AR-15 Setup

[squerly]

Guess who went to the gun show yesterday? I saw (and purchased) this gotta-have handgrip, laser and flashlight combo.

http://www.tacticalaccessories.com/public/images_product/full_925.jpg



I’ve had lasers on two different handguns and removed them from both as I found them to conflict with my style of sight acquisition. But I’ve never had one on a rifle so I though I would give it a try. And because I still had the stock AF-15 handguard I had to also purchase a quad rail. I must say that the gun sure looks sweet but I’m having second thoughts about the setup.

The flashlight has several settings.
No light, just laser when you pull the trigger switch.
Continuously on low light, switching to high when you pull the trigger switch.
Continuously on low light, with laser on when pulling the trigger switch.
Continuously on high light, with laser on when pulling the trigger switch.
I walked through the cabin last night in drill mode and the lights both functioned well, but would I really be grabbing an AR-15 to investigate an intruder threat? Probably not. My 12 gauge is far better suited for such a situation.

The laser worked well (as lasers do) but once again, it’s just not the ideal method of sighting in on an intruder at close quarters.

So I took it outside and ran a couple of mock drills. The laser worked much better outside but the additional weight from the quad rail and the hand grip made the weapon significantly heaver and I found it to be quite uncomfortable, almost clumsy.

Anyone else have this (or similar) setup and if so, how do you like it? To be honest, I like my MKA-1919 12 gauge much better. It's very light, obviously easy to sight and has incredable knock-down ability.

[Big Dog]

Nice! Who makes it?

[squerly]

Nice! Who makes it?

V3000 VERTICAL GRIP WITH INTEGRATED GREEN LASER AND FLASHLIGHT (http://www.tacticalaccessories.com/products/viewproduct.php?id_product=566)

[Kane]

You mentioned the weapon felt "clumsy" with the new grip. Me too. I guess our natural "grip" is accustomed to the horizontal shotgun forearm, and the new vertical handgrip just seems unnatural. Clumsy.

The vertical grip does have its advantage (I suppose), so maybe after handling the weapon for a period of time, you might get used to it. But it would probably take an extensive period of handling and actual use before it becomes your natural "go-to" grip.

Nice setup, tho.
.

[Big Dog]

I thought the same thing about the broom handle grips being clumsy. I use the Magpul angled forward grip (top) and the Ergo forward grip (bottom) .... :thumb:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/gmsssi/AR/IMG_0643.jpg

[Catavenger]

Doe's that grip/light/laser need some kind of a rail or can it fit onto an unmodified AR15?

[Big Dog]

Doe's that grip/light/laser need some kind of a rail or can it fit onto an unmodified AR15?

Gotta have rails ........... they do sell rails systems for conventional hand guards!

[Catavenger]

re. rails o.k. thx. for the info.

[TiredRetired]

That does look a titch bulky all together like that. I'm planing on a streamlite to be mounted on one of the side quad rails. No laser, just the red dot for me.

I do agree, for home defense, the shotgun is the ticket. I love my Mossberg pump.

[dds]

after carrying an ar everyplace for a year i feel it is a bit clumbsy compaired to my m1 carbine and some of the guys who added quad rails laser sights ,ir sights and scopes got their gins weighing in about the same as the m21 rifles might as well had an m14 or garand at least the rifle would be better balanced kind of sucks carring that weight around all the time. a laser attachment on a pump shot gun would be nice addition to my bottom eject ithaca. some of these guys are over pimping their guns abd the balance is all screwed up

[300 H and H]

Big Dog,

What are the sights on those AR's?? They both look familiar. BTW, do you ever opt for the issue reciever sights? They are pretty good on the A2's....

Regards, Kirk

[Big Dog]

Magpul MBUS flipup sights (http://store.magpul.com/prod_detail_list/44)

............ and no I never fooled with issue receiver sights!

[300 H and H]

Big Dog

I watched a guy with a thin target front pin, and inserts in the larger rear apeture hit a 3" circle at 600 yds 9 out of 10 times, laying prone, with a shooting coat and sling. Other wise stock sights. I know as I was the one scoring his target. Impressive, a Iowa Guard rifle team member. Granted his sights were slightly modified. But for sure they work well enough, after seeing him. I know I can shoot mine pretty well. Great for moving targets at out to 250 or so yards.

But with age I am thinking optics. But for a standard A2 HBAR made pre flat top convertable days, I am not sure what I might go with. Must be low power, and compact, on top of the carry handle. Maybe what Colt sold back in the day??

Any sugestions??

REgards, Kirk

[Big Dog]

Trijicon with 4x

[squerly]

My personal opinion of this product is not good. The laser has an intermittent "flicker" when I activate it. Not sure what that's about but I don't feel it's supposed to do this and I don't know how much life I can expect out of it.

I took it to the range (to sight it in) and 10 rounds later the light fell out of the casing, leaving it hanging by two tiny wires. Just snapping it back in isn't much good as it fell right back out a few shots later. I took it home and put some silicone around the threads and snapped it back in. So far so good but come on... we're not supposed to do this stuff on a $300.00 accessory.

So back to the range to continue the sighting in process. I’ve only been there a few minutes when the laser gets so dim I can barely see it. Turns out to be the batteries. I removed them to find a brand I've never hear of before. They're called “Great Power” batteries and they're manufactured in China. (Why am I not supprised) Here is their website (http://www.greatpowerhk.com/en/aboutus.asp) which is as poorly written as the batteries are built. The website is actually good for a laugh because it's written exactly as you would expect someone from China (who doesn't understand English) to speak. I kept telling myself this was funny as I purchased a new set of Enercell Lithium batteries for $30+ and headed back to the gun range.

