View Full Version : What is a vertical foregrip on an AR15 good for?
Redwoods
05-03-2011, 11:56
I see a lot of vert foregrips on AR15s. What were they originally designed for?
Full-auto fire controllability?
Ergonomics when behind cover?
Room clearing?
Randy
Zundfolge
05-03-2011, 11:57
Mostly they're designed so you can keep your elbows down while moving through tight quarters.
More stability in your hold on the rifle. You can force it into your shoulder pocket with both hands, rather than just the one. Also gives you a stranger grip with less fatigue, as your arm is less extended.
I think it's another one of those things that's pretty versatile. A popular thing now is to have a stubby little one as an index point for your hand and pulling back gives some stability.
I imagine holding one like a pistol grip would help during full-auto fire or, like above, allowing some movement in the elbows. I can also see them being load bearing if your job is to stand around with one all day but that's just an educated guess.
I've also seen them either used wrong where someone's just holding that and their pistol grip creating two wild pivot points or not at all with them being some tacticool accessory they got because they thought it would look neat.
They're also good for battery storage and some have bipods in them. I've got one in my range bag I picked up because it was super cheap and I was already getting stuff from a vendor at a gun show. I can't even attach it with my current setup.
TEAMRICO
05-03-2011, 12:46
10 "Tacti-COOL" points......
Hurry kids, collect them all!
I think it's another one of those things that's pretty versatile. A popular thing now is to have a stubby little one as an index point for your hand and pulling back gives some stability.
I imagine holding one like a pistol grip would help during full-auto fire or, like above, allowing some movement in the elbows. I can also see them being load bearing if your job is to stand around with one all day but that's just an educated guess.
I've also seen them either used wrong where someone's just holding that and their pistol grip creating two wild pivot points or not at all with them being some tacticool accessory they got because they thought it would look neat.
They're also good for battery storage and some have bipods in them. I've got one in my range bag I picked up because it was super cheap and I was already getting stuff from a vendor at a gun show. I can't even attach it with my current setup.
The spec-ops community has done studies that show a vertical foregrip impedes weapon handling capability and can foster bad shooting habits. The magpul AFG is an example of innovation in this subject. How do I know- well thats cuz I did one of those little research projects.
You don't need one, - you can shoot better without one. Just have to pracice.
unless you just want to look cool?
BPTactical
05-03-2011, 13:08
Snagging on anything that it can.............
TrapperJohn
05-03-2011, 13:31
The spec-ops community has done studies that show a vertical foregrip impedes weapon handling capability and can foster bad shooting habits. The magpul AFG is an example of innovation in this subject. How do I know- well thats cuz I did one of those little research projects.
You don't need one, - you can shoot better without one. Just have to pracice.
unless you just want to look cool?
I have been looking at getting an AFG because the vertical grip just does not do it for me. Are the AFG's as good as magpul say's they are?
ghettodub
05-03-2011, 13:32
I like my AFG, better than when I had a vert grip on there
Fixed
The spec-ops community has done studies that show a vertical foregrip, when used incorrectly, impedes weapon handling capability and can foster bad shooting habits. The magpul AFG is an example of innovation in this subject. How do I know- well thats cuz I did one of those little research projects.
You don't need one, - you can shoot better without one. Just have to pracice.
unless you just want to look cool?
josh7328
05-03-2011, 14:05
I have a bad habit of grabbing the front of the magwell with my non-firing hand, which is obviously terrible for stability. To remedy this, i put a verticle foregrip on my rifle, to give my hand a more natural place to grip, while extending out my arm further forward for added stability. As others have said, if you just grab the verticle grip, it just makes stability worse than it was before. Thats why when you use one, about 90% of your hand is firmly holding the handguard, while the pinky and ring finger push the grip back into your shoulder. Same theory used in the concept of the afg.
The AFG's are a cool idea but it's totally up to you if you like them. Almost everyone I know who have tried them took them off pretty quick. They take up a lot of space and, to them and myself, didn't feel as good as the regular hand guard. The two exceptions were owners of an AR and AK pistols. Since the vertical foregrips aren't allowed it was a good and legal (according to the California DOJ at the time) alternative. So just try one and sell it if you don't like it. Easy.
