MI MCTAR-18

Midwest Industries MCTAR-18
Midlength, Two Piece, Non-Free-Float Railed Handguards

Midwest Industries, Inc., located in Waukesha, WI is the manufacturer of AR15 rail systems, flip up iron sights, light mount, sling adaptor, and other AR15 accessories.

I recently received a set of Midwest Industries MCTAR-18 (2 Piece Mid-Length) non-free floated rail system. Upon opening the box I was very impressed to the attention to detail of the rail system constructed of 6061-T6 aluminum and black hard coat anodized. I observed that the 12 o'clock rail (top) was numbered from T14 through T32, the 3 o'clock rail (right side - ejection port side) was numbered R14 through R32, the 6 o'clock rail (bottom) was numbered B14 through B32, and the 9 o'clock rail (left side) was numbered L14 through L32. All of the indexing marks laser engraved in white lettering.

After initial inspection I removed the factory plastic handguards which was somewhat of a challenge. Often times when installing the factory A2 style handguards I would have to give them a couple hard hits to get the bottom of the handguard to seat properly into the delta ring. This was not the case with the Midwest Industries 2 piece railed handguards. I was pleasantly surprised when I installed the Midwest Industries MCTAR-18 railed handguard at how easily and securely the unit snapped into the place. With the ease of installation, I assumed that the handguards would fit loosely, after inspecting the MCTAR-18 I noticed that there was no movement or slop in the fit. The handguards had an extremely solid lock-up.

I then installed a Tango Down vertical foregrip, it slid on smoothly and easily locked into place. I them mounted a Surefire Scout light on a LaRue Tactical mount onto the 3 o'clock rail and mounted Tango Down rail panels, Magpul XT rail panels, and Magpul ladder rail covers onto various rails. All rail mounted accessories perfectly fit the MIL-STD 1913 rails without any slop or other issues.

The first thing I noticed when shoulder the carbine is that there was no movement in the Tango Down vertical foregrip as I applied rearward pressure on the vertical foregrip. I put a fair amount of rearward pressure on the vertical foregrip when I'm in a proper shooting stance. I have used a few other 2 piece railed handguards produced by other companies. One of the first things I notice when using other 2 piece non free floated rail systems is that there is always movement from the bottom half of the railed handguard when I apply rearward pressure to the vertical foregrip. This was not the case with the Midwest Industries unit.

The MCTAR-18 weighs in at 12.4 oz and while I did notice a slight weight difference with the MCTAR-18 installed, it wasn't enough to make an impact on performance or complain about. Considering how well made and how rugged the MCTAR-18 is, I'm surprised that the MCTAR-18 is as light as they are.

I have been using the MCTAR-18's on a mid-length carbine for the last month. Considering that the current retail on the MCTAR-18 is $167.50, I would highly recommend this unit to anyone who is looking for a 2 piece non-free floated rail system.

Midwest Industries, Inc.
833 West College Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone:(262)896-6780 Fax:(262)896-6756