

While the hand guard is heating up, the gas block and tube are installed, and screwed in place. Once the barrel nut is torqued using the included robust tool, the instructions suggest heating up the hand guard with a hair dryer for a few minutes to help fitment. That claim may or may not be a steaming pile of bull excrement, but if there’s any truth to it, the BCM KMR would allow you to set your barrel nut to your desired torque setting without worrying about having to time the hand guard in place. I’ve never independently tested it, but some people in the gun industry have told me that there’s a correlation between accuracy and barrel nut torque. No matter what you torque your barrel nut to, the hand guard will always fit tightly to the receiver, and be perfectly timed. This channel is where the two sets of screws that hold the whole thing in place reside. The BCM system uses a solid barrel nut with a U-shaped channel cut all the way around.
BCM ALUMINUM KEYMOD RAIL SECTION SERIES
If you’ve read my Mega Fins review, you’ll remember that Strike includes a series of shims to assist in timing which had the less-than-desirable effect of creating an ugly space between receiver and hand guard. This differs from the Noveseke NSR, Strike Industries Mega Fins, and a gang of others which require you to crank down on the barrel nut until everything fits. The thing I appreciated most about this system is there’s no correlation between barrel nut torque and hand guard timing. You’ll also need the tools to remove your gas block from the barrel so you can thread on the new barrel nut. The kit includes not only the hand guard and all necessary hardware, but a very robust wrench to help knock off a mil spec barrel nut and replace it with the KMR-specific nut. If you don’t, a qualified gunsmith should handle the job for you.

I found installation of the KMR to be easy enough assuming you have all the right tools. When I emailed Tex300BLK to tell him I had the KMR inbound, he told me that installation was fairly straightforward, but like anything, go slow and take your time.
BCM ALUMINUM KEYMOD RAIL SECTION FULL
The full kit including rail and mounting hardware weighs in at 7.6 oz. pure aluminum without sacrificing strength. Folks looking for a lightweight build should surely have their ears perking up at this point.īCM indicates that they’re able to get such a lightweight 13″ hand guard by using an aluminum and magnesium alloy that sheds 30-40% of weight vs. Keep in mind that my test unit was a 13-inch version and that BCM offers 9- and 10-inch versiona as well for those looking to shave even more weight. The rail alone without hardware weighs 5.35 oz. And sure enough, upon initial inspection, the first thing you notice is how darn light the rail is. Billed as being invented by the “Father of KeyMod”, BCM claims that the KMR is light, tough, and strong.
