I recently built my first AR Pistol and I had a lot of fun putting it together. It's an econo build so some of the components were either purchased used, or on ebay. The pistol buffer tube that I purchased is milspec and it came with the foam cover. The foam cover is too thick and it creates a higher LOS that I'm not comfortable with,.. so I walked over to the drawing board.

The photos shows the pistol with the pistol buffer tube/foam cover. The second shows my cheek rest slipped on the pistol buffer tube. I made the cheek rest with a decorative thin rudder.  

Does the design of my cheek rest violate current ATF regulations when mounted onto the pistol tube on a AR Pistol ..?



With my homemade Cheek Rest..:

Don't really answer this, but what's the purpose of the part that hangs down from the buffer tube?

It can be used as a handle to aid in the install/removal of the cheek rest.

I'd delete the 2nd picture, and retake it with a 16" Upper on it.

You know a certain crowd is gonna find this thread and debate the legality of it.

It is exactly what I seek.

I kind of like the decorative thin rudder.

I got nothing. That "rudder" device seems iffy

It's a Cheek Rest.  The rudder is thinner and much smaller than the one on the Shockwave Blade.

Looks like it could chew up a cheek.pad it up and GTG.

It has a soft and thin neoprene strip that produces a solid, sticky (high coefficient of friction) cheek weld.

Im in no position to give legal advice but I like what you did. It came out very nice for a DIY project. You'd have to submit it to the ATF to find out where it stands in their eyes. Might be worth the effort if you end up with an approval and could find a manufacturer to buy your design.

@Rdot.

Roger That. I appreciate your input and advice.

A few more pics. Waiting for the ATF ruling...

I like it! But if the ATF says it is legal, I'm sure a bunch of people will write them letters questioning it until they change their minds.

As LOS said before its basically the same design as the shockwave blade but smaller and simpler. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be deemed acceptable.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

,,I hope.

Pretty simple to create with some kydex, a hair dryer and a few boston screws
If anyone asks, tell them your creation doubles as a canoe paddle

lol. Or a dull Tomahawk.

The ATF already expressed their view in the infamous Brace letter. If you hold it up to your shoulder = stock. No Stamp = jail.

Everybody keeps trying to skirt the letter and intent of regulation (which should be removed from law) but the real issue is how much does any sort of support at the rear of a weapon with a 10" barrel improve accuracy? Even the SBR crowd uses a pistol lower no brace to cross state lines or at non-SBR shoots and the result is a happy shooter.

If pistol owners would take the time to learn what they need to do, and practice, to be acceptably accurate using it, then we wouldn't need braces unless we were missing an arm and maybe both legs. But, no, the real intent is to skirt the law. The ATF has addressed it. The language, vague as they like to write it, was sufficiently clear enough. You can't shoulder a vertical surface into the shoulder pocket and be legal.

Don't need to anyway. It's not a .308.

UPDATE: The ATF/Firearms Technology Industries Service Branch just responded to my inquiry. They are requesting that I submit a physical sample in order to receive/obtain a classification.  We should have their decision/classification within the next few weeks.

I like the size, but won't it twist around easily and potentially work its way off?
Kydex isn't a real trippy material.

Great question. Once mounted on the tube, the cheek rest will not move or shift. It will have a screw that will tighten and secure it to the tube.

Also, the total projected weight is only 2.0 oz.

Good deal. Cant wait to see how it pans out for you!

OP, if I may ask, what are the specs on that build? I want to build one like it.

PSA upper receiver
PSA complete lower
8.5" PSA barrel - 5.56
PSA BCG and CH
following components purchase on ebay..:
Low Profile gas block
Pistol length gas tube
10" keymod rail
Keymod hand guard panels
Keymod hand stop
Pistol buffer tube
1/2" 4-slot low riser
Knurled Body Concussion Redirector
Flip-Up BUIS

Really?   I was completely unaware that the military uses AR pistol, and thus have milspec pistol buffer tubes.    Fascinating.

My mistake. The Pistol Tube is advertised as "223 556 mil", not mil spec. Thanks.

Just finished prototype-2 cheek rest, and it really kicks butt.  No pun intended. :)

I'll release photos soon.

I'm no lawyer or ATF knucklehead but I do know that the original Brace was developed as an aid for handicapped shooters to shoot the pistols one handed.  The Sig brace allows it to envelope the arm.   The Shockwave is still an arm brace and offers no advantage to shoulder. Your design, which I like and makes total sense, may not fall into the same category as a handicap aid.  

The Thordsen cheek rest allows for a better weld to the bare or foam covered tube.  Again, no advantage to shoulder.  So if you take an ATF approved handicap brace and couple it with an ATF approved cheek rest, it's all good.  My opinion only.  

I have seen and I believe it is allowable to add a non slip cap, like from a crutch to the foam covered tube.  This acts to keep the weapon upright and safe in a rack or against an object.  Again, no advantage to shoulder.    

I'm just hoping that in the near future a lot of these insane limitations be lifted.

My thoughts, exactly. THANKS for your input.

