Furniture
Short Story: Furniture is your primary interface and is how you handle and manipulate your gun. Don’t take these components for granted.
In addition to Controls, the shooter’s interface includes the furniture of the gun. We will cover the following furniture components in this article:
Pistol Grips
The pistol grip is one of three primary interfaces with your weapon (the others being the buttstock and the handguard). Between the three, it is probably the one that will have the most impact on performance (unless you are shooting precision with a high-power optic). Selecting a grip is a very personal experience. Our best advice: use what feels good.
Carbine and Pistol
For pistols and carbines, you want a grip that offers a couple of things.
First, you want something that fits a tightened grip comfortably. The shape of the grip is important; you will probably be squeezing the crap out of it and you want to be able to effectively manipulate the gun on a varied course of fire. If it is uncomfortable or clunky, you will not be able to control your gun and you may have ergonomic issues (cramping, etc.).
Second, you want something that stays in your hand, even if your hands are wet, muddy, oily, or gloved; it shouldn’t matter if its 110 degrees or 10 below. Texture is particularly important for pistol and carbine grips. If you go with a polymer grip, choose a grip that has enough grit to keep a firm hold on it when wet. Now, you don’t want something that is going to give you blisters or tear hunks of flesh off, so don’t go bananas with texture. Rubber grips can also offer an additional level of security, without the sanded palm effects.
Rifle
If you are going to be building a rifle (specifically, a precision rifle), you should consider a different type of grip. A carbine grip is made for tight holds and manipulation of the gun. Precision rifle grips are not. When selecting a grip for a precision rifle, we go with something beefier; something that fits better in a relaxed hand. Texture/tackiness is less of a factor, but you should be able to maintain control of your gun if you need to, so texture and/or tackiness doesn’t hurt.
PB Picks
Grips are a very personal thing. Your grip is one of the most tactile connections to the gun. It needs to fit your hand and your use. Try a few out. They are cheap enough, so you don’t have to worry about commitment to a particular grip. That said, we do have our favorites.
Image Credit: Magpul
Image Credit: Magpul
Image Credit: ERGO Grips
For pistol and carbine, we have a couple favorites: the classic Magpul MOE and the MOE+ variant, and the ERGO Suregrip.
The Magpul MOE is a reinforced polymer grip with just the right amount of grit. The MOE+ variant is basically the MOE grip wrapped in rubber, replacing the grit with tackiness. The MOE family is also capable of internal storage of tools or a 1/2 oz lubricant bottle. Both grips are a solid choice.
The ERGO Suregrip is rubber covered polymer. Its an all around great grip, and because of the rounder cross section, it feels really good in your hand. Some might argue that a boxier grip is better for control, but you should use what feels good to you.
Image Credit: ERGO Grips
Image Credit: ERGO Grips
For precision rifles, we love the ERGO Tactical Deluxe grip. Like the standard Suregrip, the Tactical Deluxe is overmolded rubber, but it is a larger and more bulbous shape. It fits really nicely into a relaxed hand. Your shooting thumb will find a nice place to rest on the shooting hand side when you are shooting precision. If you have massive gorilla hands, this may also be a good option for your carbines and pistols too; we don’t, so its not a good carbine/pistol option for us.
Buttstocks
Among the first things to upgrade is the buttstock. The standard M4 style buttstock is better than nothing, but its pretty terrible. The buttstock is one of the primary interfaces with the shooter. It creates a solid connection between the gun and shooter, and should be stable, comfortable, and adjustable.
Be cautious with designing a gun with a buttstock. You can find yourself in prison pretty quickly if you build the wrong gun. If you haven’t already, check out our NFA and Prison article.
Carbine/SBR Buttstocks
Carbine buttstocks are generally adjustable; this is to give you the best length of pull in a variety of scenarios. If you are reaching out to extended distances and need the best possible sight picture and aiming performance, you can fully extend the stock; if you are shooting in close quarters, you can collapse it fully for maneuverability; if there is a particular length of pull that is most comfortable for you, you can quickly adjust to that length by default.
A carbine buttstock should be easy to adjust, but should also have a solid connection to the receiver extension tube. A rattling stock is really annoying and doesn’t offer the most consistent connection to the gun. Some carbine stocks have a locking lever that really cinches down on the tube when the stock is in your desired position.
If you are building a carbine, you are probably building something to carry around. A good sling is a really practical accessory for your AR, and it needs a place to connect. There are several different ways to connect a sling to a gun, but the QD (quick disconnect) option is our favorite. We also prefer a sling attachment point toward the rear of our gun. As such, we look for carbine stocks that have an integral QD socket.
PB Picks
Image Credit: Magpul
Image Credit: Magpul
For carbine, our standard pick is the Magpul CTR. This buttstock has everything that you might want for recreational shooting, and is an outstanding upgrade for a service weapon. It includes a QD attachment point, as well as two web sling attachment points. One of the most useful features of this stock is a locking lever that cinches down on the receiver extension and is easily engaged or disengaged. It is comfortable and comes in four colors to match (or complement) your gun.
