Rainier Arms Evolution Rail Discussion

**TripleBravo** · 26 July 2011, 19:34

My initial review of the Rainier Arms Evolution rail produced by Samson Manufacturing is posted here: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...0659#post30659

Please post any questions or comments in this thread.

**Stickman** · 26 July 2011, 23:59

Very nice!

**rob_s** · 27 July 2011, 04:59

Rainier just sent me one of these too. Ironically, I don't have anything with a stock barrel nut I can install it on right now! I actually have to go backwards to go forwards.

I'm going to install it on my HD gun which is an 11.5" 6933 that wears an Ops 15 can, which should nest down inside the Rainier tube pretty well. I already slid the tube over the can and there is just ever so slight of a gap around the can so we'll see how it works out.

**tac40** · 27 July 2011, 14:03

cool looking unit, nice set up.

**5pins** · 28 July 2011, 19:43

Originally Posted by rob_s

Rainier just sent me one of these too. Ironically, I don't have anything with a stock barrel nut I can install it on right now!

Send it to me I have one.

**Aragorn** · 31 July 2011, 10:00

I'd like to know how well the heat sinking barrel nut works. I love the feel of tubular rail/forends, but I've always had an issue with the heat transfer. I really don't need that much room on my rails for mounting accouterments as all I really use is a flashlight, foregrip and rail covers, but I still gravitate towards full quad rails because I can use rail covers to protect my hands from the heat. I've seen places where people have used these tubular forends and dumped two or three mags in quick succession and mentioned not feeling any heat transfer. Maybe so, but after you spend a whole afternoon outside working with high round counts, or even just lower spread out round counts, things get too hot to handle without something more significant than ladder panels. I realize I could use gloves, but I'm living in what is right now the second hottest city in the U.S., going on 40 days of over 100° F and wearing gloves is not something I really care to do. I could just add rail sections to a tubular forend and add some panels just to the area where I grip, but then I'm pretty much losing the main benefit of system. Also at that point I doubt I'm saving much weight over a full quad rail either.

This pretty much brings me full circle to "How well does the heat sink work?" Does it keep heat down to a manageable level? Or simply mitigate it slightly? Or would I be better off simply sucking it up and buying a glove or sticking to quad rails?

**TripleBravo** · 31 July 2011, 11:03

Aragorn....my goal over the next few weeks is to answer that exact question. I'll keep you posted!

**rob_s** · 31 July 2011, 17:36

Aragorn, I encountered this exact issue this weekend. For the past 2.5 years I've been wearing gloves when running carbine but this past Saturday I was shooting with a Vtac rail and didn't have my gloves. Two mags in on a ten-round drill and the handguard was too hot to hold with a bare hand.

Interested to see if this Rainier tube works better.

**Aragorn** · 31 July 2011, 19:28

Originally Posted by triplebravo

Aragorn....my goal over the next few weeks is to answer that exact question. I'll keep you posted!

Awesome! I understand how pulling heat away from the throat is helpful for maximizing barrel life, but being able to shoot it barehanded would rock!

**5pins** · 1 August 2011, 18:15

I was under the impression the heat sink would pull heat from the barrel and into the handguard making it hotter. I’m I wrong on this rail?

**rob_s** · 2 August 2011, 11:34

Decided what I'm going to do with mine...

I have a Colt 6520 that I converted to a flattop and installed a DD 9.0 rail on over a shaved FSB years ago. I'm going to pull that DD 9.0 off, replace the barrel nut with an OEM nut, and install the Rainier tube over that. Also going to mate the upper to an AXTS lower I have coming in and knock out two T&Es with one rifle.

Now if only I hadn't left my vice on the workbench at the old house...

**d90king** · 3 August 2011, 14:04

Wow! That is a fantastic looking tube! It looks like it is roughly the same diameter as the VTAC but with better thought out options to add rail pieces. Very nicely thought out! How does the weight compare to its Troy counterparts?

Great write up.

**rob_s** · 3 August 2011, 18:13

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?...DQ&output=html

**d90king** · 5 August 2011, 05:39

Originally Posted by rob_s

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?...DQ&output=html

Should have known that there was a "chart" for that. Nice work on that.

**Aragorn** · 6 August 2011, 13:25

Anyone got a measurement on the 3 to 9 o'clock width with rails installed?

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