Hell yeah, that looks good man.
As a cheek rest, I could see that vertical rear fin being an issue though.
If so, you could always put 2 slots in that fin to run a Velcro strap thru to wrap around your forearm and use as an arm brace  

Can't trust The Man not to screw you.

ATF Letter or nothing, IMHO.  Even then I'd never take it into public with that installed.  But I really like it, honestly.  Sucks that the laws are designed to wreck well-meaning citizens.

If you are wanting to put that brace on the market, might need to check patents as maybe it would infringe on the Shockwave patent.  That could add a large financial obligation.  But if for personal use or as a "present" (no financial gain) maybe it would be OK.

Guntoter, it's not a brace, it is a Cheek Rest.

A few pics of the DELTA cheek rest [deltaCR prototype 1] ..:

I like that evolution.

I like the second one better. I am actually looking for a way to make the tube on mine a little longer and it looks like I can copy what you did. Any tutorial and what and where you got the part ? thanks

I'll be following this thread.

It's awesome to see creativity from folks on this forum.

I like it.

Thanks for the nice words, guys.

I'll be happy to share my CR build specs/process but at this juncture I would discourage anyone from making a cheek rest and mounting it to your AR pistol, until I (we) hear back from the BATF/FTISB.

If it's only a cheek rest, what is the purpose of the rudder?

I like the look of the Delta version.

obviously its the only way to get the cheek rest to squeeze-mount securely to the tube. makes sense to me...

but you could achieve that with the material and 3 screws horizontally right under the tube, no need to add that extra triangle shape

true of course, but the rudder is so much nicer  :-)

How so...exactly? ...Because this all seems like a wasted effort. If you're goal is to put your face up to the sights - just SBR the thing and put a real stock on it...

Does the kydex have enough friction against the tube to prevent rotation, or are you slipping a section of tool box liner/thin rubber in there?

If you added a nylon wrist strap, that would be good for the feelz.

As far as pistols are concerned, you could use a milspec adjustable M4 tube. The reason "pistol" diameter tubes sell is for guys like me who can then prevent someone from just shoving a stock on it to create an issue.

As for the thin blade hanging down, as far as it being a shoulder rest  the thinner you make it the more uncomfortable. So, why not just shoot nose to the charging handle and brace forward to keep the minor recoil from bothering you?

I've seen dozens of braces/cheek rests/whatever in this forum for years now, but rarely if ever a sling set up to keep recoil at a minimum bracing the weapon forward. I've read dozens of posts arguing VFG's and how much vertical slant and projection will trip the ATF's radar, but almost zilch on how to attach the sling to the front of the handguard and use IT for a forward stop. (And yeah I do recognize some would immediately think vertical forward grip. Well take it up with the ATF and write them a letter. )

We are still thinking of the ATF as the enemy when the real enemy is a lack of imagination to address the problem of stabilizing the sight picture with no stock held to the shoulder. Since the invention of the Brace it's been one copycat after another and most aren't successful in getting approval. And that is because the obvious intent is to circumvent their ruling and hold it up to your shoulder.

Why even bother? You have to cramp your head down to the sight line and there's no significant recoil anyway. It's not a .308 that can give you a case of scope eye, it's 5.56 and you can shoot it with the butt held to your chin. Seen it, done it. No big deal. They even marketed a jaw rest at one time.

BTW - building up the tube for a cheek rest? After about 1/2" it interferes with the charging handle and the average sight plane starts going over the sights. Cheek rests may be needed for large belled scopes propped up on high mounts, but for the natural eye alignment not so much.

And that is the way the ATF might see it - after all, they have inspectors who have looked at this stuff for decades and for the most part, it's all a dodge to circumvent what the pistol is and effectively make it an SBR - which they have repeatedly said they will see it as.

The ATF isn't the enemy, we are our own worst enemy. We keep trying to poke the bear and do it long enough you get things like the Brace Letter which states "it's a stock and just don't bother us about it." If we took as much effort supporting the revocation of the '34 NFA it would likely have been dismantled long ago, but no, we waste time working around it instead of attacking it directly. And if we did, the word would get out how stupid it all is instead of looking less than smart trying to play footsie with the ATF and get our special favor anointed.

Good luck on that faux shoulder stock attachment. Maybe it will pass their scrutiny. If so, you actually have a much bigger obstacle, bringing it to market and getting some profit out of it. Not to forget that 95% of all new business ventures fail in the first 10 years.

Will the NFA still exist in 10 years? If it's take out of the law - end of the Brace business. They will be curios of a long ago time.

How about you SBR guys worry about your SBR's and stop trying to nag us smart pistol guys into wasting $200 and inviting the man into our lives for something that us constitutionally legal anyway.

The jealousy you guys display or whatever psychosis you have towards pistols and cool braces is unreal....

Go ahead and try to tell me that's not it.......

I can cheek weld my pistol and shoot just as well (within tenths of a second) as shooting with an SBR. Yes, I've timed it. So spare me the nonsense.

OP. Looks cool but I don't see much difference between this and the shockwave. I mean, I see the "difference" but overall it seems very similar.

The second iteration is a bit different.

Don't get me wrong, I like it. I think I'd like the second one better if the middle of the rudder section was cut out.

Skeletonized..?

Good info.