New Sig Arm Brace. LMT Gen I Enhanced Bolt

Galil Arm Brace by Sig
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The Sig brace changed how we see AR pistols forever, giving us a way to shoot them effectively. It worked pretty well but it is ugly, bulky and heavy. At first, the BATF allowed shooters to shoulder the brace and we did. Gleefully. The introduction of the Sig brace that inspired me to build my own AR pistol, the Wolf Pup

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The original Wolf Pup

10.5 inch barrel mounted to a blemmed upper, LMT Enhanced Carrier with standard bolt, SLR 7 adjustable gas block, Aimpoint H1 Micro, STS lower with a generic LPK, rifle RE and the star of the show- The SB15 Arm Brace. It's kinda like a hippopotamus in a tutu, but it let the curtains go up on opening night. Still, I dreamed of something less.... girthy.

Sometimes dreams do come true. Sig redesigned the arm brace. I'm not talking about the SB15 with the hatchet bob. To me, the second version is even uglier. I'm talking about the newest Sig offering, the cute, button nosed Galil Arm Brace available from Atlantic Firearms. It's less bulky and at 7 or 8 ounces, it's almost 4 ounces lighter than the original.

It's made for the AK pistol and is supposed to fit an AR tube, but the ads say nothing about it being made to fit the AR. I thought about calling Atlantic for clarification, but I realized if it turned out it didn't fit ARs, I didn't want the guy on the phone talking me out of buying it. I work on aircraft. It'll be easy to make it fit. I ordered the Galil Brace without the AK tube.

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No more dancing with a hippo

When the Wolf Pup was originally built, a rifle RE was used to provide a longer "length of pull" than a pistol RE. I had to wrap the rifle RE with gaffer's tape (Professionals do not use duct tape) because the SB15 is designed to fit pistol REs which have a larger diameter. I figured, just pull the original SB15 off and slide the new Galil brace on.

No. The internal diameter of Galil brace has a half circle the last inch or so, that prevented it from sliding all the way on the rifle RE. The combination was too long for my purposes. I made a trip to Impact Guns and purchased a pistol RE. The new RE is pretty cool because comes with an endplate you can hook a sling to and even better- the butt end has a receptacle for a 3/8 drive ratchet, making installation easy. Dang me if I can recall who makes it. Unfortunately, the ID of the brace was still larger than the OD of the RE. That' ok. We're professionals. Gaffers tape around the RE worked like magic. The "LOP" is shorter than I wanted, but better than being longer

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All that was needed was a new RE and a bit of gaffer's tape. Duct tape is for amateurs

The new brace works great against the cheek, but I've got to admit, it's still a little awkward when strapped to the forearm. (Still, I'm grateful that it helps vets with certain types of war wounds to continue shooting.)

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Now, it just just needs a bit of paint

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Painted!

The BATF has determined that placing an arm brace against the shoulder turns a pistol into an SBR. But, switching to a 16 inch upper makes your AR pistol into a rifle. (NOTE: Yes, it's legal to configure a pistol into a rifle and back into a pistol. Switching back to the pistol upper won't cause legal issues.) I installed a 16 inch upper on the Wolf Pup lower so I could see how the brace shot using it against my shoulder. I know, why bother when a real buttstock works better. I had to satisfy my curiosity. The new Galil brace is a little more squirmy than the original, but only a little. It doesn't intrude on the conscious mind when the shooter focuses on shooting. If there were to be a problem with a rifle lower, a pistol lower with the new Galil Brace would be up to the job as a replacement, say at a carbine course, to get back up and running.

The lighter weight balances the weapon better, especially in the pistol configuration. It's sleeker, less bulky and really takes the UG out of the ugly of the original brace. If a lower equipped with the new Galil brace was needed to get a rifle AR back up and running, it's more comfortable against the shoulder than the skinnier Shockwave. Down side is the greater cost- it was $129 when I ordered it from Atlantic Firearms and the RE needed to be beefed up with gaffer's tape to make it fit. Overall, I'm pleased and will be keeping it as it makes shooting the Wolf Pup more enjoyable. If I were to build another AR pistol, or were to purchase a PTR-32 PDW, this is the brace I'd use

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The new Sig Galil Arm Brace is lighter, slimmer and better looking than the original. It's no less practical

LMT Gen I Enhanced Bolt
...or "Why You Always Test Fire After Making Changes"

The Wolf Pup uses an LMT Enhanced Carrier along with standard bolt and an SLR 7 Adjustable Gas Block. The SLR AGB was necessary because the Odin Works SS 10.5 inch barrel came with a large gas port. It will also come in handy when I get a suppressor. The standard bolt was used because I'd heard the LMT Enhanced Bolt fared poorly in shorty ARs.

