Anyone happen to get their hands on one? Thoughts on these?



There are only vids on YouTube with a review of the product but no actual use.

HERA CQR stock info
HERA CQR stock
HERA Arms CQR Stock and Front Grip

Stag has 'em in their catalog for pre-order.  It's going to solve some problems for me, I think.

I got a set from LAN World, they came yesterday. I haven't had a chance to install them yet. I was planning on putting them on my SBR Gimmick Gun because, well, why not?

I can answer questions about them if folks have them. I'll try to get some pictures up when I get them installed.

I'm particularly interested in some pics before you get them installed - pics of the buffer tube, rear web to the pistol grip, and safety detent spring hole.  

Making Denmark Great Again!  

I'll get some pics tonight as I put them together.

The CQR stock doesn't come with a buffer tube though, it uses a milspec carbine tube. And the safety detent spring uses a little plastic box... you slide the stock onto the buffer tube and the pistol grip slides onto the grip mount. You install a short grip screw through a slot in the front of the grip then cover it with a snap in grip section. The safety detent spring goes into a little rectangular box that slides up and into right side of the grip section after the stock is on.

Got the stock installed, got some potatocam pictures before and after.

So far I have to say my impression of the Hera CQR stock and vertical grip is a solid, unwavering MEH.

Both the stock and the vertical grip are made out of a medium thick black plastic that, while it doesn't feel "cheap", it definitely doesn't feel like a solid, substantial thing in your hands. Both stock and vertical grip are clamshells held together with hex bolts, and aside from the odd tiny piece (the fasteners and in the case of the stock, the extension) they are entirely plastic.













The way the stock attaches is very simplistic and it doesn't "fit together" with a lot of quality... it feels more airsoft than firearm. The stock slides over a standard milspec carbine stock extension. It MUST be a standard milspec extension with standard castle nut and end plate, otherwise the stock simply will not fit on. Once the stock is on, the only thing physically attaching it to the gun is a very short grip screw that feeds in through a slot at the front of the grip. You really have to push down on the grip screw as you screw it in because the stock doesn't fit too cleanly and you need the additional pressure to move the grip area closer to the receiver so the very short grip screw can catch the threads and screw in literally like one and a half turns. Then a shaped grip piece snaps over the grip screw slot at the front. Finally you put the selector detent spring into a little rubber rectangular holder and angle it into the side of the grip area on the stock. There is no click, no mechanism to hold this rubber rectangular holder in place... it is simply held in by the magic of rubber... which gives me untold oceans of confidence in it. Lastly you attach the right and left QD mount halves to the stock and screw them in place with a hex bolt.

Once the stock is on it is relatively rigid, but it feels kind of hinky to use. The grip angle is odd, the LOP is odd, and the cheekweld area feels cheap on your face. I plan to take my Gimmick Rifle out to the range tomorrow afternoon to test out the new furniture, but just holding it in the house the whole package feels... weird. Not weird in a "I just need to get used to this" sort of weird, weird as in "the geometry feels very off and the material these things is made of doesn't feel right".

The stock has a removable "extension leaf" in it that allows you to swap it out for two different longer LOP sections (sold separately). You CANNOT remove the extension however, the short one that comes with the gun must remain installed as the buttpad will not connect to the stock body without it.

The buttpad is rubber and no, you are not seeing things, that IS RUST in the hex bolt in my picture. Two of the hex bolt fasteners on my stock had rust in them when I got the stock. The stock and vertical grip shipped from LAN World loose in plastic bags inside a single white shipping box with no padding or bubble wrap... loose and rattling around in there scratching each other up (both the stock and the vert grip are riddled with small scratches and dings).

So far my overall opinion of this pair is pretty low. The design is pure gimmick, the materials feel cheap-ish and the only positive thing these have going for them is their design, which is very love-it-or-hate-it. Perhaps some range time will change my mind, but so far as I led in with, my opinion is a solid MEH. Which is why I'm glad these are installed on my goofy Gimmick SBR... a rifle that contains so many gimmick and custom parts that the Hera furniture looks at home on it.





Edit: I should probably have mentioned the vertical grip as well as the "features" of both parts.

