[Silver-Bolt]

My two concerns would be protecting the gas tube, and your grip. With a 16" barrel I prefer to reach out on the hand guard to extend non-dominate arm. With such a short hand guard you are going to have a lot barrel out past your grip.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Go 8" and if you don't like it, cut it down?

 

[Silver-Bolt]

i called and left a message since email says 24-48 hrs for a response. hopefully will hear back from them tomorrow, i just dont understand how the hole even made it in there, the holes at the bottom where the screws go look like nothing has ever been in them. Some of their other handguards have a qd socket in them, i wonder if one of these ended up on the wrong production line and got a pilot hole for the qd socket

View attachment 284278

It's definitely not a factory drilled and tapped hole. You hit it on the head. Someone returned it and the repacked and sold as new.