And lastly, the body of this unit is far from impressive. When firmly attached to the rail, the frame of the unit is weak enough that any downward pressure on the grip will make the frame 'bend" slightly, which of course makes the laser virtually useless for accuracy.

All-in-all, I find this a very overpriced add on, and one that will probably get replaced quickly as it's simply not reliable. BTW, I do not know who manufactures this piece of equipment, there is no name on it. But they're sold online by this company (http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=40a6799662c9a0262ac31979431741e3&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumsforums.com%2F3_9%2Fshow thread.php%3Ft%3D54142&v=1&libid=1330722055599&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tacticalaccessories.com%2Fpro ducts%2Fviewproduct.php%3Fid_product%3D566&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumsforums.com%2F3_9%2Fsear ch.php%3Fsearchid%3D1555360&title=AR-15%20Setup%20-%20Forums%20Forums%20-%20Off%20Topic%20Forum%20FUN&txt=V3000%20VERTICAL%20GRIP%20WITH%20INTEGRATED%20 GREEN%20LASER%20AND%20FLASHLIGHT&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13307221016561)and probably others as well.

[TiredRetired]

Big Dog

I watched a guy with a thin target front pin, and inserts in the larger rear apeture hit a 3" circle at 600 yds 9 out of 10 times, laying prone, with a shooting coat and sling. Other wise stock sights. I know as I was the one scoring his target. Impressive, a Iowa Guard rifle team member. Granted his sights were slightly modified. But for sure they work well enough, after seeing him. I know I can shoot mine pretty well. Great for moving targets at out to 250 or so yards.

But with age I am thinking optics. But for a standard A2 HBAR made pre flat top convertable days, I am not sure what I might go with. Must be low power, and compact, on top of the carry handle. Maybe what Colt sold back in the day??

Any sugestions??

REgards, Kirk

Well, you may have missed this last time around, not sure, but I did an outline of budget toys I added to my Bushmaster AR HBAR with the carry handle. This thread outlines the parts I used and their price. Maybe a little too frugal for some, but not me. I am a cheap old bastard almost to a fault. Just kidding, sort of.

http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=52540

[TiredRetired]

My personal opinion of this product is not good. The laser has an intermittent "flicker" when I activate it. Not sure what that's about but I don't feel it's supposed to do this and I don't know how much life I can expect out of it.

I took it to the range (to sight it in) and 10 rounds later the light fell out of the casing, leaving it hanging by two tiny wires. Just snapping it back in isn't much good as it fell right back out a few shots later. I took it home and put some silicone around the threads and snapped it back in. So far so good but come on... we're not supposed to do this stuff on a $300.00 accessory.

So back to the range to continue the sighting in process. I’ve only been there a few minutes when the laser gets so dim I can barely see it. Turns out to be the batteries. I removed them to find a brand I've never hear of before. They're called “Great Power” batteries and they're manufactured in China. (Why am I not supprised) Here is their website (http://www.greatpowerhk.com/en/aboutus.asp) which is as poorly written as the batteries are built. The website is actually good for a laugh because it's written exactly as you would expect someone from China (who doesn't understand English) to speak. I kept telling myself this was funny as I purchased a new set of Enercell Lithium batteries for $30+ and headed back to the gun range.

And lastly, the body of this unit is far from impressive. When firmly attached to the rail, the frame of the unit is weak enough that any downward pressure on the grip will make the frame 'bend" slightly, which of course makes the laser virtually useless for accuracy.

All-in-all, I find this a very overpriced add on, and one that will probably get replaced quickly as it's simply not reliable. BTW, I do not know who manufactures this piece of equipment, there is no name on it. But they're sold online by this company (http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=40a6799662c9a0262ac31979431741e3&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumsforums.com%2F3_9%2Fshow thread.php%3Ft%3D54142&v=1&libid=1330722055599&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tacticalaccessories.com%2Fpro ducts%2Fviewproduct.php%3Fid_product%3D566&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumsforums.com%2F3_9%2Fsear ch.php%3Fsearchid%3D1555360&title=AR-15%20Setup%20-%20Forums%20Forums%20-%20Off%20Topic%20Forum%20FUN&txt=V3000%20VERTICAL%20GRIP%20WITH%20INTEGRATED%20 GREEN%20LASER%20AND%20FLASHLIGHT&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13307221016561)and probably others as well.

Thanx for that review, Squerly. As you know, I was thinking bout it! LOL. Whadddya mean I'm an old grouch? I resemble that remark. :yum:

[dds]

Big Dog

I watched a guy with a thin target front pin, and inserts in the larger rear apeture hit a 3" circle at 600 yds 9 out of 10 times, laying prone, with a shooting coat and sling. Other wise stock sights. I know as I was the one scoring his target. Impressive, a Iowa Guard rifle team member. Granted his sights were slightly modified. But for sure they work well enough, after seeing him. I know I can shoot mine pretty well. Great for moving targets at out to 250 or so yards.

But with age I am thinking optics. But for a standard A2 HBAR made pre flat top convertable days, I am not sure what I might go with. Must be low power, and compact, on top of the carry handle. Maybe what Colt sold back in the day??

Any sugestions??

REgards, Kirk kirk on my bear gun i have a trijicon acog i slapped it on to a cary hndle addapter in iraq and back over to my bear gun again i'm totaly impessed it stays put with the recoil of my 1895 with a 61 inch barrel chambered for the 50alaskan cartrage also too a beating in iraq trijicon offered to go thhough it and clean and rebuild it after i got back but i just slapped it back on again