AERO PRECISION - BAR Barrel Nut for AR-15 Black

Worked.

Great substitute when M4E1 enhanced upper receivers arent in stock if you want to run an aero enhanced handguard. Could use 2 additional gas holes but Im not complaining as it lined up for me.

First thing's first: This is one hefty beast. It's much bigger than other anti-rotation barrel nuts I've used, but it's very solid. It uses the 3-pin wrench most armorer wrenches come with. It's super easy to torque down, plus it comes with 2 shims if you find it bottoming out before it's aligned properly. I didn't need to use them, thankfully, but it's very nice to know they're available. This barrel-nut is *REQUIRED* if you order the "Aero Precision AR-15 Enhanced Gen 2 Handguard." Read the fine-print! After installation, it feels great, doesn't have too much of a tuning-fork sound when hit, plus for people with large hands, it fits better using a C-clamp grip than skinnier rail-systems. Will definitely consider getting another one on the next rifle build!

It's a quality piece like every other part from Aero I've ever used, but it seems like there was a little lack of planning when packaging and with the instructions. It doesn't come with instructions, I found them on Aero's website. Aero says to use a "standard" (not Magpul) AR wrench, but I'm not sure there is a standard for the pin configuration needed. The Brownells wrench works well after modification. The instructions explain the shims and how to reference the thickness needed based on hole position, but my BAR nut only came with 8 .001" shims, which is not enough for a 1/4 turn. The instructions state 30 to 45 ft-lbs of torque, but because you attach your torque wrench to the armorer's wrench, and the armorer's wrenches aren't all the same distance from the socket to the center of the barrel nut, how is the torque specification even relevant? The angle of the wrench on the the torque wrench will affect the torque too. So maybe I over torqued, but it's on there and aligned.

As previous reviewers have stated, this thing is a beast. That I like. But, the challenge that I had was aligning the gas tube hole with proper torque. Since the barrel nut only has 4 possible orientations, your options are limited. There are shims included in the package, but not enough to cover the full range (1/4 turn) between gas tube holes. Maybe it was just the tolerance stackup between my upper receiver threads and the barrel nut, but I was just off of the first hole with no shims (max torque) and just past of the next hole with all the included shims (min torque). So, I have to add additional shims to properly torque the barrel, but it is worth it to use the Aero Precision handguard, which is great.