A rifle assembly includes a rifle and a forward rail guard. The rifle includes a receiver, a barrel extending forwardly of the receiver, and forward rails arranged around a portion of the barrel. The forward rail guard mounted to the forward rails and extending from a rear end proximate the receiver and a forward end extending forwardly of a forward end of the forward rails. The forward rail guard can include left and right guard sections configured to separately connect to left and right side forward rails of the rifle and extend below a barrel thereof.