As an alternate option for carbine, we also like the Magpul STR. It has all of the features of the CTR, and it has two storage compartments for batteries (AA or CR123A). The storage compartments are more than just storage compartments (in fact, we normally don’t carry anything in them); they also offer better eye-sight alignment if you are aiming with offset sights (either iron or red dot).
Image Credit: T-Rex Arms
Rifle Buttstocks
Rifle buttstocks can also be adjustable, though not in the same way as a carbine stock. While the carbine stock is generally adjustable for length of pull, the precision rifle stock is also adjustable in other ways, including cheek plate/comb height, butt plate height and cant, etc.
When looking for a lightweight rifle buttstock (e.g. for a multi-purpose platform), you can elect to skip the adjustability for something more skeletonized and minimalist.
For a dedicated precision rifle, you want a stock that puts your body in the right place on the gun. You want your cheek weld to be natural and relaxed, while positioning your eye in the right place for the best sight picture and eye relief. You want your length of pull and buttstock alignment to be just right for your body geometry. As with the carbine buttstock, you may want a sling attachment point. You may even want a monopod attachment point. These are all things to consider when evaluating the features of a precision buttstock.
PB Picks
Image Credit: Luth-AR
For lightweight rifle, we love the Luth-AR MBA-2. It offers the light weight of a skeletonized stock, but can also be upgraded to include any and all of the adjustability features of it’s brother, the MBA-1, including adjustable cheek plate, adjustable butt plate, and monopod rail. You can also install a QD socket (sold separately), if you want to be able to attach a sling.
For a precision rifle, we have two recommendations: The Luth-AR MBA-1 and the Magpul PRS.
Image Credit: Luth-AR
Image Credit: Magpul
The Luth-AR MBA-1 has already been mentioned in the context of it’s brother: the MBA-2. This stock offers the features of the MBA-2 with all of the adjustability options you would need. There is even an option for a 3-axis adjustable butt plate.
Our second recommendation for precision is the Magpul PRS. This stock is well-known in the precision shooting community. It features cheek plate and butt plate adjustability via two integral adjustment wheels, and has cant and height adjustability for the butt plate. It includes two QD sockets and a web sling attachment point, if you feel the need to sling it. One downside: it is heavy. For comparison, the 3-axis adjustable Luth-AR MBA-1 stock is 20.16 oz; the Magpul PRS is 27.8 oz.
Foregrips
A foregrip attaches to an AR forward of the magwell (typically onto the handguard). Foregrips offer additional stability to an AR, when used appropriately. The foregrip can help you put your hand in the same place every time you shoulder your gun. It can even be used as a barrier stop. Foregrips come in two options: vertical and angled. They may come ready to mount on a Picatinny rail, KeyMod, or M-Lok system.
Vertical Foregrip (VFG)
A vertical foregrip is as it sounds: it protrudes vertically downward from your handguard. They can manifest anywhere between a stub to a full-blown “broom handle” grip, and can even house a bipod. We feel the bigger it is, the goofier it is, and an integrated bipod is a heavy gimmick; but to each, their own. A vertical foregrip should be something that helps control the gun and is quite a bit more ergonomic than a death-grip on the handguard, itself. It doesn’t need a flashlight; it doesn’t need a laser; it doesn’t need a cappuccino machine.
Some of the benefits of a VFG include:
- Recoil Management: A vertical foregrip can either help you pull the gun into your shoulder or push the gun away to counter recoil (yes, we recognize that these are opposite techniques).
- Muzzle Control: A VFG can also help a shooter keep the muzzle down.
- Cool Grip: During extended shooting sessions, the barrel and handguard can heat up to uncomfortable temperatures. A VFG can help keep your non-shooting hand away from hot metal.
- Barrier Stop: You can load the front face of the VFG into a barrier for additional stability.
- Minimal Real Estate: For a duty gun, handguard real estate may be at a premium. If you are mounting lights, lasers, actuators, etc., the VFG leaves plenty of open space.
One caution against VFGs: because they protrude 90 degrees down from the handguard, they may be prone to getting caught on your gear. This is another reason why we prefer shorter grips.
A note about VFGs: DO NOT put a VFG on an AR that is otherwise considered a pistol. You will find yourself in a 10×10 cell very quickly, unless you’ve taken the appropriate steps to register it as an AOW. Please check out our NFA and Prison article, if you haven’t already.
PB Picks
Image Credit: Bravo Company Manufacturing
Image Credit: Magpul
We have two choices: the BCM Mod 3 VFG, and the Magpul M-Lok MVG.
The BCM VFG is awesome. It is super light weight, is low profile (which minimizes the snagging issue), has flat sides for better yaw control, has a forward (or rearward, if you are so inclined) angle for better rigidity and ergonomics, and has an aggressive texture for better grip.
