Carbine Grip Angles - Which Grip For Which Application?

[Sanch]

Looks like Magpul alone makes several configurations of AR grips. Seems like there's generally two different characteristics. Grip angle and grip size.

And various permutations to include rubberish grips of each angle/size. And whether or not there's removable backstraps or if it's the one piece fixed design.

And that's just Magpul, I haven't started researching other companies yet. So how do you decide on the appropriate grip angle / style for a particular application?

For a "pistol" AR with buffer tube only, no forearm brace, the 15 degree grip angle seems to make more sense.

Standard grip has always seemed fine for me for regular carbine use.

How about precision carbine / DMR use? That's generally done with the thumb tucked alongside the index finger on the same size, not holding the gun in a standard grip. What makes the most sense for this application?

I'm sure personal preference and anatomy plays a role, I'm looking for generalizations to save me money and time on trying out a ton of stuff.

[Wake27]

I experimented with a few of the Magpul grips when they were released but settled on BCM. I don't need all of the flexibility of the MIAD or BCM Mod 2. The + with the enhanced rubbery grip didn't do much for me and I don't have huge hands so nothing that could increase in size really mattered. I never tried the K2 because by the time they came out with that, I was becoming a huge fan of BCM's Gunfighter line. Their standard grips have the reduced angle that the K2 picked up that works way better for a modern shooting style with your shoulders relatively square. Only when I shoot from a bladed stance does the A2 grip feel comfortable. Every rifle I've ever had since BCM released their grip has had a variant, now all settled on the Mod 3s for price and simplicity.

[mmc45414]

For a "pistol" AR with buffer tube only, no forearm brace, the 15 degree grip angle seems to make more sense.
Last year when some people were spending their quarantined months learning a second language I was drinking beer and working on AR-15s. I circled the drain a bit on this and settled on the MOE-K2+. I like it being a little sticky (not crazy gooey) and I like the angle. If I try them side by side it feels better, but mostly because it makes sense to me to not bend your wrist more and not point your finger in a direction less in line with the trigger travel.

But this was also just not with my pistol, I also switched to the MOE Fixed Carbine Stock after deciding that every time I picked one up I farted around with the stock until it was at the length of where the fixed stock was fixed (I did add the slightly thicker pad):

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Then I setup all four carbines the same way, and their color choices helped me differentiate (green) the two in 300BO. So at the end of the day I look like a silly Magpul fanboi, but every time I pick one up it is the same.

[call_me_ski]

MOE SL or MOE K2 depending upon your hand size. /thread

[M2CattleCo]

^Pretty much.

There’s really no disadvantage to the more vertical angle grips in any application.

I use the MOE SL grips. I don’t have small hands but something about them just works for me.

[OlongJohnson]

Don't really have anything to add on angle, but I'm a big-hand guy and have gone to BCM Mod2 with the thickest back strap on all AR lowers. I tune up the tab on the front some. It has to be fitted to work with a non-straight trigger guard (will also eliminate the "swing out" feature on a Mil-spec trigger guard), and I get rid of the square corners to eliminate poky hard points.

[TWR]

I’ve settled on the Magpul K2+ I had carpal tunnel pretty bad and the angle of the original grip aggregated it. The K2 is more natural to me so even though I had surgery, I still don’t like the original angle.

But after pulling out my Leica range finder this year, I found the rubber coating was sticky. Kinda makes me wonder about the K2+ now. Most of mine are 2-3 years old and show no signs of deterioration, who knows if this will change.

[OlongJohnson]

I’ve settled on the Magpul K2+ I had carpal tunnel pretty bad and the angle of the original grip aggregated it. The K2 is more natural to me so even though I had surgery, I still don’t like the original angle.

But after pulling out my Leica range finder this year, I found the rubber coating was sticky. Kinda makes me wonder about the K2+ now. Most of mine are 2-3 years old and show no signs of deterioration, who knows if this will change.

One thing I've noticed is if a fairly soft polymer is in contact with any other kind of polymer, it's like the compounds want to mix, or the plasticizers want to migrate into the material that has less of them. Both materials tend to get gooey at the points that are touching. So I keep non-polymer stuff in contact with soft polymers when stored as much as possible. And will generally choose non-soft-touch for something that may potentially be a lifetime investment if there is an option.

I've had some lower-cost tools turn to disgusting slimy goo after a few years in storage. That worries me long term about the "soft touch" that's on a lot of higher-end tools. The hard-touch stuff I bought in high school is still going strong.

