Daniel Defense RIS II Installation Guide

Lately I've gotten a few questions about the installation process for the Daniel Defense MK18/M4A1 RIS II so I thought I'd make a guide for anyone that wanted to know how to install the rail.

Things you will need for this installation:
(1) One Size 5/32 Allen Key
(1) One Size 3 Allen Key
*Optional but highly recommended*
(1) One Daniel Defense Barrel Nut Wrench

First you will need to slide the locking collar all the way down to where it is flush with the upper of the gun. Make sure the two pieces on the locking collar are on either side of the body.

Now that you have the locking collar on, make sure that the barrel nut has the lip side up and slide it down the barrel onto the locking collar like so: 

Make sure to torque the barrel nut down to where the locking collar has no side to side play at all or your rail system with have a lot of wobble.

Before you move to the next step, look at your locking collar and make sure that it is straight and flush with the upper receiver. If the locking collar is not flush, it will cause the rail to be crooked when you are finished. To correct this, simply loosen the barrel nut and adjust the locking collar to the correct position.

At this point, you can go ahead and install your gas tube/gas block if needed. If not, proceed to the next step.

If you've tightened down the barrel nut as much as you possibly can and you still have some side to side play on the locking collar, try slipping an o-ring down between the barrel nut and locking collar. This will close the gap between the two and keep the collar from moving. Use a small screw driver to slowly push the o-ring over the threads of the barrel instead of trying to use the barrel nut to force it down into the gap.

Now that you have the barrel nut and locking collar in place, go ahead and slide the rail system down the barrel and line up the screw holes. If you haven't already, go ahead and separate the lower rail from the rail system which will allow you to screw in the two bottom screws. Make sure that you have all your screws going in the right direction for the best fit.

Using the 5/32 Allen Key, go ahead and screw the (6) six screws in like so:

Once you have all the screws in place, go ahead and install the lower rail. 

Make sure that the tabs on the lower rail and the cut outs on the rail system line up or the bottom rail won't be able to install. It's almost fool proof but just in case you missed it, here you go...

Using the #3 Allen Key, install the (6) six screws on both the left and right side of the rail (three screws to each side). 

You're done! Here's what your final product should look like:

I hope this guide helped some of you that were having problems with installation or just wanted to see what the installation process is like. I would highly recommend picking this rail up if you're wanting to change up the look of your standard AR variant!

If you're more of a video person and prefer that over standard blog style guides, I got ya covered!

Feel free to leave me feedback! 

Thanks!