Otis, a well known manufacturer and military supplier of cleaning kits, has entered the AR-15 accessory market.
The Otis TRS rail system was developed after the company made a few go/no-go gauges for testing picatinny rails. They found that few rails were actually within spec.
The TRS will retail for $260.
I’m sure the next thing they’ll be releasing is a piston-operated AR. It will differentiate itself by being self-cleaning. 
0 
0So, they built a gage and then declared everyone else’s rails wrong and their’s right by virtue of the same gage?
0 0Who pays retail?
They making 7″ rails only? What about midlength and rifle length?
0 0“If its one thing we need, it’s surely more OVERPRICED handguards.”
Fixed it for you.
I don’t mean to imply that the rabble at AR15.COM is an authoritative source, but….
You take a few engineers (myself included), add a couple CNC machinsts who know how to work measurement devices, and you come up with a couple interesting conclusions:
1. The OTIS press release is correct. Many very expensive handguards are very poorly machined.
2. The approximate cost to manufacture an rail handguard is very low. Somewhere around 25-30% of OTIS’ suggested retail price.
People are making these darned things at ridiculous prices because there is money to be made.
0 0$260!
Maybe the reason the other rails were not to spec is that they don’t cost a small fortune.
In general this rail frenzy seems to be getting out of hand. There is a lot of finely machined metal weighing down the so called “black rifles” these days. Most of it unused, I would guess.
0 0Too expensive!
0 0If its one thing we need, it’s surely more handguards.
0 0
So, they built a gage and then declared everyone else’s rails wrong and their’s right by virtue of the same gage?
I’m sure the next thing they’ll be releasing is a piston-operated AR. It will differentiate itself by being self-cleaning.
Who pays retail?
They making 7″ rails only? What about midlength and rifle length?
“If its one thing we need, it’s surely more OVERPRICED handguards.”
Fixed it for you.
I don’t mean to imply that the rabble at AR15.COM is an authoritative source, but….
You take a few engineers (myself included), add a couple CNC machinsts who know how to work measurement devices, and you come up with a couple interesting conclusions:
1. The OTIS press release is correct. Many very expensive handguards are very poorly machined.
2. The approximate cost to manufacture an rail handguard is very low. Somewhere around 25-30% of OTIS’ suggested retail price.
People are making these darned things at ridiculous prices because there is money to be made.
Too expensive!
$260!
Maybe the reason the other rails were not to spec is that they don’t cost a small fortune.
In general this rail frenzy seems to be getting out of hand. There is a lot of finely machined metal weighing down the so called “black rifles” these days. Most of it unused, I would guess.
If its one thing we need, it’s surely more handguards.