[DDTSGM]

B5 Type 23 guy here. Found them after trying several different Magpul and BCM. A broken wrist resulted in the standard angle pistol grips being uncomfortable to use.

Here's their blurb:

The most natural grip for taking a squared-off stance

Your hand will naturally find its optimal position on our Type 23 P-Grip, thanks to its steep angle, extended tang, and palm-filling design. By ensuring proper trigger finger placement, this grip has been shown to improve shooting speed while correcting for any tendency to drift into a “chicken-wing” arm placement. The grip’s no-slip texture was carefully engineered for hand comfort.

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-2a5yg6cj1w/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/123/392/B5_SYSTEM_PGRIP_BLACK__31563.1455134606.400.400_53 0x__23360.1552935949.jpg?c=2

[TWR]

One thing I've noticed is if a fairly soft polymer is in contact with any other kind of polymer, it's like the compounds want to mix, or the plasticizers want to migrate into the material that has less of them. Both materials tend to get gooey at the points that are touching. So I keep non-polymer stuff in contact with soft polymers when stored as much as possible. And will generally choose non-soft-touch for something that may potentially be a lifetime investment if there is an option.

I've had some lower-cost tools turn to disgusting slimy goo after a few years in storage. That worries me long term about the "soft touch" that's on a lot of higher-end tools. The hard-touch stuff I bought in high school is still going strong.

My hands are pretty beat up and the rubber coating on grips keeps things from moving around. Before surgery, my hand was pretty much dead a lot of the day. Now that things are better, I might switch to the K2.

The Leica 900 CRF was several years old and was stored in my HPG Kit Bag. Luckily I was able to use acetone and wipe the sticky mess off then I just painted it.

Think I’ll go order some K2’s just in case.

[tlong17]

B5 Type 23 grip for all applications with AR in 5.56 here.

[Sig_Fiend]

Most of the common AR grip options on the market are between 15-25 degree angles, give or take a few degrees. The standard A2 being roughly around the 25 degree angle I believe. My current favorites are all reduced angle and with grip arches:


BCM Gunfighter MOD 3 Grip (https://bravocompanyusa.com/bcmgunfighter-grip-mod-3-black/)
TangoDown BG-18 Grip (https://tangodown.com/tangodown-battlegrip-bg-18/)
Thril RTG Grip (https://www.thril.com/gear/rtg-rugged-tactical-grip/)


More recently, the Thril RTG has become my new favorite. Splitting hairs between these, as they're all great. I find the slight difference in shape to be more comfortable and filling for my hand. I also like the reduced length and texturing.

All three are reduced angle grips. All three have grip arches, which is nice if you have a larger hand. All three also have comfortable beveling around the trigger guard area and two have a tab/spacer to bridge the trigger guard gap. Those factors plus the different shapes of these three make for supremely comfortable grips IMO.

Of that same list, the BCM is noticeably longer. I'm finding, while I consider that sort of my baseline or gold standard to start with, I am quite liking the reduced length of the other two. This is especially true for an AR pistol role. Even with size large hands, I still feel I have plenty of grip.

As far as the actual reduced angle of those on my list, I find them to be substantially more comfortable than a standard A2 style angle. Think of it a bit like Glock vs. whatever grip angle. A2 style is more like a Glock in that you have to cam your wrist forward a bit more (ulnar deviation). For me, it's not a huge deal, but I find it to be ever so slightly more taxing or uncomfortable and a more vertical grip angle helps with that.

Thril RTG

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TangoDown BG-18

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BCM Gunfighter MOD 3

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[gato naranja]

The Germans used a really raked grip on the original FG42 (it was angled nearly like the small of the old Modell 98 stock), but did an abrupt about face on the second model. Apparently combat testing showed the way, and it did so PDQ. One of the really neat things about the John M. Browning Museum located on the Rock Island Arsenal is that some things jump out at you when you see historical firearms in real life at one location.

I'd offer an opinion on the best grip for an AR, but I am the guy who just kept the DD grip that came on his DDM4 and thus disqualified myself. I shall go sit in the corner.

[DrkBlue]

The Germans used a really raked grip on the original FG42 (it was angled nearly like the small of the old Modell 98 stock), but did an abrupt about face on the second model. Apparently combat testing showed the way, and it did so PDQ. One of the really neat things about the John M. Browning Museum located on the Rock Island Arsenal is that some things jump out at you when you see historical firearms in real life at one location.
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The Rock Island Arsenal Museum is maybe the coolest place on earth. Absolutely. And it does teach you some things.

I have migrated mostly to the Hogue AR grip because of the just-right level of tackiness. I wish they had more options without finger grooves however.

