Rainier Arms Evolution Rail Discussion

[Aragorn]

Any update on this?

[TripleBravo]

Aragorn...I'm scheduled to get some range time with it this Friday. I'll post an update ASAP!

[Aragorn]

Roger that!

[neo9710]

And on standby for the review!!

[Eric]

[TripleBravo]

Be just a little more patient with me. I'll have an update posted soon!

[TripleBravo]

I finally found some time this past Monday to get up to the range for some well overdue practice. I used the time to multitask by giving the Rainier Arms Evolution rail from Samson its first real workout. The primary goal was to gauge the effectiveness of the heat sink that surrounds the barrel nut. Secondarily, I thought I’d compare it with a 15 inch Troy TRX Extreme railed upper I have. Both uppers were built using a 16 inch 1:8 twist mid-length gas Ionbonded stainless steel barrel.



I shot without gloves all day, and worked mainly on reloads and transition drills. At no point did the EVO rail become so hot that I noticed any discomfort. I did start to become aware of heat on my thumb as it rested on the top rail, but the obvious source of this was the gas block. In this configuration, my thumb rests almost directly over the top of the micro gas block under the rail.

When I switched to the Troy TRX Extreme upper, I expected a notable difference. I have to say that in the end, I found the TRX Extreme just as comfortable to shoot. Perhaps it was because of Troy’s proprietary barrel nut or because this was a 15 inch rail and therefore has more than two additional inches of surface area to dissipate the heat…I dunno. In my completely unscientific testing, both setups worked well.

Since the subject of this thread is the Evolution rail, I’ll set the comparison to the TRX Extreme aside for now, and say that the EVO has performed as advertised. I have to say that it’s also becoming more difficult to remain objective while evaluating the EVO rail, because this set up is quickly becoming my favorite.

[Aragorn]

Oh hell... I'm in trouble now!

For the sake of curiosity, why do you prefer the EVO to the TRX?

[uspopo]

I got this baby coming for LWRC M6A2 upper..that is one hot rail system. Thanks for the review.

Stan

[rob_s]

I have one of these tubes also and have been using it on my 9mm AR with can nested inside. I'm really liking it.

Interesting that there are now (at least) three tubes out there with a similar overall design of having only one fixed rail section at 12 o'clock, and noting their OD dimensions.

Troy/VTAC 1.74" OD
Daniel Defense 1.76" OD
Rainer/Samson 1.80" OD

also interesting to compare back to the old-school of the JP which had a 2.00" OD, and the APEX which has a 1.88" OD

More than anything else I think that OD size is going to be the primary factor in what people prefer in terms of shooting, and ID will be a secondary concern for those looking to next suppressors inside them. For reference, most 5.56 cans have a 1.50" OD.

[TripleBravo]

Oh hell... I'm in trouble now!

For the sake of curiosity, why do you prefer the EVO to the TRX?

Aragon, here is a quick list of points just off the top of my head:

- The Rainier Arms version of the Evolution rail comes with exactly the add on rail sections I need -- A QD socket, a 2 inch rail, and a 4 inch rail. (The Troy comes with two 2 inch rails, and one 4 inch rail. I have a QD socket on the Troy, but it’s a $20 part made by Noveske.)
- The EVO has an anti rotation tab on both sides of the upper receiver. (The Troy only has it on one side because its designed installation does not make it possible to have one on both sides.)
- The EVO rail works with a standard barrel nut. (The Troy does come with a wrench for its proprietary barrel nut -- which is a huge plus over some other rails with proprietary nut designs.)

Some of these reasons are particular to me and you might find they are not as important to you. I still like the Troy TRX Extreme rail series and I’ve used them on several builds in the past. I’ll probably still use them. However, I think I like this EVO rail just a little more.

[TripleBravo]

I got this baby coming for LWRC M6A2 upper..that is one hot rail system. Thanks for the review.

Stan

Did you ensure that the piston system will fit under this rail? I'm not saying that it won't, but that is often a concern for a piston gun...and it's also something I did not look into for my review.

[uspopo]

Triple Bravo, on the LWRCI forums there has been a handful of M6A2 uppers retrofitted with the Samson EVO and a couple with the Rainier/Samson EVO variant with no piston clearance issues so this rail is good to go on the LWRC with no mods but a straight drop in fit. I will post a few pics when I get a chance as it should be arriving today.

Stan

[Hatter]

From what I've seen the Samson rails have a cutout for the piston systems. These are the EVO EX systems... not the standard full length EVO rails. I have not see the LWRCI forums but I'd be curious to know.

[uspopo]

Here is a link to the modded LWRC/Samson rifles:
http://forum.lwrci.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10051

If mods feel that it is inappropriate please delete..

Stan