What is a vertical foregrip on an AR15 good for?

[NukeRJ]

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]

Snagging on anything that it can.............

[TrapperJohn]

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]

I like my AFG, better than when I had a vert grip on there

[josh7328]

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.

[Fromk]

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]

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.

[NukeRJ]

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.

[Gunner]

Incase you run out of room for your hand

[275RLTW]

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?