Last week I ordered the stubby Ultralight Compact Grip as a try out concept. Reportedly a 10.4 degree grip.
https://www.mkmachining.com/product/ultralight-compact-grip-ulcg/

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[gato naranja]

The Rock Island Arsenal Museum is maybe the coolest place on earth. Absolutely. And it does teach you some things.

One of my relatives was a civilian employee of the arsenal for a couple of years, and he took me through the museum about 50-odd years ago... back when it had the brass Napoleon and limber on display, along with many other interesting things that are now gone. I liked it better the old way, but it is a different world. On my visit a few years ago, I asked one of the staff where the MG34 and MG42 in their heavy guise (with tripods and optical sights) had gone, and he did not know they ever had them.

(That relative of mine was a WWII ETO vet... the 34 and 42 held his attention.)

Anyhow, while I am not the guy to give much advice on the make/model of AR grip, I will chime in again to say that it makes a difference if I try to square up rather than "blade" a carbine. The more bladed I get, the more rake I can tolerate on a grip (and vice-versa). It is mostly because when I am squared-up, my wrist tends to get awkwardly cocked to the side. If I took squaring up to the extreme, I could almost use a grip that is angled forward (like on the the .55 Boys Rifle).

[snow white]

My preferred is the reptilia grip. Stubby, steep grip angle and does a great job driving the hand high on the rifle. Very similar to the ultra light grip seen above.

Ignore the album its the only picture I have of this rifle on my phone at the moment haha. This is an 11.5
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And here is a reptilia on a 15-22 sbr.
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[pastaslinger]

Magpul K2 or Ergo deluxe for everything

[Cool Breeze]

Definitely a more vertical grip. I tried the BCM, B5, Magpul K2, and Magpul K2+. The K2+ is my favorite. The ledge and hump are perfect for the web of my hand to rest. I am not sure if the overmold is the same that Hogue uses but it feels a bit slicker to me. I prefer to the Hogue material as it feels and looks more matte to me but I guess you can't have everything.

[mmc45414]

Magpul put out an email today pitching the K grips. I made a picture (links not live, it is just a snip picture):
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[Darth_Uno]

I like Strike Industries grips. Very comfortable and available (or they were) in 15, 20, and 25° angles. Yeah, I know, you can roll your eyes at most of their other stuff.

[rob_s]

Shooting my 9mm PCC SBR this weekend in two different environments (bench for zeroing and steel challenge match) in two days actually had me thinking about the grip angle on that gun.

My general takeaway is that the more upright, and the shorter the stock, the more vertical of a grip you want. The more prone and the longer the stock, the closer to horizontal you want. I suppose there’s some ratio of torso position to grip angle you could come up with…

When it comes to rifles, and not PCCs, most of us are going to be intending one gun to serve for everything from prone shooting to upright “contact distance” shooting and so we have to make compromises.

There is no silver bullet here. You just have to try a few.

Not gonna lie, I miss the early 2000s when there was like 2-3 grips to choose from and that was it (and stocks, and optics, and forends, and…). We are awash in choices today and it leads to a lot of analysis paralysis. One good reason to take a class is to get your hands on other people’s grips (literally), it I would caution that you’ll want to try the grip in both prone and fully-upright before replacing whatever you have.

[M2CattleCo]

I don’t think there’s any case where a more raked grip is better. Longer LOP just makes it easier to deal with.

Look at precision rifle chassis’. They’re all 90 degrees or even more.

[rcbusmc24]

HK416/ M27 Grip fits perfectly in my hands, but they wouldn't let me steal them off of the issued USMC guns to put on my personals. The internet seems to want a small fortune for them and they are not really readily available. The next best thing for me is the BCM Mod 3, which is on all of my personal rifles except for the Colt 733/HEAT clone which has a A1 grip...

At this point I'm pretty much done playing musical AR's and just shoot the things they way I have them set up already. But I understand that others are not at that point with their rifles yet.

[pastaslinger]

Does anyone use an Ergo TDX-0 grip or similar 90 degree grip? I've wanted to try this out for a carbine.

[Clusterfrack]

I don’t think there’s any case where a more raked grip is better.

The only reason I might prefer a more raked grip on longer/heavier rifles is that one-handed manipulation is easier. My wrist can support the gun better with an angled than a vertical grip for reloads, maneuvering the gun, etc. For pretty much everything else, I've migrated to medium angles. I don't like the super-vertical ones.

[M2CattleCo]

That is true. If you do a lot of transitions from ready to high port,
the A2 angle does gibe a little more leverage.