AFG users, post feedback here!

[Deltapaul]

Upon initial inspection I found the product to be of the same quality that i have come to expect from Magpul. It was easy to mount on my Troy MRF rail. I liked the comfort of the grip, but think it will take some getting used to, as I am used to having a modified grip on my vert grip. I did like gripping it with my index finger in front of it and have the center grip behind my ring finger. I have not been able to get out to the range with it yet unfortunately due to some crappy weather. Im looking forward to trying it out.

[Titleist]

Let me preface this review by first establishing that anything to do with how your body interfaces with a weapon system will not be a review that’s binary in nature. There is no universal ‘this works’ or ‘this does not work’ as empirical facts on these types of products. What feels good to one person feels bad to another.

There’s been a rapid transition from vertical grips being used in the broom-handle sense, i.e hands fully around the column, and thus providing very little stability over the center axis of the rifle. So as the hand moves higher up along the line of the bore (in terms of grip) we’ve found that we need less tall of vertical grips to accomplish that need. A further variation on that is the idea of a hand-stop, which whittles away any unnecessary design to provide only a reference point for the hand to exert rearward pressure on.

The hand-stop concept is fantastic if you run a high tang grip. For me as a shooter I run my reaction side hand (or primary if working transitions) high, to the point where my knuckles are on top of the rail. The one issue that has been raised is the supination to the shooter’s wrist, or the over-extension caused by a hard 90-degree cant on the grip; the AFG works to solve this by using an angled gripping surface for the shooter.


Magpul AFG on Knights 11.5" SBR (Note angle of the wrist in relation to the AFG)

This review was compiled from the experiences of 3 shooters, myself, and two other experienced AR shooters who spent about 100+ rounds on each of my guns (11.5 Costa-style SBR, which is fitting for this test, and my KAC SR-15). Obviously the build quality is fantastic, it’s an affordably made, and well thought out product in terms of execution. The grip comes with two finger groove inserts, one in the A2 style nub, and one that’s smooth. I found for my hands the A2 groove interfered with my smaller hands, and I had to switch out to the flat profile insert (swappable within 1-2 minutes with only removing two screws to separate the AFG in half). The AFG mounts to the rail using a flat head screw and nut, to lock it in to the rail. The AFG takes up approximately the entire length of a standard 7” carbine rail. However you can position it further forward on the rail depending on what feels best for the shooter.


Knights Armament SR-15

So how does it feel? Well…I’d say it’s a mixed bag. My KAC SBR uses a KAC hand-stop, and the longer SR-15 uses a non-QD Tango Down Stubby vertical grip. Each gun has it’s own unique setup as I run two completely different light/laser rigs on each. So lets start with the SR-15 first. On the Knights SR-15 the combination of Surefire Scout, AN/PEQ-15, and Magpul AFG did not feel good for me at all. The previous setup (and keep in mind this is a combination of interactions on different parts) which used the TD Stubby allowed me to slightly extend my left thumb forward to activate the light, and when using the PEQ (pressure pad is directly under the PEQ-15, placed in between the left and top rail) all I have to do is a slight wrist rotation to hit the pressure switch. When the AFG is in place it’s a much more pronounced move to hit the light. And with the PEQ-15 instead of rotating my hand back a few degrees to allow my thumb access to the pad I now have to extend my whole hand out since it’s already canted. Simply put it’s comfortable when shooting, but it’s uncomfortable when trying to work with the light and laser. The AFG also interferes with rail-mounted accessories like Larue mounts. The AFG cannot slide next to them without the user removing part of the AFG with a Dremel. This isn’t a big issue and is user-solvable quickly, but it’s still an issue worth pointing out. Since the review I’ve switched back to the Stubby, and I’ll get back to that in my conclusions.


Magpul AFG used in combination light and laser (Surefire Scout, and Insight Technology AN/PEQ-15)

On the SBR the results were notably better. Because I run my Surefire at the 1 o’clock position this allowed me to better high grip on the AFG, and the results were comfortable, though not perfect. The 11.5” SBR also provides an interesting test bed. As my rifle is very similar to Chris Costa’s (I run a different light setup however) so it’s a situation where my rifle matches up very closely to those in the marketing material. So taking that in to account the biggest differences become the difference in body mechanics between the two shooters.


Magpul AFG on Knights 11.5" SBR

To summarize how the AFG feels, and all the shooters independently confirmed this after our demo (we all came to the same results separately) is that the AFG can be equated to a slippage in physical purchase (grip, not money). I equate it to sitting on your back, feet against the wall, as you push out with your feet you have a solid action/re-action to what you’re pushing against. The AFG feels more like pushing against an angled surface, in that the force is somewhat translated but the force also wants to go up and out. So while it accomplishes the job of pulling back it feels less positive in terms grip. The tango down grip provides a solid 90-degree point of reference for my hands and the hands of the shooters who demoed the AFG (and I can keep an extra 123A battery in the stubby). The same can be said of the KAC hand-stop. I will admit I like the AFG just a tiny bit more over the KAC hand-stop, which is why I’ll continue to use the AFG going forward. However I’ve found that the AFG for me at least was not the right choice for my longer SR-15. I understand the mentality behind the AFG, and I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a solution searching for a problem. As I said earlier this is not going to be a binary review, this is however going to be a binary product. You will either love it or hate it. My response to it on it being announced was very mixed bag, my response to it in use is still the same. The human body is absolutely unique among individuals; ergonomics is always about creating a compromise. It’s about making what feels good to the largest percentage of individuals. I’m in the percentage that just barely considers it an improvement.

