Yankee Hill Machine Tool Lightweight Forearm Review
With the popularity of AR-15 type rifles and tactical accessories these days, it almost seems like a necessity to have rails on your rifle. Whether those are bolt on rails added to a standard plastic hand guard, or a free floating railed hand guard, there are plenty of options out there.
When I decided to build a 6.8 SPC rifle, I knew that I wanted to go for a certain look. I had bought a 16” barrel from Precision Reflex Inc and wanted a rifle length hand guard that would overlap the low profile gas block. I spent hours perusing through Brownell’s catalog and the Internet, looking for the right free float hand guard for my build. I didn’t have unlimited funds, so the price and the design of the Yankee Hill Machine Lightweight Free Float tube caught my attention. It seemed to have a decent balance between price and a solid reputation (and a solid mounting method).
Installing The Hand Guard
The rifle length hand guard that I bought included the railed tube, barrel nut, lock nut and anti-rotation screws. Since I was building a rifle from scratch, I didn’t have to worry about disassembly. If you are putting the hand guard on a current rifle you will have to remove your flash hider, gas block, old hand guard and the old barrel nut. Make sure you have the proper tools for disassembly/re-assembly.
The assembly was easy and straight forward, the directions were simple, but adequate. The new barrel nut is put on and torqued to the specifications in the instructions. You then thread the lock nut all the way onto the barrel nut, followed by the hand guard. Once you have everything aligned, you simply tighten the lock nut against the hand guard to hold it in place. You then add the two anti-rotation screws to make sure that nothing can move as you use and abuse the hand guard.
The Pros
I’ve had the lightweight forearm on my rifle for a couple years now and I have not had any issues with it coming loose or wobbling. I simply used the lock nut and anti-rotation screws, I did not add any locktite to the threads.
While I haven’t really abused the rifle, it has seen a number of range trips and a few coyote hunts. The finish has held up well and while my overall rifle set up isn’t very light, the forearm definitely keeps the rifle from being as heavy as it could be with some of the other hand guards out there.
The Cons
While I have not had any complaints about the function of the forearm, my one complaint is the diameter. Because of the round shape of the hand guard, it is very large in the hand, especially when you add a set of rail protectors on the rails you aren’t using.
I know some people like the larger gripping area, so the size may not be an issue for some. It could also be a benefit if you are looking at covering up a short barrel with an attached suppressor.
Conclusion
Would I recommend this hand guard? Absolutely, it is a very good value for the money, especially if you don’t mind the wider, tube type forearms. There are a couple more expensive brands that I wouldn’t mind trying out, but so far I have added a YHM Customizable tube to my work rifle and I just ordered one of their Diamond Forearms to put on another build that I am working on.
The installation of all of these forearms is similar enough that once you have installed one type, you can easily install another. That made the complete disassembly and reassembly of my work rifle that I put the customizable forearm on, a 30 minute or less project. I would like to try a higher magnification scope on my rifle, but with a 4.5x scope I get 1-1.5 inch groups with most loads I’ve tried. My better handloads are consistently around one inch. I’m sure the free float hand guard has a lot to do with that accuracy.
Here is a short video with 9mm pistol built with the Yankee Hill Diamond hand guard. The Diamond hand guard has a slightly different design, but is installed in the same way.
When I decided to build a 6.8 SPC rifle, I knew that I wanted to go for a certain look. I had bought a 16” barrel from Precision Reflex Inc and wanted a rifle length hand guard that would overlap the low profile gas block. I spent hours perusing through Brownell’s catalog and the Internet, looking for the right free float hand guard for my build. I didn’t have unlimited funds, so the price and the design of the Yankee Hill Machine Lightweight Free Float tube caught my attention. It seemed to have a decent balance between price and a solid reputation (and a solid mounting method).
 |
| Yankee Hill lightweight forearm on a 6.8 SPC II rifle. |
Installing The Hand Guard
The rifle length hand guard that I bought included the railed tube, barrel nut, lock nut and anti-rotation screws. Since I was building a rifle from scratch, I didn’t have to worry about disassembly. If you are putting the hand guard on a current rifle you will have to remove your flash hider, gas block, old hand guard and the old barrel nut. Make sure you have the proper tools for disassembly/re-assembly.
The assembly was easy and straight forward, the directions were simple, but adequate. The new barrel nut is put on and torqued to the specifications in the instructions. You then thread the lock nut all the way onto the barrel nut, followed by the hand guard. Once you have everything aligned, you simply tighten the lock nut against the hand guard to hold it in place. You then add the two anti-rotation screws to make sure that nothing can move as you use and abuse the hand guard.
The Pros
I’ve had the lightweight forearm on my rifle for a couple years now and I have not had any issues with it coming loose or wobbling. I simply used the lock nut and anti-rotation screws, I did not add any locktite to the threads.
While I haven’t really abused the rifle, it has seen a number of range trips and a few coyote hunts. The finish has held up well and while my overall rifle set up isn’t very light, the forearm definitely keeps the rifle from being as heavy as it could be with some of the other hand guards out there.
The Cons
While I have not had any complaints about the function of the forearm, my one complaint is the diameter. Because of the round shape of the hand guard, it is very large in the hand, especially when you add a set of rail protectors on the rails you aren’t using.
I know some people like the larger gripping area, so the size may not be an issue for some. It could also be a benefit if you are looking at covering up a short barrel with an attached suppressor.
 |
| The Yankee Hill forearm wrench can make installing the lock nut much easier. |
Conclusion
Would I recommend this hand guard? Absolutely, it is a very good value for the money, especially if you don’t mind the wider, tube type forearms. There are a couple more expensive brands that I wouldn’t mind trying out, but so far I have added a YHM Customizable tube to my work rifle and I just ordered one of their Diamond Forearms to put on another build that I am working on.
The installation of all of these forearms is similar enough that once you have installed one type, you can easily install another. That made the complete disassembly and reassembly of my work rifle that I put the customizable forearm on, a 30 minute or less project. I would like to try a higher magnification scope on my rifle, but with a 4.5x scope I get 1-1.5 inch groups with most loads I’ve tried. My better handloads are consistently around one inch. I’m sure the free float hand guard has a lot to do with that accuracy.
Here is a short video with 9mm pistol built with the Yankee Hill Diamond hand guard. The Diamond hand guard has a slightly different design, but is installed in the same way.
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