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I have a question about the ambidextrous levers - can the levers be mounted facing different directions on the opposite of the gun?
ie., when you push the selector lever down on the support side, can the ejection side lever be mounted so it will rotate up?
this would allow me to use my trigger finger to push down on the lever to safe the weapon. is a small issue but for me it is something I would like to do...
never push a wrench...
"Perfect Practice Makes Perfect"
"There are 550 million firearms on this planet. That's one firearm for every 12 people. The question is... How do we arm the other 11?" Lord of War.
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Yes indeed, we have tried it and it works surprisingly well.
Please note that we do not advocate its use, as with the levers orientation reversed, they will block the Safe engraving while on safe. Also, if your receiver has selector stops as many do, this arrangement will not work.
The Colt SCAR entry has an arrangement like this, it was suggested that we did likewise. We rejected it because:
1. When the weapon is on Safe, it looks like an M16 receiver set to Auto/Burst.
2. It will not work with receivers with selector stops, unless we modified some levers. We wanted to keep the levers the same for 45 and 90 degree selectors.
3. We did not want to introduce too many changes all at once.
This is how it looks with the levers mounted in the opposite direction:
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Roger Wang
Forward Controls Design
Simplicity is the sign of truth
I would keep it consistent, with the levers pointing at the same direction on both sides![]()
Roger Wang
Forward Controls Design
Simplicity is the sign of truth
I have had "standard" BAS-ASS safeties on 5 AR's and an AR10 for a few months now and thought the AR safety couldn't get much better given their flawless machining and customizable functionality. Then Battle Arms sent me a 45degree one to try out and I found I was wrong!
The 45 safety is super fast and works like I always thought a safety should. It is especially good for going back on safe without having to rotate your hand, which I see as useful for close range work and obviously drills doing the same. I may convert my carbines to 45 and leave my precision guns with standard 90's. I have had no issues going back and forth between 45/90 guns but I suppose some people could. The only other issue I can see is that it is theoretically possible to knock the safety On/Off much easier now, but that may be overblown considering all the other guns that use similar safeties and maybe just on my gun because of a too good job of Frog Lubing all the parts!
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Last edited by Dennis; 06-13-11 at 19:56.
Thanks Dennis
Some of the argument for a 0-45-135 while we were taking surveys for a short throw select fire selector was that if the arrangement is all short throw (i.e. 0-45-45), it is easy overdo it and go to Auto while the user only wanted Semi.
While it's valid, we think it's mostly a training issue. AK's Safe-Auto-Semi, HK's 3 way or 4 way selector, SCAR's 3 way selector are all short throw. To me, it's not ideal to address a training issue with a mechanical solution, case in point: 3 round burst.
Anyway, the reason I brought this up is that we can argue for either side. A 90 degree arrangement requires deliberate action by the user at the expense of less than natural ergonomics, especially when switching the weapon back on Safe. A 45 degree arrangement is fast, if it could be inadvertently rotated to another position, the same can be said of a 90 degree selector. A safe and trained user should always be mindful of the condition of his weapons, relying on a piece of hardware to do his thinking and being diligent is dangerous.
In the end, in a world sans free lunch, one weighs the pros against the cons, our opinion is biased, but we think the 45 degree selector's advantages definitely have an edge of the potential shortcomings![]()
Roger Wang
Forward Controls Design
Simplicity is the sign of truth
Agreed. A realistic appraisal of your needs and enough training to accomplish your goals are always most important.
Again, it could just be my gun and a slick lube job but maybe you could make a special pin and/or spring that makes the safety just a *bit* more positively firm in function? Your super smooth movement definitely helps with your 90's but maybe a slightly harder "click* would make the 45 perfect for my needs
Dennis.
Last edited by Dennis; 06-13-11 at 20:03.
Future production 90 and 45 degrees will have slightly raised detent grooves to retain more spring pressure. Though it's a rare phenomenon, we still want to address it. Meanwhile, a little spacer (I cut off a piece of the ladder rail and stick it inside the pistol grip's spring hole) to stiffen it up![]()
Roger Wang
Forward Controls Design
Simplicity is the sign of truth
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