Patent ID: 8359779

Claim:
A hand guard assembly for a firearm, the firearm having a barrel and an upper receiver with a rail platform, the hand guard assembly comprising: a barrel nut operable to mount the barrel to the upper receiver; a plurality of hand guard members comprising at least an upper hand guard member and a lower hand guard member, wherein at least one of the plurality of hand guard members defines at least a portion of a receiving channel about an interior portion of the plurality of hand guard members, the receiving channel being sized and shaped to receive the barrel nut; a coupling mechanism configured to couple at least some of the plurality of hand guard members together about the barrel; a securing mechanism configured to secure at least one of the plurality of hand guard members to the barrel nut, wherein the securing mechanism comprises a fastener operable to apply a clamping force in a direction generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the firearm against a lateral face of the barrel nut to capture the barrel nut between the fastener and a lateral rim of the receiving channel; and a rail platform extending forward from a rearward edge of the upper hand guard member and providing a relatively continuous mounting platform with the rail platform on the upper receiver when at least one of the plurality of hand guard members is secured to the barrel nut.