Reinforcing a flimsy m16a2 handguard

[Sam99]

Hey ya’ll happy new year! I’ve recently acquired a Specna Arms RIF with an m16a2 handguard that’s made of pretty thin plastic that bends and flexes far too much for my liking, anyone got any experience with reinforcing them or am I better off buying a stronger one like a Rap4 m14 handguard? I thought an internal aluminium heat shield would work but I can’t find one anywhere. As far as reinforcing goes I was thinking maybe some metal pins drilled into the little round nubs inside to secure the 2 halves together better? Thanks

 

[ButcherBill]

What about some foam inserts like lagging foam cut to size?

 

[Sam99]

What about some foam inserts like lagging foam cut to size?

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah I didn’t think of foam, not sure if the vent holes being blocked by the foam would look weird but maybe I could drill holes in it. Thanks I’ll give it a try

 

[Diemaco]

I've got the same issue. I was thinking about getting real ones.

 

[TheFull9]

Is it just the actual plastic of the handguards being thin and squashing easily, or do they move around wholesale on the gun?
For the former, either potentially try padding them inside (though I've never seen that done, not sure on likelihood of it working) or buy a better brand of M16 handguard set. If the handguards are just loose on the gun then that comes down to the tolerances and the fitment of your barrel nut/delta ring and front handguard retainer; slightly more work to fix depending on exactly what is happening potentially. Though that said you can maybe just jam some tape in to the front retainer and for airsoft it'll probably do the job for a decent while.

 

[The_Lord_Poncho]

I've had the same issue with some XM177 handguards- ended up buying some rock solid real steel ones from Brownells- from memory, the cost wasn't too dissimilar to the airsoft equivalent. If its simply a loose fit, a large o ring can tighten it up....