Firing An AR Pistol Without A Brace

Once you start resting your cheek against the buffer tube when shooting an AR pistol, it seems so intuitive that you wonder how it is not obvious to everyone. But it may not be that obvious, particularly to those who have only ever used a pistol brace. Jim Davis, in his article "Firing An AR Pistol — Without A Brace", walks readers through the why and how of shooting the AR pistol while using the buffer tube as a cheek rest. He also has some pointers on steadying the weapon while reloading.

    When I built my AR pistol (see my post here), it originally sported a featureless pistol buffer tube. I had found a rubber foam handle cover (like you see on shovel, rake, and push broom handles) and put that over the buffer tube, which I later discovered was very good for providing some cushioning when resting my cheek against the tube. I initially had tried using an elastic single point sling to provide tension and steadiness when shooting by pushing out against the sling to steady the pistol, but it wasn't really effective, whereas using the cheek weld method was much more effective. Eventually I installed a pistol brace, but never really liked it all that much whether using it as intended or pressing it into service as an impromptu, improvised stock. With the new pistol brace rule having been released, rather than pursue the SBR route, I've removed the brace and its buffer tube and returned to the basic, featureless buffer tube of my original build. 

    I was in a local gun shop last week that was still selling pistol braces with only 30% off the regular price. I suppose if you wanted to SBR a weapon, it would probably be cheaper to pick up such a brace than pay the $200 tax. Nevertheless, I'm surprised that it took the gun stores (at least this one) so long to start discounting the prices. It seems like too little, too late, at this point and this particular store, at least, is probably going to end up having to destroy much of its stock of braces. 

    I don't have much hope of a court overturning the rule. Unlike the bump stock ban, which clearly did not fall within the applicable statutory language defining a machine gun, the pistol braces always ran the potential of running afoul of the law if they were widely misused as shoulder stocks. And the ATF's explanation for the rule is replete with examples of the braces being used or advertised for use as shoulder stocks. A perfect example of a small number of idiots ruining a good deal for everyone else. 

    The ATF continues with its mission to ferret out any technology that might make firearms more fun and/or useful: it has obtained a temporary injunction against Rare Breed Triggers LLC and Rare Breed Firearms LLC for the sale of their forced reset triggers. You can read the DOJ's press release crowing about their success here or Reuters slightly rewritten version here. If the DOJ and Reuters are to be believed, the DOJ's victory will mean the end of gun violence. If you want a more reasonable explanation of the whole dispute, I recommend Survival Cache's article on the subject, "Rare Breed Triggers: Are they Legal?"