Magpul MVG is a more rounded VFG. It is argued that the rounded shape is not ideal for directional control, and we have to agree if you are going to use it like a traditional VFG (wrapping your hand around the grip, and only around the grip). If you use the thumb break or C-clamp method, this limitation does not apply. It is a true vertical grip, for better or worse. It is quite small, so snagging is kept to a minimum. And its offered in FDE.
Angled Foregrip (AFG)
Unlike a vertical foregrip, an angled foregrip gradually sweeps from the front to the rear of the weapon. It offers a very natural and, therefore, ergonomic grip angle. An AFG does not offer the same level of control as a VFG, does not keep your hand away from hot metal like a VFG, and takes up a lot more real estate on your handguard than a VFG. BUT, it is more ergonomic, is less prone to getting caught on sh!t, and does not turn an AR pistol into an NFA Title II AOW.
PB Picks
Image Credit: Strike Industries
Image Credit: Bravo Company Manufacturing
We have three options for AFGs: the Magpul AFG, the Strike Industries LINK, and the BCM KAG
The Strike Industries LINK is a one piece aluminum grip with a curved surface. The SI LINK can be used to either push or pull the gun (without changing orientation). It also has a front bumper that can be used as a barrier stop. And, because it is aluminum, it is very robust.
The BCM KAG is a great compromise between the benefits of an AFG with the real estate of a VFG or hand/finger stop. It is pretty minimalist (to the point that we would have called it a hand stop), but is designed with ergonomics in mind.
Hand Stops
Hand stops offer some of the advantage of an AFG, but with a more minimalist design. The hand stop is designed to complement the “C-clamp” style hold on the AR, typically sitting behind the pinky on your non-shooting hand. It hangs from the handguard, and helps the shooter both index their hand on the handguard and pull the rifle into their shoulder. It takes up substantially less handguard real estate than an AFG.
Hand stops can also be reversed and positioned in front of the non-shooting hand as a forward limit on shorter guns to provide a guard against sliding your hand onto a hot barrel or suppressor, or worse, forward of muzzle.
A hand stop does not provide as much control and maneuverability as a VFG and does not offer any protection from a hot handguard. But it also doesn’t get caught on crap.
Image Credit: Magpul
PB Picks
Image Credit: Arisaka Defense
Image Credit: Magpul
The Arisaka Hand Stop is precision machined from aluminum. It is big enough to offer the benefits of a hand stop, but has a very small handguard footprint. Because it is metal, it is tough enough to use as a barrier stop.
The Magpul M-Lok Hand Stop Kit is a modular polymer system featuring a hand stop, finger stop, and rail cover that can be configured to the shooter’s preferences. It also comes with an adapter for polymer M-Lok handguards and wider handguards.
Finger Stops
The finger stop takes the minimalist concept of the hand stop to the next level, and can be used in combination with a hand stop. The finger stop is designed to help you index your grip in the same place on your handguard, and may provide a minimal surface for pulling the rifle into your shoulder. Typically, you will hold your handguard with the finger stop between your index and middle fingers. It can also be used as a small barrier stop, if needed.
Finger stops can also be placed ahead of the non-shooting hand as a forward stop (to keep your hand from slipping too far forward).
A finger stop can also be mounted on the side of the handguard to act as a thumb rest for your non-shooting hand.
A finger stop does not provide a significant benefit to control and maneuverability and does not offer any protection from a hot handguard. But, because it is much less prominent than other devices, a finger stop doesn’t get caught on stuff and doesn’t get in the way when transitioning to kneeling or prone positions.
Image Credit: Arisaka Defense
PB Picks
Image Credit: Arisaka Defense
Image Credit: Strike Industries
The Arisaka Finger Stop is very comfortable, for what it is. It is beautifully machined from aluminum and is nicely profiled to eliminate sharp edges. Because it is metal, it can hold up to a significant amount of abuse.
The Strike Industries Bikini Hand Stop is made of polymer. And yes, we know they call it a “hand stop”; but its not. It comes in pairs, which means you can use one as a finger stop on the lower surface of your handguard, and one on the side as a thumb rest (or install on two guns…).
Barricade (Barrier) Stops
A barricade (or barrier) stop has very little to do with your hand positioning. It has one primary function: allow you to load into a barrier when shooting. While most foregrips and stops can be used as a barrier stop, your typical barricade stop is a vicious toothed creature designed for digging into wooden barricades.
Barricade stops can also be mounted on either side of the bottom of the handguard. Some shooters will run them in multiple locations (as many as all three) for versatility.
A barricade stop can also act as a forward stop to keep your hand from slipping too far forward.
Image Credit: Magpul
PB Picks
Image Credit: Arisaka Defense
Image Credit: Magpul
The Arisaka Barricade Stop is a beautifully simple piece of hardware. It is forged from aluminum, so it is tough. The teeth are really aggressive for biting into wood barricades. In addition, it hosts a QD attachment point, which is a very thoughtful addition. At the moment, you need to order this directly from Arisaka.
The body of the Magpul Barricade Stop is molded from reinforced polymer. But the front, aggressively-toothed face is made of steel, where it matters most.