Fore Grip or Vertical Grip?


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In my opinion, save your money. Unnecessary Appendages get in the way. Get the magpul m-lok covers If you want more grip.

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Do you mean situations like mounting the barrel on a surface or moving around structures?

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I guess I should have asked you what your intended purpose for your rifle is. I use mine for hunting and target shooting. Those things would manage to get in my way when attempting to make a shot out the window of a box blind. They are also in the way when shooting for accuracy off sandbags.

The angled grip feels too small to me and I feel like I have more purchase just grabbing the handguard.

I prefer the m-lok rail cover type 2. Get at least two packages of them. And again I assume you’re using a free floating handguard. Sorry for all the assumptions.

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I like the stubby vertical grips. For me, this gives the best control and best on target results. Context: self defense, or home defense, where on target results are measured in terms of going from pointed at the ground to hitting the target in less than 1 second or running a drill with splits of a few tenths of a Second

You can pull the carbine into your shoulder easily this way, it’s a much more proactive control imo


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I’m glad we live in a nation where we have so many options. I tried both and wound up giving them away because I didn’t like the feel.
Maybe I should study up on the benefits and give them another shot. Now I will admit that I admire the Fab Defense unit that holds a spare magazine…

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Personally I would pass on that, any weight that can be put somewhere somewhere else, I won’t put forward of the receiver. Any and all weight out towards the front gets minimized on my rifles as weight out front has a dramatic effect on bringing it up from a low position, transitioning targets, etc. Some things go up there because they work better, like illumination, but things like tourniquets or spare mags or spare batteries, I’m finding a way to put that stuff back closer to my shoulder where it doesn’t have to move much, or taking it off completely

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Thanks for the weight forward advice.

Fab defense also makes a carbine stock that holds a spare magazine and comes with a 10 round reduced capacity mag in it. I didn’t mention that earlier in an effort to stay on the forward grip topic.

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I figure something like a fore grip could help me land on the same spot of the rifle everytime. Then I can position a light accessible in that area. I’ll be ready for LARPing in no time :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:.

I don’t think I’m going to run out and get one right away, but it also seems like one of those thinks you have to try to make up your mind.

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Good point, it makes a pretty unmissable reference point. You’ll notice I have the switch for my light right behind where my hand falls on mine. No wondering where it is, on all of mine, it’s right behind where my thumb would be when gripping ahead of the VFG

I also added the finger stop reference point thing in front, which goes between my index and middle fingers, as a forward motion stop and to really lock in that exact same grip location every time

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This is another one that just falls into the broad category of “personal preference”.

I use an angled fore grip (an older magpul i think?) on a 16" with a c-clamp(ish) grip. It helps me pull the rifle into my shoulder and indexes my hand to a pressure pad for my light.

I tried a vertical grip and i found that for me gripping it vertically was uncomfortable with my arm extended and when my arm was close enough to be vertical and comfortable I wasn’t that far from just using the magwell as the vertical surface. There are a lot of folks that use a c-clamp with a vertical grip and can switch to vertical hand position and it works for them. For me, it doesn’t so I use the angled instead. I have considered removing it to save weight but I kinda like it and I’m used to it.

On an AR pistol, i run a handstop for the same reasons. It gives me a purchase point to pull the rifle into my shoulder and indexes to pressure pad for weapon light. I went with a handstop instead of an angled fore-grip mainly because of weight/size considerations which are more important to me on a smaller/lighter overall package.

You’re definitely going to need to try it them and see which (if any) you like. Don’t be afraid to run without it… only put “stuff” on the rifle if it actually benefits you. See if someone in your local circles has a rifle with a grip on it you can try.

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No sir. Get a good sling, light and switch.

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Those are also very good to have.

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You referring to a better safety selector?

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Nah. I’d go with one of the momentary tape switches they are pairing with long gun weapons lights.
Find someone you can borrow a grip from to try it out. Perhaps you wont wind up with both styles in your spare parts collection, as I have.

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IMHO I was never able to get the hang of a vertical fore grip. It was always too big and got hung up on stuff but if it was small enough not to get hung up my hand would hunt around trying to get comfortable. I’ve tried a few iterations but gave up years ago.

I found the MagPul AFG’s to solve a couple of problems.
A. They were more comfortable and induced less wrist strain.
B. I didn’t have to change my grip if I was using it as a brace point (ie. pushing up against a barricade / wall / window sill)
C. On a single point sling it wasn’t poking me in the privates/below my vest.

Personally I like just a sling cuz I’m old school but for a pistol/SBR platform on a single or sliding dual point sling getting your paw too far forward means you might get out in front of the muzzle. It’s not really required if you have a free floating rail but it is nice to build a familiar hand spot and it fills the void in your hand when grabbing just the stock. If you train yourself you can also use it as a lock for your “pointy” finger or thumb.

NEVER train wrap your thumb over the top of an AR fore end. By the time you realize your error you are way deep in a gun fight and your thumb is cooked.

Cheers,

Craig6

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Hasn’t been an issue for me, c-clamp grip is fairly common. If you are in a running gun battle or a super long drill/doing a burn down test, after one of your mag changes, you may go ahead and reposition your thumb. If things really get hot, you’ll probably appreciate that VFG so you can just hold on by the vertical without having any of your hand anywhere on that hot rail.

Also, some rail panels all the way around the gas block area can help considerably

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@Nathan57 while I agree that for 99% of folks it will never be an issue the multiple Marines and SOCOM operators I have treated for 2nd degree burn across the web of their thumb is significant. The up side is that mandatory re-training takes place immediately as they can no longer grip the rifle that way during healing and they end up “thumb along side”. I prefer to prevent injuries that could be avoided, hence my warning no matter what XYZ 3 gun guru says (not you but a lot of them subscribe to this)

Cheers,

Craig6

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