Midwest Industries is now offering complete AR-15 uppers with some premium features. They feature the excellent Gen2 SS-Series Rails, MI’s own billet upper receiver, BCM Gunfighter Charging Handles, hammer forged barrels with med-length gas system, low profile gas blocks, an MI flash suppressor, and a quality bolt carrier group. These will be hand built by a former military armorer and each upper will be test fired. Check out MidwestIndustriesInc.com.
Midwest Industries (MI) has just released a new billet AR-15 upper receiver. It is machined from 6061 aluminum that is hard anodized and features M4 feedramps, thicker receiver walls, and a “T” marked flat top rail.
The MI AR15 Billet Upper is available stripped (you need to add the small parts) for just $165 which is pretty reasonable for a billet upper. Check out MidwestIndustriesInc.com.
The Midwest Industries One Piece FF Gen -2 SS-Series Rail (MI Gen-2 SS Rail) is part of the current crop of slim, lightweight, slick-sided free float rails. Many of these free float rails are so similar that, at first glance, it can be difficult to differentiate one from the other. That appears to be the case with the MI Gen-2 SS Rail until you take a look at its specification. Two specs in particular make your eyes pop out of your head – 9.3 ounces and 1.5 inches – the weight and the width. Does that have your attention? It certainly captured mine.
The MI Gen-2 SS Rail is available in several lengths (7”, 9”, 10”, 12”, and 15”). This review will deal with the 12” version though the features are identical across the entire line.
The MI Gen-2 SS Rail is a slim, lightweight, slick-sided free float tube. It features a continuous top rail across its entire length and the ability to attach accessories like rails or hand guard covers in multiple locations along its circumference. This design strategy reduces weight by allowing the end user to determine where rails are necessary. It also reduces the circumference of the rail allowing the end user to grip it more aggressively. It comes with 3 2.5” accessory rails (1 includes a QD sling swivel socket).
Midwest Industries was particularly successful with this strategy since they have reduced the weight of the rail to just 9.3 ounces (including the barrel nut) and the outside diameter to just 1.5” (excluding the top rail). That makes it one of the lightest free float tubes on the market and the slimmest one that I am aware that has an integral top rail.
The MI Gen-2 SS Rail are made from 6061 aluminum and hard anodized for durability. They utilize a proprietary barrel nut to mount the tube to the upper receiver. The tube attaches to the barrel nut with a friction fit via 2 large hex screws. The barrel nut is checkered to enhance this friction fit.
You have probably gathered by now that the MI Gen-2 SS Rail is very lightweight and very slim. Until you try one of these rails, those are really just numbers on a screen. The lightweight and slim design actually translates to functionality in use. For instance, I typically like to use a vertical grip on a traditional 4 rail free float tube. However, with the MI Gen-2 SS Rail, I don’t need one because I can wrap my hand around the rail and pull the carbine back into my shoulder aggressively to control recoil. That saves additional weight. The rail is so slim that I can wrap my hand around it and touch my thumb and index finger (or any other finger).
It is easy to put the weight of the MI Gen-2 SS Rail in perspective. It weighs just 9.3 ounces including the barrel nut (before adding any accessory rails). That is the exact same weight as a standard polymer M4 hand guard with double heat shields. So, for the same 9.3 ounces, you can have a cramped polymer hand guard with no light or sling mounting options or a 12” extended rail. The MI Gen-2 SS Rail delivers a lot of functionality per ounce.
There are a host of accessories already available for these rails. Midwest Industries supports them with direct connect handstops, additional rail sections, and hand guard panels. I find the hand guard panels with an integrated handstop to be a great value. Impact Weapons Components also makes several items in their MOUNT-N-SLOT line that work (use discount code “triggerjerk” for a discount at IWC). The 1.75” diameter mounts seem to work fine despite the slight difference in diameter. There are so many accessories available for these that you can attach everything you need without having to use an accessory rail which saves even more weight.
I have 2 of these MI Gen-2 SS Rails and they have held up very well to use. The hard anodizing seems to hold up well. It often looks scratched but usually the “scratch” is just a scuff that wipes off easily. I have been able to put some honest to goodness scratches on them but that will happen when you are doing things like shooting on barricades and, you know, actually using your gear. The attachment system has been durable enough that, so far, I have had no issues with loosening, wobble, breakage, and anything else that you might be worried about.
