Part of the 20 series, started getting distributed officially to units in 2019
QBZ-191 service rifle family
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Oh I thought it was a QBZ for some reason but I think the QBU always had this handguard right? I wonder why it's not used on the QBZ-191 or 192. I believe it's free floating too.
It's not the QBU handguard. It's very close, but there's a difference. The rails at the far end are different, and the connector/lock at the bottom is also different.
I've never heard of the 20 series. Does anyone know what the '20 series' refers to here?
MwRYum
Major
On official media, all those firearms inducted at the same timeframe as QBZ-191 are grouped together as the "20(as in 2020s) series".
I'm a bit confused.
In many photos of the PLA/PAP, I sometimes see the QBZ-191 rifles with white scratches on its receivers, and sometimes the rifles have no scratches at all.
What causes these scratches on the rifles? Is it bad materials? Improper care?
by78
General
They cheaped out on the coating. Instead of diamond-like carbon coating or some other proven, durable alternatives, they decided to go with a flimsy coating that chips and flakes easily. Those without scratches are relative new rifles. Give it some time, they will also scratch badly.
The US military‘s rifles have the Type III Hard Coat which is an aluminum oxide applied via a complex process. Based on what I have seen, they also have a ton of scratches due to training intensity.
by78
General
U.S. standard issue rifles aren't nearly as easy to scratch, not even close. Sure, you see some old M4s and M16s that have been in service for years with worn off coating on frequent touch points, but images of QBZ-191s with severely worn off coating began to appear in 2020 and 2021, merely months after being issued. The kinds of scratches they have are also alarming: gouges with chunks missing as opposed to superficial micro scratches. There is no doubt that they cheaped out on the coating, just as they cheaped out by deciding to go with handguards that have polymer rails.