M4 Heat shield recommendations

[driftpickle]

Hello, I've been having a hard time finding a heat shield for my M4. Does anyone know where I can find something like the one in the image attached? I like it because it reminds me of the ones people put on their Mossberg 590's.

[Dkay67]

Did you try this?

 

[StreetSweeper56]

That is 120 yo technology, though effective. The problems are, they're a pain to get on and off and unless you remove them you cannot see clearly if rust is forming on your barrel. Briley's handguard wraps nearly around the barrel, and is relatively easy on and off as it utilizes the OEM handguard mounts. Here's a pic, mine is Cerakoted.

[driftpickle]

Thanks, yeah I couldn't find the one similar to what I was looking for on the search function, very little on heat shields actually. I did see a few people recommend Briley's handguard. Is it common to get rust on the barrels in general or is it specifically something that happens when using a heat shield? I really like the style with the holes in the image I found ?

[Suplize]

@StreetSweeper56 have you had any issues getting your barrel to fully seat against the receiver with the Briley handguard on? Mine originally wouldn’t seat. I ended up having to remove a washer from the barrel guide ring to get it to seat. Now sometimes it will fully seat but a lot of the time it is still slightly off from fully seating. Cant figure out the “sweet spot”. Have you experienced anything similar? 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Suplize

[NoTycoon]

The best heat shield for the Benelli® M4 is the ATI Raven Deluxe Forend-Heatshield.  They are no longer in production but can still be found from time to time. I will not part with mine. 

The rest of the ATI Raven kit was crap (heavy collapsing stock, tri rail that would not stay tight, etc.) but the forend and heatshield are great.

 

[StreetSweeper56]

10 minutes ago, Suplize said:

@StreetSweeper56 have you had any issues getting your barrel to fully seat against the receiver with the Briley handguard on? Mine originally wouldn’t seat. I ended up having to remove a washer from the barrel guide ring to get it to seat. Now sometimes it will fully seat but a lot of the time it is still slightly off from fully seating. Cant figure out the “sweet spot”. Have you experienced anything similar? 

Yes, the tolerances are so close on mine that it will only fully seat when I screw on the mag cap. It has loosened up a bit but it still needs the cap, I didn't remove any washers. I know for sure there won't be any play in it, you might try putting a dab of oil on it.

[Suplize]

35 minutes ago, StreetSweeper56 said:

Yes, the tolerances are so close on mine that it will only fully seat when I screw on the mag cap. It has loosened up a bit but it still needs the cap, I didn't remove any washers. I know for sure there won't be any play in it, you might try putting a dab of oil on it.

Thanks for the info!

[StreetSweeper56]

18 hours ago, driftpickle said:

Thanks, yeah I couldn't find the one similar to what I was looking for on the search function, very little on heat shields actually. I did see a few people recommend Briley's handguard. Is it common to get rust on the barrels in general or is it specifically something that happens when using a heat shield? I really like the style with the holes in the image I found ?

No, the heat shield doesn't make it MORE prone to rust than normal, it's just that you can't see under the shield well and removing it you will eventually scratch the bluing. I have 2 Mossberg's with shields and I got them Cerakoted as well because of that issue. An old saying is, "guns have 2 enemies, rust and politicians".