The vert grip feels much more "solid" than the buttstock, and its ergonomics are not as weird. It feels more natural in the hand than the stock. However it is just two plastic clamshell sides held together with hex bolts just like the stock. It has a little spot at the back that can be removed so if you have a Magpul D60 magazine you can insert it. With the part installed it would block this from happening. The vert grip also has two QD slots at the front as well as a sling loop at the bottom, which I assume is simply for looks as who in their right mind would attach a sling there?

A quirk of the vert grip is that it uses two cross mounted hex bolts to attach, and they feel like they are spaced waaaaaaay far apart from each other. They will consume a whole rail section themselves. My Gimmick Gun is a 7.5" Adams Arms piston upper with the Samson EVO forend. The vert grip eats the entire bottom rail.

"Features" of the stock and vertical foregrip are that they both have double sided QD mounts, they both have bottom located sling loops (for some reason), the stock has side mounted sling loops (both plastic and held in by hex bolts), and the stock has a rear picatinney rail hidden under a little cover (to attach a monopod) as well.

Attaching a buffer tube and reinforcing a lower receiver made of plastic bricks.  

ARCLIGHT, thanks for the pics.  I was particularly curious as to how the safety detent spring was installed.  Sounds like a mission for:  ELECTRICAL TAAAAAPPE!  

That was an issue w/ the old Bell & Carlson thumbhole - when you removed it, it whacked the safety detent spring.

I wonder if it would feel a bit sturdier w/ the judicious application of some steel rods & some 2-part epoxy on the inside.  Are you able to get to the inside of the stock by removing the buttplate & extension?

Not the buttplate. Removing the buttplate presents you with a closed end with shaped protrusions (to hold the extension leaf in place).

You CAN however split the whole thing in half by unscrewing all the hex bolts that hold the left and right halves together. I imagine the entire area behind the side sling posts, up under the buffer tube channel and in the buttress that connects to the grip area are hollow. However filling them with some material would add to their weight... the stock and vert grip aren't heavy by the sheer nature of being hollow. If you filled them with some sort of compound I imagine they'd get pretty heavy... not an issue if you are using the stock on a precision rifle, but on my Gimmick SBR any additional weight is really noticeable.

Thanks for the detailed feedback! I was considering this piece for my AR build but after that review, I think I'll step back from this. I'm hoping HERA Arms, or another company could revise this in the future. Then again, I heard from a friend they are on backorder by the thousandssssss.

The rumor is that LAN World has over 12,000 emails signed up to be notified when the items are in stock, and that is for the 3 different color versions of the stock, the vert grip and the California stock (which is the regular stock, just with a plate in the middle of the thumb hole). I was in the first group notified, and from what I saw LAN Wold had perhaps 30 pieces of the stock and vert grip in that first batch.

So far while I'm not super disappointed, I am kind of unimpressed. I was expecting much more robust plastic and a less chincey design. These things are very much form over function. If they had been built by Magpul I'd expect far thicker plastic, better grip stippling and a better thought out attachment method. As is these feel very "version 0.75" to me... almost like design prototypes. I doubt these things would withstand serious use... they strike me more as range toy level equipment.

Then again I'm a hard consumer to please, and other folks may appreciate them more than I do.

I'm set then.  We can throw some steel threaded rods in there and epoxy 'em in place, give it a little bit more weight in the rear.  I'm not trying to make weight w/ this thing.  Thanks so much.  I'll wait until they're on regular sale.

You're welcome to join in:

http://www.FeinsteinProject.org

Effort Bloomberg is the main effort.  It's been on hold, but given the difficulties Fruity Ghost has w/ tearing molds and imperfect casts, and the final release of an affordable thumbhole stock, I figure I'll start tinkering again.  We already know with sufficient reinforcement a plastic brick stock can withstand 12 ga 3" 00 buck recoil better than my shoulder can.

Just got back from the range and I have to sadly report the weirdness is in full effect.

Nothing shot loose, nothing broke. But the whole time shooting I couldn't shake the odd feeling that this stock and vertical grip are just... weird. What makes things interesting for me is that I own an SBR PS90, and I love the feel of that gun. It is super comfortable to shoot for extended periods and the position of your hands and your body just feel "natural" when shooting it. On the flip side these Hera pieces on my Gimmick Gun just feel awkward.

