Forward Controls ABC/R Enhancement

[CoryCop25]

As many know on this board, I have several contacts in the firearms industry and Roger (Duffy) is one of them. I have been talking with him regarding making an adjustment to his Forward Controls Design ABC/R bolt release.

I have several of these bolt catches on my rifles and I enjoy them very much. I, however, have an issue with the placement of the pad on the bolt catch. For me, this isn't specifically with Duffy's bolt catch, it's all bolt catches.

I, like some, have very large palms and short fingers. This causes me to have to reach for the bolt catch when reloading thus causing me to add an extra step in the reloading process witch of course slows me down.

When I reload a magazine into my rifle, I preform a push of the magazine and then a pull to confirm that the mag is properly seated. When tugging on the mag, it places my thumb closer toward the muzzle than it would be if I would just seat the mag and hit the bolt release.

What I have proposed to Duffy is not to make the ABC/R pad larger, but to slide the pad toward the muzzle about 25% or a little less than 1/4 inch. This would help my issue and also help with left handed shooters hitting the bolt catch when they reach under the handguard to release the bolt.

I will post a couple of pictures to show you what I'm talking about....

In this picture, you can see that my natural hand positioning places my thumb forward of the bolt catch....

Untitled by Cory Fluck, on Flickr

In this photo, you can see what I mean by a left handed shooter reaching under for the bolt catch....

Untitled by Cory Fluck, on Flickr

Other companies make "enhanced" bolt catches but I don't think that they put much thought into their designs and they don't really enhance operation of the rifle.

Let me know what you think....

[CoryCop25]

Here is a short video explaining what I encounter when I reload.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DduRJVw3EYo

[Duffy]

ABC/R's upper paddle is moderately increased in size, and in both directions, without bias. We see plenty of bolt catches with a rearward bias on their upper paddles, we like a balanced approach.

A rearward, or forward bias on the upper paddle for that matter, may address the issues some users have, but for the most part, most users don't have difficulties accessing it. If we put a forward bias on it, there'd be folks clamoring it's in the "wrong" direction, or "a solution in search of a problem". Not that I pay much heed to folks for whom this solution wasn't designed, I can think of other reasons a forward bias would cause unintended consequences, such as more snag prone, and the mechanical advantage afforded by a lever means the upper paddle will be easier to press, and more torque can be brought to bear, and its cantilevered configuration may cause the bolt catch to pivot off axis.

To wit, our designs don't emphasize anything or everything being symmetrical. Our muzzle devices (6315, 6310 and 1815) take advantage of asymmetrical ports to maximize gas flow upward.

For a bolt catch, we prefer a non-biased paddles design. ABC/R v3 in 2019 doesn't have a bias, its lower paddle is increased in size moderately, and in both directions, while still leaving enough stand off distance from an ambi mag catch.



A forward biased upper paddle is doable, I'm afraid there wouldn't be a lot of interest in it. But I am curious to see what you guys have to say. Throughout ABC/R's continued development and usage in the hands of users, Cory was the first to ask us to make a forward biased upper paddle. Heretofore there had been some suggestion to either make the upper paddle larger, or with a rearward bias, both had been considered back in 2012 when ABC/R was first conceived, and both were rejected for many reasons.

[titsonritz]

As many know on this board, I have several contacts in the firearms industry and Roger (Duffy) is one of them. I have been talking with him regarding making an adjustment to his Forward Controls Design ABC/R bolt release.

I have several of these bolt catches on my rifles and I enjoy them very much. I, however, have an issue with the placement of the pad on the bolt catch. For me, this isn't specifically with Duffy's bolt catch, it's all bolt catches.

I, like some, have very large palms and short fingers. This causes me to have to reach for the bolt catch when reloading thus causing me to add an extra step in the reloading process witch of course slows me down.

When I reload a magazine into my rifle, I preform a push of the magazine and then a pull to confirm that the mag is properly seated. When tugging on the mag, it places my thumb closer toward the muzzle than it would be if I would just seat the mag and hit the bolt release.

What I have proposed to Duffy is not to make the ABC/R pad larger, but to slide the pad toward the muzzle about 25% or a little less than 1/4 inch. This would help my issue and also help with left handed shooters hitting the bolt catch when they reach under the handguard to release the bolt.

I will post a couple of pictures to show you what I'm talking about....

In this picture, you can see that my natural hand positioning places my thumb forward of the bolt catch....

In this photo, you can see what I mean by a left handed shooter reaching under for the bolt catch....



Other companies make "enhanced" bolt catches but I don't think that they put much thought into their designs and they don't really enhance operation of the rifle.

Let me know what you think....

I've actually thought the same thing myself and voted yes. That said I can completely see Roger's point on there'd be folks clamoring it's in the "wrong" direction, or "a solution in search of a problem".

[opngrnd]

I like the idea, but am not sure how I feel about application of pressure off axis of the roll pin.

[CoryCop25]

That’s why I suggested an addition to the ABC/R line. If it doesn’t suit the person they can get a standard one.

As far as off axis, it won’t be a problem and several manufacturers already do it. They just do it wrong.

[Duffy]

Cory, I'd like to, the issue is we'd need to make quite a few of them to justify the machine time. I will look into this as an option.

[17K]

I like the idea, but am not sure how I feel about application of pressure off axis of the roll pin.

This. Train to use what's there. The bolt catch pins to a couple of little ears with a roll pin. Not something I want to put more leverage on.


Here's a shop drawing for my super duper bolt catch.

[MistWolf]

A bolt release with the paddle moved forward would help me. I load my mag the same way- Push. Pull. Thumb the release. Reaching back for the standard release is a stretch. As far as being a solution in search of a problem, it solves a problem for me, albeit a small problem.

[opngrnd]

I'd buy one just to support the effort, as well as try the variation, as long as it still has paddle in the original area. I'm one of those guys that like the original, and the FCD version is great for me as is, but I'm always happy to try to improve on things.