WTF did I do to my AR?!

Was just cleaning and lubing my AR when I noticed this at the base of my handguard...



Ive never dropped it, could this be a mishap from the build?

 

Doesn't even look like your handguard rail is aligned to the upper receiver right now . Looks like it got twisted

 

Are your handguard bolts loose?

 

Definitely twisted.

 

Well I can tell it's twisted but how in the fuck? Bolts seem torqued.

 

After looking at it again it looks like you barrel nut is loose. Did you build this rifle or buy it assembled?

 

Looks like the barrel nut is loosening possibly but probably not... Or during the initial build, the barrel nut wasn't timed correctly and when installing the handguard, some force was used to align the top rail on the hanguard with the top rail on the receiver.

If the handguard is not loose then I would just keep running it

 

Maybe you didn't tighten down the clamp screws enough. Over time that hand guard has twisted due to the pressure you put on it while grabbing it with your left hand or grabbing a forward grip attached to it. It twists clockwise because you're a right handed shooter. That's really odd that the tabs would break like that. I'm not judging but it looks like you purchased maybe a cheaper hand guard, the rail doesn't look milspec, there seems to be imperfections near the rail in paint and maybe metal. Might want to invest in a sturdier hand guard and for sure re torque that barrel nut.

 

My friend and a well known shop owner/gun builder put it together for me. It's a midwest industries hand guard, I figured it was pretty good quality. I'll have him check the barrel nut on Tuesday.

 

Quoted for future liability litigation.

 

Ok cool

 

It's not the barrel nut loosening, otherwise the tabs would be bent the other direction. The handguard rotated relative to the fixed barrel nut. You should be able to loosen the bottom clamp and rotate the handguard back so it's flush with the upper.

 

Lefty loosy would mean it un tightens to the left, counter clockwise, those tabs are bent up which means the handgaurd spun counterclockwise, correct? That means it may need to be re torqued.

 

Someone mentioned it. The barrel nut was a bit off center. Barrel is tight/torqued down properly. So when he slipped the hand guard on. Tightened the 2 handguard tension screws it pulled and clamped down causing those index fingers to twist and somewhat broken

 

This right here. It's pretty obvious from the picture your hand guard rotated counter clockwise. Just loosen the clamp screws, straighten it back out, re tighten screws, load it up and shoot. Midwest industries is gtg

 

Negative, the barrel nut is staying stationary and the hand guard is twisting.

 

I know the handgaurd is twisting but doesn't the barrel nut thread like any other screw, leftly loosy righty tighty, maybe I'm mixing my view of it up...

 

Wouldn't be a bad idea to check the torque on the barrel nut after loosening the handgaurd. An extra five minutes to get the tools, check and put them away can't hurt. Since the torque range is from 35-80ft/lbs it's very unlikely the handguard moving would've moved the barrel nut.

 

The way some people handle their rifles (me ) I abuse it and I've spun at least 2 handguards before. I was just suggesting because every time I pull off the handgaurd to clean I make sure I re torque just in case. IMO worst place for something to fail on an AR besides having a hot load that blows the bolt.