proper torque.

Why fee floating tubular hand guards ?

Free floating tubular hand guards for the AR-15 offer the greatest improvement in accuracy of any single modification. In addition to overall accuracy improvement, point of impact will not change regardless of how the rifle is being shot, whether with a bipod, sling or hand held. Assuming a good barrel and ammunition, it's not uncommon for accuracy to improve from 1.5 -2.0 MOA to sub MOA with a properly-installed free float tube. The V-Tac modular hand guard is designed as a complete system to improve not only the accuracy but the handling characteristics and utility of the rifle. The floating studs included allow complete flexibility in bipod positioning, whether all the way out for maximum stability or all the way in next to the receiver for fastest possible target indexing. Extra studs allow for proper tactical sling setup as well. Two-piece design makes for an easy installation with a standard armorer's wrench with proper torque as opposed to a strap wrench on one-piece tubes. There’s no need to drill unsightly holes for studs that may not align after disassembly/reassembly of the tube system. All accessories can be quickly relocated at will. The radical tapered nut and superb metal finishing make this the finest tube on the market.The ventilated, fluted design is also 20% lighter than standard tubes and also makes this the coolest running tube in terms of heat dissipation.Posigrip center portion assures non-slip grip regardless of weather conditions.