A few bullet point observations:

- the grip angle and the geometry of the pistol grip on the stock causes you to constantly "high ride" your grip. Gravity, aiming, everything seems to force the web of your hand higher and higher until it stops against the top of the stock. This means your shooting grip is really high on the gun, causing the safety selector to start to dig into your trigger finger... which is weird because I use a short right side lever that never comes close to touching my hand with a normal grip.

- Speaking of the safety selector, the stock doesn't fully engage the lower receiver causing a tiny gap to be present between the grip and the receiver under the selector. I don't know if it is this gap, or the nonstandard way the selector detent spring is installed, but the safety selector is positively limp with this stock. With an A2 grip installed (or any other dedicated pistol grip) my selector is generally pretty snappy, and takes a normal amount of pressure to move. But with this Hera stock the selector lever is limp like a wet noodle. The slightest pressure moves it, and there is no tactile feeling when it "clicks" into place.

- The enclosed nature of both the pistol grip and the vertical grip gave me the feeling of "grip claustrophobia". What I mean by that is that due to the buttresses that close off the grips you can really only hold them the way you are supposed to, and "shifting your grip" on them becomes uncomfortable unless you are holding them how they want to be held.

- I have never noticed this before but for some reason this stock and vert grip make any play between my upper and lower feel massive. I previously had a Magpul K2 grip and AVG on the Gimmick Gun and never really noticed the slop between my upper and my lower, but with these Hera parts installed every tiny shift is instantly noticeable. If I keep these I may need an accuwedge as the shimmy is setting off my OCD.

- The stock really needs to be shorter for my tastes. It feels as long as an A2 stock, but it isn't.

- I like the vertical grip more than I like the stock, but I don't think I'd ever use it without the stock... the two are kind of aesthetically joined at the hip.

So long story short, I bought these parts with this image in my head:



But after shooting my gun with the parts installed, I feel like this kid:



I imagine the second generation of this stock / vertical grip set will work out most of the complaints I have about them. As these are now, my original opinion remains... these are the ultimate execution of form over function. They look different and interesting when you are looking at them, but they offer zero benefits when actually using the gun they are on... and I'd even venture that they offer detriments if used "professionally" due to their iffy design quality and odd arrangement. But that is just my opinion and YMMV.

Thanks for the honest review.  When you were changing the PG, your selector detent didn't come out w/ your spring, did it?  Or is Hera's We'll Just Use A Piece Of Rubber For The Safety compressing too much under the spring & giving up spring tension on the detent?  I wonder if you put something under your spring if you'd get more crispness back.

The detent is definitely in there, it is a lack of spring pressure. I've poked and prodded at the rubber holding block, taken it out and put it back in a few times and the spring tension never rises above middling.

I think the issue is that the rubber retention block is open at both ends, and when you install it it kind of drops down into the pistol grip section a tiny bit. I think it is this tiny bit that takes the tension off just enough for it to be limp. When I first saw the arrangement I thought the retention block was closed on one end... perhaps that is the design change that needs to happen.

Thanks for honest reviews. I bought the hera triarri chassis setups for two glocks I have and love them. They are aircraft aluminum grade though and not plastic. Had high hopes for this but will pass based on your review.  Any chance to get a pic of your rifle next to the Ps90 so we can visually Compare?   Kudos.


Also how much does the grip and stock run together?

Compared to the PS90 my Gimmick Gun looks and feels like a tugboat... and it is a 7.5" barreled SBR. There is just something about the ergonomics on the PS90 that make it very comfortable to hold and shoot. It just "tucks" into you and feels very natural. Whereas the Hera CQR stocked SBR feels like you are trying to hold and shoot a ten speed bike... very gawky and awkward. I'm sure with use I'll get used to the Hera furniture, but right now it is more weird than wow.



I paid somewhere around $175 for both shipped. The vertical grip is like $40 and the stock is like $120.

Appreciate you posting this OP. I really thought i wanted these for my tacticool space gun AR which is kind of a mess. Having said that after looking at your pics I have to say they do look kinda cheap. I really hope they come up with a gen 2 that looks better. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and being honest.

p.s. i also thought the area between the bottom of the pistol grip and the stock would interface more smoothly.