Rails like these have a lot of application for the civilian gun owner (or anyone else). Their small diameter and light weight make them perfect for all you guys who like to build carbines “for your wife.” While the fairer sex often prefers lighter weight carbines, you should, too. That is especially true when rails like the MI Gen-2 SS Rail reduce weight while still maintaining (or even adding) functionality and great durability. Why wouldn’t you want a lighter gun if it was just as functional as a heavier one? The ladies (and delicate handed bloggers) will also appreciate that Midwest Industries does a good job of breaking the edges on the MI Gen-2 SS Rails so they don’t have the cheese grater feel that many similar products have.
I really like these rails. Not only are they lightweight, slim, and durable, they are also a good value. None of the MI Gen-2 SS Rail models cost more than $190 and in most cases they cost much less than that. If you are going to drop the coin for a free float rail, you would be hard pressed to find a better value than these.
Check out the 12” Gen-2 SS Rails and 15” Gen-2 SS Rails at PredatorARMAMENT.com.
If you haven’t checked out the Midwest Industries Gen2 One Piece SS-Series Free Float Handguard (that is a mouth full), you are really missing out. I currently have two them and I like them quite a bit. They are lightweight, extremely slim (1.5″ outside diameter!), lack sharp edges, affordable, and accept of a variety of different accessories (the IWC 1.75″ MOUNT-N-SLOTs work fine in spite of the slight difference in diameter). But this isn’t a review of the handguard. It is a review of the new Panel Kits that Midwest Industries (MI) is offering for the handguard.
There are 2 different panel kits available that each come with 3 panels. One kit contains 3 “flat” panels while the other contains 2 flat panels and 1 panel with a built in handstop. I purchased the kit with the handstop.
The panels bolt directly to the handguard via 2 short steel screws per panel (provided). The screws mount to the threaded holes in the Gen2 One Piece SS-Series Free Float Handguard, rather than the slots so no backing plate is necessary. That makes installation a breeze. Just be sure to add a dab of thread locker to the screws.
I haven’t had these that long, so this is really more of a first look than a full review. However, these are a pretty simple product and I am not sure that I have much more to learn about them from continued use.
The texture that MI molds into the panels is fairly effective. It isn’t quite as grippy as DIY stippling but it is more aggressive than most textures that you will find on molded plastic items. It provides enough grip that I am not in a hurry to stipple them myself and it works well with gloves.
The panels are fairly slim (only about 1/8″ thick). The Midwest Industries Gen2 One Piece SS-Series Free Float Handguard is slim enough that the little bit of extra diameter may actually improve the grip for some users.
The steel screws can transmit heat to the shooter’s hand. They never got even close to being uncomfortable, but they did feel warm. This probably isn’t going to be a big deal for you unless you are doing multiple mag dumps, but steel is a good conductor of heat. If your barrel and gas block start to really heat up, you will likely notice that the screws get a bit warm. This is probably more of an issue in theory than in practice. In fact, this is probably nit picking because the panels do make the handguard more comfortable overall when temperatures rise.
Since these panels mount to the various threaded holes on the handguard, you may find that you are pretty limited as to where you can place them. This is less of an issue with the flat panels but more of an issue with the handstop. It works great as a true handstop – mounted well forward to keep your hand from slipping off the front of the handguard. However, if you want to use it to pull against with a thumbs forward or thumb over style grip, you may feel a bit more limited. Thankfully, I was able to attach the panels in a location that worked well for me and I suspect that they will work fine for most users.
I really appreciate how easy these panels are to mount. You don’t need to remove the handguard and installation literally takes seconds.
I also really appreciate how economical these are in terms of cost and weight. Where else are you going to be able to get rail covers and a handstop for less than $15. The flat panels weigh just 11 grams including the screws and the handstop panels weigh only 14 grams including the screws (total of 36 grams for the entire handstop kit or 33 grams for the flat panel kit).
Several manufacturers make these narrow, top rail only style handguards these days but very few of them have some kind of rail cover solution for them. It is nice to see MI addressing the issue for their own handguards. These panels represent a good value and they work very well. If you own a Gen2 SS-Series Free Float Handguard, these panel kits are money well spent.
You can purchase your own at MidwestindustriesInc.com.
I have two of the MI SS Gen2 Free Float Handguards and they are tremendous. Their 1.5″ outside diameter is narrower than just about any other handguard on the market. However, as is typical with rails like this, there can be some issues with heat. That is why I am thrilled to see that MI is bringing a bolt on panel kit to market. The kit will come with 3 panels (2 plain and 1 with a built in handstop). They will be available soon in FDE, Black, and OD Green.
Check out MidwestIndustriesInc.com.
