Vertical Grips vs Angled Foregrips vs Magpul Hand Stop, Why?
So much of this industry is about customizing the Carbine to the person, the accessories you want on you firearm can change depending on your line of work or which range you are going to. I see guys bring their Eotech or Aimpoint Magnifiers with them to certain competition shoots but most of the time leave it off because those magnifiers are a separate optic and having them on all the time means carrying a M4 Carbine with 2 optics on it. The original trend towards using vertical grips was because of the flashlights, pressure switches, lasers and IR gadgets that many in the military were using, it’s hard to have a traditional rifle hold and still be able to access all of the buttons and switches. I’ve personally run out of rail space on one of my AR’s and I’d have to make a decision about putting an extended rail on it or removing one of my optics and putting on an Aimpoint Micro T-1 or the Eotech EXPS2-0 just so I have the space to mount a laser or IR.
The angled foregrips can work as a slide stop but keep in mind, if you are using a flashlight and don’t have a pressure switch, you’re going to have to think long and hard about where you want to access flashlights because as soon as you put on another Magpul Grip, Rail Cover or other panel, you make a jigsaw puzzle for yourself. One of the best ideas for AR15 Rifles is the Magpul MOE Stock because it gives you a better starting point and if you make major changes it might only mean having to buy a few different Magpul MOE Rail Sections instead of having to drop $180-$250 on a whole knew quad rail. Most of the Magpul Stocks and Accessories we sell have features on them that you should educated yourself about before you buy, like QD
You might want to think about collapseable stocks or folding stocks. Guns can take up a lot of space depending on the optics and accessories you put on them. I’ve seen plenty of my friends go from 12 or 18 rifle safes to full size gun safes just because of the optics they had on rifles. One thing they never advertise when you are shopping for a gun safe is what kind of rifles it will hold. Cramming your guns in will only cause damage and make getting guns in and out a headache. Instead of worrying about having to find a new gun safe, you might want to think about spending a few hundred bucks on changing the stocks of your military style weapons to something that can fold or collapse.
Back in the 1990s there was a lot of Eastern Com-Block guns coming into the Country. There were also a lot of MAK90s and SKS Rifles coming in from China. Not sure why there were so many Chinese guns coming in, but there must have been some house cleaning from the Militarys over there. You may be able to find a well made 7.62×39 rifle being made in the USA now, but they are pretty expensive and will cost you about the same as a new AR15 or more. Some of the nicest AKs are being by Arsenal Arms and they look and shoot great.