So the quality is HK SL8 quality.



I want the stock simply to build a SL8"ish" style hunting AR.

This might be the first time ARFCOM has saved me money. 

I was planning to pick these up for one of my 7.5" sbrs. I think I'll pass. Much appreciated for the detailed and honest info!

Hera Stock Update!

I've officially changed my opinion from MEH to a violent and cross-eyed FUCK THIS SHIT.

All because I tried to take the stock off my Gimmick Gun.

This stock should be seen as a permanent installation ONLY, as removing it is insanely difficult and damaging to both your gun and the stock itself. The problems are legion with this stock when trying to remove it. For starters, there is no good way to remove the plastic grip cover that covers up the grip screw. It uses an internal tab system that locks it in place with no way to unlock it from the outside. All you can do is find your finest chisel tip and try to wiggle it into the crease gap and try to pop the cover loose. This of course results in either the gap getting marred and destroyed or the grip cover getting marred and destroyed. I tried to use several plastic tools before having to resort to a brass chisel tip, but none were strong enough to dislodge the grip cover.

So step one, remove grip cover... done! Grip cover is marred to shit now. Beautiful design you German idiots.

Now onto the next problem, the rubber rectangular safety spring retainer. It won't come out. I was initially worried it would fall out constantly but it appears the opposite is the case... the rubber is not the problem, the plastic mold flashing that is inside the stock hole is the problem. This plastic mold flashing is tall enough to hold the spring in place, and every time I try to pry it out the rubber gives way but the spring remains in place. This causes the rubber rectangular holder to begin to tear apart. So now I'm presented with a choice... rip the rubber rectangular thing out (destroying it) in order to save the spring, or leave it in and yank the stock off and destroy the spring. Fuck if this design is not incredibly retarded.

So step two, leave the rubber rectangular spring holder in because it will self-destruct if I try to remove it... done! Again, beautiful design you German idiots.

So let's get to the next problem in the stock removal trail of tears... yanking the stock off the carbine buffer extension. Wait. I can't do that yet, I need to remove the grip screw as well as the QD mount that covers up the bottom of the carbine extension and prevents the stock from sliding off. Grip screw removed in one and a half turns. Good. Now for the QD mounts... oh fuck me they just fucking SPIN. Yep, trying to unscrew the hex bolt holding the two QD mount halves together causes them to spin freely in the stock. And they are metal, and slick, so trying to hold the opposite side with your hand is an exercise in futility. I even tried to use a rubber grip patch (like you open jars with) but again the QD mounts just spun. I had to break out my rubber mouthed vice grip and try (several times as the QD mount ring is very shallow) to get it latched onto the opposite QD mount to hold it still so I could remove the hex bolt. Finally after many tries I got the vice grip on it and got the QD mounts removed. Fucking sigh.

So step three, spend five minutes trying to get a solid grip on the QD mount so you can unscrew the hex bolt to remove them... done! This stock needs to win a design award.

OK so now I have to yank the stock off the gun. Simple enough... except I'm pulling -through- the safety spring, so it takes a really hard yank to break the spring. At this point I've built up Hulk rage so this stage goes quickly and as expected... the stock pops off with a bloop noise and the two spring halves fall to the floor. It is at this point I notice several dings and dents in the stock's butter soft plastic that occurred during the various stages of removal, which lead me to believe this thing is made out of a combination of play doh and hash browns. Oh well the stock is off finally.

Final step four HULK SMASH, go to brownells and order a new safety spring... done. Meanwhile Winona Ryder displays a vast array of emotions during the Hera Design of the Year award acceptance speech.

Now that the stock is off I see it has left its mark... the grip screw has apparently cross-threaded my registered SBR lower's grip screw channel. Wonderful. So as I chase these threads a few times to undo any damage this stock has done, I will gather it and its vertical grip step child and throw them back in the shitty box LAN World sent them to me in. I will then decide if it is worth the effort to try and return them to LAN World or if I should be evil and pass these devil parts onto someone else through the EE or Gunbroker.

Lesson Learned in all this: STAY AWAY FROM THE HERA CQR STUFF. It is not ready for prime time.

Very informative thread.  Thanks for the info.

