Making Retro Handguards New Again

The retro AR market has been hot again over the last couple of years. It used to be that you could find surplus stocks for your clone builds. Apparently enough of us are doing these builds though that those sources are drying up. It’s getting harder to find original handguards that are in good shape, or reasonably priced. Let alone both.

Repro’s have been available for a long time now, but they often aren’t built as well as the original GI parts. The folks at Luth AR and Echo Nine Three have got us covered though. Both companies are now offering new manufacture retro handguards made to GI specs.

Echo Nine Three CAR and A2 Offerings

I posted about Echo Nine Three’s (E93) CAR and A2 handguards a little while back. E93 is working with one of the original U.S. OEM manufacturers of GI handguards. So you aren’t getting a reproduction, but rather a currently produced GI handguard made by one of the companies that made the originals.

The offer a 6 hole CAR model, and a full length A2 model. I picked up a set of the CAR ones to check out. I was thinking about saving them for a future Colt Commando clone build but decided to try them out on my GUU-5/P clone. I had a set of H&R CAR handguards on that build already. When I pulled those, I compared them, and a set of Taiwanese CAR handguards from Linemount, to the new E93 ones.

 

In general, the E93 handguards look and feel good. They’re solid, have clean mold lines and a secure, thick aluminum heat shield. The H&R ones are honestly very close to the new Echo Nine ones. I’m not sure who makes those for H&R, although they are also U.S. made, but they’re solid. The Taiwanese ones are notably less sturdy than either of the other two. They’re not bad, and I have used them on builds, but there is a difference. You can flex the plastic on the Taiwanese ones with a light squeeze, and the aluminum heat shield is much thinner.

Between the three, the E93 handguards have an MSRP of $42.50. The H&R handguards are $64.99. The Linemount Taiwanese CAR handguards are just $24.99. If you’re doing a budget build, the Linemount handguards work. As I said, I have used them and they were fine. Between the other two, both are very good handguards in my opinion. But you’re saving $20 on the Echo Nine Three ones over the H&R, and they’re made by one of the original OEM manufacturers. You don’t really get more clone correct than that, other than pulling them off of an issue gun.

I haven’t checked out the E93 A2 handguards yet. Based on the CAR ones though, I’ll give those a try the next time I have an A2 based project in the works. The price on those is also $42.50, I paid nearly that for a set of cracked surplus ones that I used on my A2 clone a few years back. Actually I may just get a set of E93’s to replace those now that I think about it. If you need a set of CAR or A2 handguards for a clone or retro inspired build, I’d definitely check out Echo Nine Three.

Luth AR Brings Back the A1

Meanwhile, Luth AR has brought back another throwback set with what they’re calling the A1 Retro Reproduction Handguard.  I was pretty excited to see this one. A1 handguards were notably fragile. Finding ones in nice shape without cracks or the “teeth” of the vent holes broken is getting harder to do. There are a number of repros out already, so what set’s Luth’s new ones apart?

The other repro A1 handguards on the market all use more modern plastics than the original A1 handguards. That’s a good thing, as they don’t seem as brittle as the originals. Still, they didn’t seem to have the same feel. They feel lighter and not quite as solid. The heat shields on them aren’t as robust, and are typically just press fitted in place. That includes the previous ones that Luth AR was already selling.

The new A1 Retro Reproduction Handguards from Luth AR are very close to the originals. I had actually just got a set of Luth AR’s previous A1 handguards for a future build when I saw the release of the new models. I bought a set of those too. Not long after that I stumbled on to a decent set of original GI A1 handguards. So I had all three to compare side by side.

Luth’s new A1 handguards have the same feel as the GI ones. They also have the same style thick, riveted heat shields installed. They use a 35% glass-filled high-performance nylon, that stronger, more heat resisatnt and more durable than the original polymers used in the GI handguards. Between the correct heavier riveted heat shields and the new polymers they should actually be a functionally better handguard than the original, while maintaining the correct look and features.

The previous Luth AR handguard is similar to Brownells and others on the market. Like the Linemount CAR handguards, they were fine, and I’ve used both Luth and Brownells ones on builds before. They aren’t bad handguards, but the new ones are definitely better. They’re more accurate to the original design, and seem to be stronger.

I swapped out the original handguards on my H&R M16A1 clone with the new Luth AR A1 Retro Reproduction ones. The handguards fit snugly and lined up perfectly. That’s something I’ve sometimes had issues with on other repros. Sometimes there would be a slight gap at the bottom, or the teeth didn’t completely line up. That always bothered my OCD. The new Luth ones look good. They’re tight with no wobble as well. I hit them with a rag and some Ballistol and they took a sheen pretty similar to my GI handguards.

The new A1 Retro Reproduction Handguards from Luth AR have an MSRP of $49.99. That’s actually $3 less than the ones they were selling prior. They’re currently available in black, and OD green ones are coming. If you have a build that needs A1 handguards, and can’t find or don’t want to use originals, these would be my first choice.

Options are Good

I like seeing options and competition in the market. It’s a bonus to the consumer, and keeps the manufacturers on point as well. With original supplies of stocks for retro M16 builds drying up, having some solid options for quality CAR, A1, and A2 furniture is great for the community. If you already have a build planned, check out Echo Nine Three and Luth AR. Even if you don’t, just buy some handguards anyway, and then you’ll have an excuse to dive in to another project!