TrapperJohn
05-03-2011, 14:28
The AFG's are a cool idea but it's totally up to you if you like them. Almost everyone I know who have tried them took them off pretty quick. They take up a lot of space and, to them and myself, didn't feel as good as the regular hand guard. The two exceptions were owners of an AR and AK pistols. Since the vertical foregrips aren't allowed it was a good and legal (according to the California DOJ at the time) alternative. So just try one and sell it if you don't like it. Easy.
I think they are only $35. So that's not bad to just try them out. That is a lot cheaper then my Tangodown VFG and I don't even use that.
SA Friday
05-03-2011, 15:04
C D I
Custom drop in?
Custom drop in?
Chicks Dig It.
Chicks Dig It.
I've decided I'm putting one on the left, one on the right and maybe two (one for backup) on the bottom of my 7.0 rail. None on the top though, that might get in the way of my sight lines and might be considered a little over-kill.
SA Friday
05-03-2011, 15:54
Chicks Dig It.
About the same result then. If figured they show up so often because they are a cheap and easy way to customize. The only reason I've ever used one was it was a surefire vfg light and issued. It's dark in the desert...
I've decided I'm putting one on the left, one on the right and maybe two (one for backup) on the bottom of my 7.0 rail. None on the top though, that might get in the way of my sight lines and might be considered a little over-kill.
Drill a hole through it...you may end up starting a new trend!
Drill a hole through it...you may end up starting a new trend!
Damn good idea...and I'll measure / drill carefully to maintain proper lower 1/3 co when I do it... [Coffee]
vietboy1st
05-03-2011, 16:47
I see a lot of vert foregrips on AR15s. What were they originally designed for?
Full-auto fire controllability?
Ergonomics when behind cover?
Room clearing?
Randy
All has been said, but I want to talk too-
I've found that as AR owners "mature" with their rifle, they seem to all go through a certain order of crap stapled to their gun
-starts with a basic rifle-
-gets covered with everything with a rail and a battery
-this is played around with for a few thousand rounds
-returns to nearly stock format, like the A2 above this, stage right
some stop here,
some continue and put a nice optic back on it, and not a whole lot else.
I have played with VFGs, and they are good or pulling the rifle back into your shoulder pocket, but I always end up taking mine off, as they add weight, and a great little rod for getting hung up on everything, and I don't think they make the shooter much faster at all.
TrapperJohn
05-03-2011, 21:16
I have tried many things to see what I like but one thing I cannot stand is the iron sights. The optics these days are so much better. I will not even put back-up sights in my rifle. I am not going to take my rifle into combat so it is just extra weight. If my batteries run out I will just go to the store.
I'm going to get one for my m4gery
Colorado Pete
05-04-2011, 00:34
In a word, "ick".
Oh wait, I don't even own an AR (well I have just a lower....yes I do, Hoser!).
Well, you'll never catch me hanging one of those things off the fore-end of my Garand then! It'd get in the way of my loop sling!
Hoser, I'll have to remember "C D I". Too funny.
This is one of those "buy it and try it for yourself" things. People that say that there is "no other way" to do something are ignorant. Everyone is different, you might like it and find that you can control your rifle better, or, you might not. You never know how you will like it till you try it.
For my AK which has a quad rail I tried a shorty vertical grip, but even though a shorty, it still got in the way of 30 round mag changes without putting it all the way forward, which would make for an unbalanced grip, so I now have an AFG2. With the AFG2, there is no hindrance with hi-cap mag changes and I can get two comfortable hand positions with it.
I have been looking at getting an AFG because the vertical grip just does not do it for me. Are the AFG's as good as magpul say's they are?
The AFG design actually follows an old shooting principal that gunslingers used. If you were to take your fingers and point them both at a target along a common axis (i.e. A gun) then it has been shown that the eye tends to correct for any misalignment between the two pointing fingers. And both will point at the target. Practice this and try it out. Take ur favorite long gun, hold it at the high ready, also known as position 3. Grip your rifle with your firing hand as normal, but with your non firing hand, or support hand, place it on the side if the forearm. Index finger outstretched and pointing along the barrel line. The remaining fingers and thumb wrapping around the forearm. Now mount and sight the weapon at something quickly and see how close you are to accurately aligning to the target. Now try it with a VFG or by holding the magwell instead. The AFG was designed to be used in this manner. But offer more rearward surface to stabilize the shooting platform.
Incase you run out of room for your hand
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l176/landondesautels/images-4.jpg
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