Hinged hand guard
A hand guard assembly for installation on a standard barrel nut is disclosed. In accordance with some embodiments, the hand guard assembly may include a hinged hand guard comprising a left clamshell component and a right clamshell component, which may be mounted on a standard barrel nut. The design of the hinged hand guard allows the hand guard to securely fasten on the standard barrel nut by accommodating the sprockets of the standard barrel nut in an internal radial groove, and/or encasing the firearm's gas tube in a longitudinal notch. The disclosed configurations may allow a user to attach and remove the hand guard easily and quickly from the firearm without modifying the standard barrel nut or removing the gas block.
1. A hand guard for a firearm, the hand guard comprising:
a first clamshell component comprising:
a top longitudinal edge defining a receiving channel;
a bottom longitudinal edge;
an inner surface; and
an outer surface;
a second clamshell component comprising:
a top longitudinal edge defining a monorail formed to mate with the receiving channel;
a bottom longitudinal edge;
an outer surface; and
an inner surface; and
a fastener for securing the bottom longitudinal edge of the first clamshell component to the bottom longitudinal edge of the second clamshell component.
2. The hand guard of claim 1 , further comprising a radial groove on the inner surfaces of both the first clamshell component and the second clamshell component.
3. The hand guard of claim 2 , wherein a radius of the radial groove is approximately equal to a radius of a barrel nut.
4. The hand guard of claim 2 , wherein the inner surface of one of either the first clamshell component or the second clamshell component comprises a longitudinal notch.
5. The hand guard of claim 1 , further comprising a longitudinal notch formed on the inner surface of at least one of either the first clamshell component or the second clamshell component.
6. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the first clamshell component is completely detachable from the second clamshell component.
7. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the hand guard does not include a hinge pin separate from the clamshell components.
8. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the hand guard is compatible with an M16-style firearm.
9. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the hand guard is compatible with an AR15-style firearm.
10. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first clamshell component and the second clamshell component comprises at least one aperture extending from the inner surface to the outer surface.
11. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the first clamshell component and the second clamshell component are each semi-tubular, and the hand guard has a substantially circular cross-section when in a closed position.
12. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the fastener is threaded.
13. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the fastener is comprised of a first element and a second element, the first element being both interlockable with the second element and detachable from the second element, wherein the second element is integral to the bottom longitudinal edge of the second clamshell component.
14. The hand guard of claim 1 , wherein the receiving channel extends from a front end of the first clamshell component to a rear end of the first clamshell component and the monorail extends from a front end of the second clamshell component to a rear end of the second clamshell component.
15. A firearm assembly comprising:
a firearm comprising:
a barrel;
a gas tube; and
a barrel nut fastened to the barrel, the barrel nut having sprockets extending radially from the barrel nut;
a hand guard attachable to the firearm and detachable from the firearm, the hand guard comprising:
a first side comprising:
an inner surface defining a radial groove; and
an outer surface defining a recess, the recess extending longitudinally from a front portion of the hand guard to a rear portion of the hand guard;
a second side comprising:
an inner surface defining a radial groove aligned with the radial groove of the first side; and
an outer surface defining an integral hinge pin, the hinge pin extending longitudinally from a front portion of the hand guard to a rear portion of the hand guard, the hinge pin sized to fit inside the recess, such that the first side of the hand guard can be pivotally connected to the second side of the hand guard; and
a fastener configured to connect the first side of the hand guard and the second side of the hand guard, the fastener able to lock the second side of the hand guard and the first side of the hand guard together such that the hand guard encircles at least a portion of the barrel when the hand guard is secured on the barrel nut, and wherein the only point of contact between the barrel and the hand guard is at the barrel nut.
16. The firearm assembly of claim 15 , further comprising a mounting rail formed on at least one of the outer surface of the first side and the second side.
17. The firearm assembly of claim 15 , wherein at least one of either the inner surface of the first side or the inner surface of the second side comprises a longitudinal notch formed to accommodate the gas tube.
18. A firearm comprising:
a barrel having a longitudinal axis, a right side and a left side;
a barrel nut aligned with the longitudinal axis of the barrel; and
a hand guard comprising:
a first hand guard component; and
a second hand guard component pivotally connected to the first hand guard component about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, such that in a mounted state the second hand guard component is substantially disposed on the right side of the barrel and the first component and the second component, together, encircle at least a portion of the barrel, and an inner surface of the hand guard is in contact with the barrel nut when in a mounted state.
19. The firearm of claim 18 , wherein the first hand guard component includes a radial groove on an inner surface and the radial groove is formed to accommodate the barrel nut.
20. The firearm of claim 18 , further comprising a gas tube, wherein at least one of the first hand guard component and the second hand guard component comprises a longitudinal notch located on an inner surface and the longitudinal notch is formed to accommodate the gas tube.