Forward rail guard for rifles

[0001] The present invention relates to rifles, and more particularly, to rifles with rails mounted in the area of a forward grip.

[0002] Mounting rails are well known in the field of assault rifles and modern sporting rifles. Almost always featuring some type of mounting rail on top of the upper receiver, many such rifles are also either manufactured with, or modified to include, mounting rails in the area where a forward grip would otherwise cover the rear end of the barrel. Quite often, these mounting rails (collectively referred to herein as forward rails) include not only upward-facing rails, but also downward-, leftward- and rightward-facing rails.

[0003] While quite convenient for mounting a variety of accessories, these forward rails can be uncomfortable to hold and may offer insufficient protection for a shooter's hand from the heat generated by the forward end of the barrel and metal hardware in thermal contact therewith. To address some of these issues, various rail guards have been offered which afford additional comfort to a shooter; nonetheless, further improvements are possible.

[0004] In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved forward rail guard for rifles. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a rifle assembly includes a rifle and a forward rail guard. The rifle includes a receiver, a barrel extending forwardly of the receiver, and forward rails arranged around a portion of the barrel. The forward rail guard mounted to the forward rails and extending from a rear end proximate the receiver and a forward end extending forwardly of a forward end of the forward rails.

[0005] According to an aspect of the present invention, the forward rail guard includes left and right guard sections configured to separately connect to left and right side forward rails of the rifle and extend below a barrel thereof.

[0006] These and other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better appreciated in view of the drawings and following detailed description of preferred embodiments.

[0012] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a forward rail guard 10 is mounted to the forward rails 12 of a rifle 14. The rail guard 10 extends from a rear end 16 proximate a receiver 20 of the rifle 14 to a forward end 22 that advantageously extends forwardly of a forward end of the forward rails 12. In the depicted embodiment, the forward rails 12 include top, bottom, and left and right side forward rails 24, 26, 28, 30 and the rail guard 10 effectively covers the bottom and left and right side forward rails 26, 28, 30 while leaving the top forward rail 24 accessible.

[0013] The rail guard 10 is releasably, slidably mounted to the forward rails 12, and releasably fixed in its fore/aft position by flexible tabs 34 that are biased inwardly to engage the forward rails 12. By manually biasing the tabs 34 outwardly, the rail guard 10 can be moved forward or rearward on the forward rails 12 and ultimately completely removed by sliding off the forward end of the forward rails 12. The tabs 34 are located within cutouts 36 to minimize the likelihood of the tabs 34 catching on other objects. Guide channels 38 on interior sides of the rail guard 10 slidably engage the forward rails 12.

[0014] Advantageously, the tabs 34 are located on a rear half of the rail guard 10, while still positioned forwardly of the rear end 16. This positioning facilitates positioning of the rail guard 10 on rifles with relatively short left and right side forward rails 28, 30, and/or left and right side forward rails 28,30 that do not extend rearwardly all the way to the receiver. More forwardly positioned tabs 34 might entirely prevent connection to the rifles with short rails, or at least prevent the rail guard 10 from providing a convenient gripping surface forwardly of the rails. More rearwardly positioned tabs 34 might result prevent the rail guard 10 from offering a convenient gripping surface between rear ends of the rails and the receiver.

[0015] More preferably, the rail guard 10 is formed with separate left and right guard sections 40, 42, with the left guard section 40 being slidably received on the left side forward rail 28 and the right guard section 42 being slidably received on the right side forward rail 30. This allows the rail guard 10 to readily mount to the left and right side forward rails 28, 30 of a wide range of rifles without problems arising due to the variation in horizontal spacing resulting from the particular rifle and/or forward rail assembly configuration.

[0016] A visible gap between the left and right guard sections 40, 42 is minimized by upper and lower inner flanges 44, 46 extending from one of the guard sections 40, 42 and extending inside of the other. The lower flange 46 preferably runs along substantially the entire length of the rail guard 10, while the upper flange 44 terminates closer to the forward end 22. Thus, the rail guard 10 substantially covers the bottom forward rail 26 between the left and right side forward rails 28, 30. As used herein, “substantially” means not including discrete openings that do not impact the grip, such as the minor gap between sections 40, 42, the cutouts 36 and discrete ventilation openings 48.

[0017] Aft of the upper flange 44, an upper opening 50 allows access to the top forward rail 26, as well as a forward sight block mounting area 52 of the barrel 54. A forward wall 56 surrounds the forward sight block mounting area 52, further ensuring a shooter's fingers do not come into contact therewith.

[0018] A receiver recess 60 is defined at the rear end 16 of the rail guard 10 proximate the receiver 20. The receiver recess 60 prevents interference with increased width areas on the receiver 20, such as the forward pivot/takedown pin area. A hand-stop 62 is formed at the forward end 22 of the rail guard 10 to help a user tactilely identify the forward end 22 and avoid inadvertently contacting the barrel or coming into proximity with hot gases, projectiles and the like.

[0019] In use, a shooter simply slides the left and right guard sections 40, 42 onto the respective left and right side forward rails 28, 30, operating the tabs 34 to slide the sections 40, 42 rearward until the rear end 16 of the guard 10 is in a desired position adjacent the receiver 20. The shooter then uses the rifle 14, as usual, gripping the rail guard 10 as desired. If the shooter wishes to mount other accessories in place of the rail guard 10, removal is readily effected via operation of the tabs 34 while sliding the sections 30, 42 forwardly until clear of the left and right side forward rails 28, 30. Thus, full coverage of the majority of the forward rails 12 is achieved quickly and easily, as well as enhanced protection for the shooter of hot areas of the barrel and thermally connected elements forward of the forward rails 12. The shooter can thus safely grip the rifle 14 at a more forward location.

[0020] In general, the foregoing description is provided for exemplary and illustrative purposes; the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. Rather, those skilled in the art will appreciate that additional modifications, as well as adaptations for particular circumstances, will fall within the scope of the invention as herein shown and described and of the claims appended hereto.