+1 I will be staying away

So it is still HK SL8 quality. 

Yesssss.  Yessssss, my Precious is here.  My Precious!

Thanks much, ARCLIGHT.  It looks brand new.  Seems sturdier than I expected from your review, we'll see once I get it on a rifle.

Lovely, lovely, BEAUTIFUL ribs that will hold 2-part epoxy against the buffer tube.  And it precisely locates the safety detent hole.  I have been waiting 4 years for this.  I can already feel my fingers tacky w/ Super Glue.  And it unscrews.  It can be CAST!  BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Be evil.  That is all.

As I said I am a very picky consumer and there is a very good chance that I am far more critical than a lot of other folks.

Hopefully you like it more than I did.

I can see how the grip angle is funky, the pistol grip screw is too short, and the safety spring retention would give me the heebie-jeebies on a normal gun.  But I don't aim to build normal guns.  I aim to build guns that a 10 year old could build.  And for my purposes, this will do.

Getting closer to using this stock, and so I broke out the Wheeler screwdrivers tonight.  The buttpad & extension are held on w/ hex bolts threaded through simple nuts that are held in place by the two halves of the stock.  The stock itself is held together by multiple Torx screws, not hex.

All of the Torx screws on the left side, other than the two that hold the sling slot down, are simply spares.  They don't hold the stock together.

All the screws on the right side, including the 6 hidden ones, actually hold the stock together.  There are two under the pistol grip clip, two under the buttpad or extension, and two on the Picatinny rail.

Wait, wut?  Yes, pop off the bottom cover, and there's a Picatinny rail on the bottom of the stock for mounting a monopod, spare mag holder, whatever you want.

If you'll take it apart, instead of following their directions of how to install the grip screw, it looks like you can install the stock, and tighten up the grip screw against the washer before you put the two halves back together, and put the final torque on once you snap the two halves together.

Plenty of room on the inside for storage, epoxy/rod reinforcement, gluing buffer tube in place should it prove necessary.  Pretty well engineered, in my opinion.

I'll get some pics as I get the trigger jig mounted, once I get the tail of the jig trimmed.

Some pics of the interior, including the Picatinny rail on the bottom.  My suggestion would be to take the stock apart, then insert the rifle, then screw the stock back down around it.

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Interestingly, all the screws on the left side of the stock are purely there for decoration or to hold down the sling bar.  They can be used as spares in case you lose a screw on the right hand side that actually holds the stock together.

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A link to my continuing adventures w/ this beautiful stock:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_121/709384_Hera-thumbhole--AR57-upper--trigger-jig.html

Cool concept. Shit execution. Kind of exactly what I expected from Hera.

Thanks for taking one for the team, OP.

I don't think it's shit execution.  I think they may have put the thumbhole too high for most, which can probably be fixed w/Bondo.  Having 3 spare screws is a clever bit of decoration, as is an undocumented Picatinny rail as a nice Easter Egg.

I got to handle the stock set on an SBR and shoot the shit with the owner at the IWA show in Nuremberg recently. I'll freely admit that I was highly skeptical, but it actually felt solid and pointed very well. Length-of-pull would be fine for most folks, but I have long arms, so I could use another couple of inches. If I had an itch to do another AR build, I'd strongly consider throwing a set on.

You should be able to throw a second stock extension on.  Might need longer screws.

Ok, when I 1st installed this on my trigger jig, I had success in getting it to work as a single-shot auto-eject .22" LR w/ my brother's rimfire upper.  I had no luck w/ the safety.

The trick is to install the receiver on the right side of the stock 1st.

Lay the receiver in the right side of the stock.  Tighten up the pistol grip screw on the washer.  Install the safety spring from the inside of the stock.  Verify the safety works - will probably be mushy.

Now, rotate the tabs of the left side of the stock under the catches on the top of the buffer tube, and pop the pistol grip into place around the washer.  Don't forget the buttplate nuts.

Flip the assembly over and start screwing in the right side screws; then get your buttplate installed.

Looks like there's a tan stock in the EE for $85, if someone wants one - not mine.  The prefect thing for a Lyndon build.  

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1987882_Wanted---AR-thumbhole-stock-and-AR5-7-upper-owners---A-gift-for-you-.html