A hand guard assembly for attachment to a firearm includes an anchor member and a sleeve. The anchor member is coupled to the firearm and defines an inner bore through which a barrel of the firearm extends when the anchor member is coupled to the firearm. The sleeve surrounds a portion of the barrel of the firearm in an overlying relationship. The sleeve is coupled to the anchor member at a first end so that when the assembly is attached to the firearm, the sleeve is cantilevered from the anchor member with an inner surface of the sleeve and an outer surface of the barrel being radially spaced apart from one another.