Handguards

The handguard is the part of the weapon located at the front of the weapon. Its primary function is to allow a better grip on the weapon. They can be made of wood, polymer or duralumin. It can also serve as a platform for mounting secondary weapons (such as M203 grenade launchers) and accessories such as bipods, tactical lights, laser sights, night vision devices, grips, slings, and a variety of other accessories. 

Another of its function is to protect our hands from contact with the barrel, which, in the case of the real variant, gets very hot during firing and risks burning. In the case of airsoft, it reduces the possibility of misalignment of the outer barrel, for example, when leaning the gun against an obstacle.

Their attachment to the gun body can be divided into 2 ways:

• Classic (fixed)
  This method has attachment on 2 points, namely on the gun body and on the gas block in front of the barrel. Most often these foregrips are made of polymer, metal alloy or wood. This foregrip is most commonly found on classic M4A1 and AK weapons. 
• Floating
  This type is attached to the forearm nut, which is installed on the upper part of the gun body (UPPER RECEIVER). This prevents direct contact with the barrel. This particular type of forearm is in most cases made of some form of aluminum or aluminum alloy. This design allows the barrel to be considered free floating. In the world of firearms, it is known that a free-floating fore-end provides better accuracy and the reason for this is that we are not resting on the barrel and therefore cannot misalign it, even slightly. This may not be the case in airsoft and is more of a design element. 

There are a number of mounting systems on the foregrips, the main ones being M-LOK, KeyMod and Picatinny. We can see them not only on AR15 platform weapons, but also on lightweight forearms for MP5 or AK, where the most famous copied manufacturer is ZENITCO. 

WHAT'S A FREE-FLOATING FOREARM?

Free-floating forearms, also referred to as "floating" forearms, have become very popular in recent years. They work by attaching to the gun at only one point (on the barrel nut near the upper body housing), while the rest of the forearm does not touch the barrel. This gives the impression that the forearm "floats" around the barrel, hence the name. 

This design makes firearms equipped with a floating foregrip much more accurate than other variants where the barrel makes contact. But even in airsoft, this forearm has its justification, namely that it protects the barrel against misalignment. This can occur when we accidentally rest the gun on the barrel while aiming, or when using the feet that are mounted directly on the barrel of the gun. This is particularly noticeable when the barrel is not seated or tightened properly. (slightly rewritten)

When installing, for example, an ar15, the use of steel demarcation washers may be necessary. Proper shimming eliminates nut loosening and ensures a perfect alignment of the forend with the gun body and a tight seating of the outer barrel.

THE CLASSIC RIS IS NOW IN DECLINE 

As we wrote above, there are 3 most commonly used today and they are KeyMode, M-lok and Picatinny. 

KeyMode is a universal interface system for firearms accessories. The concept was created by VLTOR Weapon Systems. Its appearance resembles a keyhole.

M-lok stands for Modular Lock, which is a firearms rail interface system developed and patented by Magpul Industries. The M-LOK system allows direct attachment of accessories to "negative space" (hollow slot) mounting points.

Picatinny (RIS) typically has full-length rail slots, resulting in a heavier weight, bulkier stock with sharp edges that is not user friendly, when the use of caps is required to improve grip.