Rummaging around in the closet, I came across the Gen I LMT bolt that came with the carrier (I got carrier & bolt from a friend. They didn't work for him and came to me with a very low round count). I figured that maybe with the AGB, the LMT bolt might work fine, so I swapped it in. I needed to go to the range anyway, to make sure the Wolf Pup was tuned to run with the new carbine RE, spring & H2 buffer.

Loaded one round in the mag and tuned the AGB until the empty ejected and the bolt locked back. Everything is great! I then loaded five rounds in the mag to test it in rapid fire. First round fired & ejected and while the second round fired, the spent case was left in the action. Weak extraction. Turned out that even with two extractor springs, there wasn't enough spring pressure to hold the extractor in place. I bought a new bolt (the LGS was out of extractor springs) dropped it in and the Wolf Pup was again running smooth and reliably. Lesson (re)learned- Always perform a proper function check after making ANY changes. Don't assume it's going to work

Some Notes- Changing bolts has not required any change to the AGB setting. When tuned to run with the LMT Enhanced Carrier, the Wold Pup required the AGB to be opened one click when switching to a standard carrier

Interesting. It looks quite a bit thinner.

The new brace definitely looks much better than the original one. I also agree that the Sig Brace v2.0 was a step backwards from a 'looks' perspective.

I noticed you're contemplating a suppressor; is there any reason why you're keeping this as a pistol?
Being the intelligent individual that you are, I'm sure you're aware that with the money you've spent on the braces, the NFA stamp could've been paid for, along with half the cost of a trust from Silencer Shop. [emoji6]

Getting a suppressor has gone beyond the contemplation stage. I've put money down on an Omega and I'm just waiting for it to come in.

It's true that by the time you add up the money spent on arm braces, it would have paid for a good part of the stamp (I sold the original arm brace) but that doesn't tell the whole story. I built the pistol with the arm brace as a proof of concept. It let me explore the idea of an SBR without having to pay for engraving and the tax, money that I would have no chance at all of recovering if it turned out I didn't like the shorty AR. At least, with the arm brace and REs, I've got something that lets me recover at least part of my costs, trade for something else or have parts for another project. The pistol lower is also a good match for a 22 LR project I have in mind.

I also travel a lot. There's less red tape to deal with traveling to other states with a handgun than an SBR and If needed, I can keep a loaded AR pistol in my vehicle with my CCW in my home state, whereas keeping a loaded rifle, SBR or otherwise, is a legal grey area I'd rather not test.

Whether I register a new lower or the pistol lower, it's all the same to me. If I register the pistol lower, it will be just a matter of time until I build another pistol lower anyway. The current plan is to keep the pistol lower as a pistol lower and get another to register as an SBR. If I can afford it, I'll be buying a Colt to SBR.

But the biggest reason of all I'm keeping this lower as a pistol is simply because it pleases me

Looks like a VTAC sling. Is it just threaded through the handguard, if not how is it attached?

The sling laces through a buckle inside the handguard. Since the buckle can't slip through the slot, it holds the sling securely in place
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Clever. I like that.

Nice accessory! Much better looking than the original SIG brace.

I'm considering making an SBR and have a 8.5" "pistol" in .300blk that I may Form 1. But, in my home state I can legally have a loaded "pistol" in my vehicle but not a loaded "rifle" even a SB"Rifle". That's making me reconsider jumping thru the Form 1 hoops.

I have a pair of SBR's and three more pending. I used to look at the pistols as toys. I got on board a few weeks ago and have two. It's great way to use all the extra SBR uppers I have. =) They're very practical, quicker to get shooting and $200 cheaper.