However at 35 dollars it’s too cheap not to try out for yourself, make these decisions after some range time, and see how it works for yourself. I do want to thank Magpul for allowing me to try one of these out for free, and come to these conclusions myself as impartially as possible.

[yallknowho]

fantastic review titleist, thanks.

[Roy]

THANKS MP....

Got my AFG as i LAY in bed with a 102* fever. not feeling too great. 2 days later got it on my rifle.

Quality seems very high as with all MP stuff.

Threw my AFG on a 6920 with 7" Surefire Quad rail. Instilation was a breeze. lock up is sturdy. I am 6'02" and found it to be too close if i mounted in a " Nutrual" position on the rail. I slid it foward to the point that the "Duck Bill" was covering my bayonet lug. feels very comfortable there allows me to get a very high grip with my reaction side hand. thumb up near FSP. and allows me to activate my scout light with my reaction side thumb knuckle.


Impressions: I like the control i feel i have over the weapon. while clearing my house and engaging the invaders (read Snowmen); i felt i was able to change directon of the weapon very rapidly.

Things i would change:
Id like to see it a little grippier.. as im not sure how it may preform when wet/ hands are cold ect..

Id like to see a more pronnunced end. where the pinky sits so i can really lock the weapon toward me.



Concerns: My only concrns are as follows
Finding Trigger time
NOt sure it will still fit in the rack of my squad car due to the size of the AFG.
I am also concerned that my partner who missed the boat will try to steal my AFG out of the trunk of our car.

Ill try to find a camera and document this

THANKS AGAIN MAGPUL

[Mate]

Titleist, is there anyway you could just move the peq-15 closer to the T1? That way you'd be able to wrap you're thumb around the 12 o clock position on the rail.

Just a thought.

[Titleist]

Titleist, is there anyway you could just move the peq-15 closer to the T1? That way you'd be able to wrap you're thumb around the 12 o clock position on the rail.

Just a thought.

I could move the PEQ backwards like Travis runs his, but that to me creates two grips I have to employ when running my rifle. One in the day, and one at the night. And frankly that seems like a step backwards just to run a new piece of kit.

Where I have the stubby, surefire, and PEQ are perfect in my humble opinion. To hit the PEQ's pressure pad is a VERY slight rotation of my wrist backwards, with the AFG it's way more pronounced and i lose positive control over the front of the rifle. Here's a photo of that placement in regards to my hand: http://www.flickr.com/photos/isaac_m...7622805709870/

Moving the PEQ back might make for a better grip during the day, but it would create a situation where I have to mentally re-grip the rifle during the night in a manner not as comfortable or as secure. The TD stubby creates one grip to rule them all...I mean it works 100 percent of the time for me.

[bradb55]

Very well done Titleist!

Great review man.

[Rated21R]

can't wait to hear/see more about these. seems like another great product from MagPul.

[RogerinTPA]

Back from the range. I replaced the finger shelf and fired some Failure/Mozambique drills, NSR Drills, Vtac 2x2x2 and 1-5 drills. The AFG felt pretty comfortable shooting those drills, and felt much better than with the finger shelf the other day. I was able to drive the gun from target to target much better after I got used to using the AFG. As Roy stated, as my hands, without gloves, began to get a little sweaty, the grip seemed to slip and I had to use a higher grip. I can imagine it getting slippery with heavy sweat, rain, or during amphibious operations. A more aggressive texture would aid in driving the weapon and retention, under wet or dry conditions.

The AFG mounted to my LMT MRP

[Zhurdan]

Alright, in order to avoid being made into a voodoo doll and poked and prodded with things I'd rather not, I went shooting this weekend with the AFG install. It was just a touch colder than "freeze your nads off", so I didn't stay out very long. I got a few pics (below) but for some reason, my wife wouldn't get out of the truck to snap some action photos. (wimp)




The spot where I set up my target stand had about 3' of snow, so I had to toss a coke can out there to shoot at so this is only my preliminary thoughts. (yes I retrieved it, I just didn't feel like carrying 60 lbs of target stand thru the snow)

I put 180 rounds down range, incorporating some mag changes and switching shoulders. I originally had it mounted a little further back, but quickly noticed that it needed to be more forward (where it's mounted in the pics) it's a little off the rail on the front end, but that seems to be a commonality in the other photos of others rifles. I'm a little concerned what that will mean on the 10.5" upper I'm waiting for a stamp on. I'm not sure it'll be of as much a benefit being the support arm most likely won't be extended enough. We shall see as soon as the magic stamp shows up.

As an aside, I've only been doing work with the ASP and MS2 in the living room and I gotta say, it's slicker than snot on a door knob when switching to support side working with it outside the living room. I did also notice that when the AFG was further out, I didn't have as hard a time finding correct hand position or bump the back end of it as I was when it was mounted further back. Kind of counter to what I'd thought, but it just felt a whole lot more natural further out.

I had the can dancing, but I'd really like to get two targets out there and do some back and forth work with the AFG. I think that's where it'll really shine.

Thanks again Magpul for allowing me to play around with this product. I'll be ordering a couple more (in OD... I just have a thing for green) when they become available.