Why do military rifles have long handguards and their sporterized

>>31940288
I don't know

>>31940288
Cuz Bubba will shear the end off an Enfield's handguard because he thinks it'll make it a better hunting rifle.

Who can fathom what on in his head?

>>31940288
bayonet was part of it
the rest is to prevent you from touching the barrel
if you go hunting you shoot like 1-3 rounds if you accidentally touch exposed metal its fine
shoot a mosin 20-40 times touch any of the barrel and you feel the burn
put like 80 rounds through it quickly and its too hot to touch even with the wood

>>31940344
Thanks anon. My other guess was, that it makes the gun somewhat lighter

>>31940344
this

I'd also guess weight. A hunting rifle needs to be light and handy...part of the way to do that is to lose weight hanging out on the barrel end.

>former Cabela’s employee
>saw beautiful rifles sporterized and ruined
>bubba demands a premium price when selling it
>thinks cutting it up and welding a rail to it is an upgrade
Oh the atrocities I have seen.

>>31940389
This too

>>31940697
Tell us your stories anon, we need to hear them

>>31940288
Handguards do 3 things. They first protect the barrel slightly, but they also prevent barrel mirage knocking your slight picture off. Think of a road on a hot day. But really, the most important reason is so you don't burn your hand, especially when bayonet fighting. It didn't matter that much during black powder days as you only fired a few shots before the barrel was fouled up.