Firearm replacement handguard

An apparatus implementable on a firearm, comprising:

• at least a portion of the firearm comprising a barrel, a star-shaped barrel nut, a delta ring, and an upper receiver;
• and
• a handguard, wherein, when the handguard is installed on the firearm:
• the handguard is configured to surround at least a portion of the barrel;
• the handguard has a first distal end and a second distal end opposite the first distal end such that the first distal end points in a direction of a muzzle of the firearm and the second distal end points toward the upper receiver;
• and
• the second distal end is configured with physical features that interlock with a star-shaped barrel nut of the firearm to secure the handguard onto the firearm, wherein the physical features comprise:
• longitudinal slots on an internal surface of the handguard near the second distal end thereof such that a contour of the internal surface of the handguard at the second distal end resembles teeth of an internal ring gear;
• and
• grooves on a ridge of at least some of the teeth at a predefined distance from a mating surface at the second distal end of the handguard which contacts the delta ring when the handguard is installed on the firearm,
• wherein the physical features are configured such that, during installation of the handguard on the firearm:
• the handguard is rotated by a predefined amount in a first direction and then is slid rearwardly along the barrel toward the upper receiver to allow teeth of the star-shaped barrel nut to enter and slide through the longitudinal slots until some of the teeth of the star-shaped barrel nut are aligned with the grooves;
• and
• the handguard is then rotated by the predefined amount in a second direction opposite the first direction so that the teeth of the star-shaped barrel nut remain inside the grooves to secure the handguard onto the firearm.

A device implementable on a firearm, comprising:

• a handguard, wherein, when the handguard is installed on the firearm:
• the handguard is configured to surround at least a portion of a barrel of the firearm;
• the handguard has a first distal end and a second distal end opposite the first distal end such that the first distal end points in a direction of a muzzle of the firearm and the second distal end points toward an upper receiver of the firearm;
• and
• the second distal end is configured with physical features that interlock with a star-shaped barrel nut of the firearm to secure the handguard onto the firearm, wherein the physical features comprise:
• longitudinal slots on an internal surface of the handguard near the second distal end thereof such that a contour of the internal surface of the handguard at the second distal end resembles teeth of an internal ring gear;
• grooves on a ridge of at least some of the teeth at a predefined distance from a mating surface at the second distal end of the handguard which contacts a delta ring of the firearm when the handguard is installed on the firearm;
• a clamping mechanism configured to exert a clamping force to aid in securing the handguard to the firearm when tightened;
• and
• an alignment index piece insertable in an opening on a bottom side of the handguard, the alignment index piece configured with one or more alignment indexes touching one or more of teeth of a star-shaped barrel nut of the firearm to result in structural reinforcement when the alignment index piece is inserted in the opening and the clamping mechanism is tightened.