User Panel
Posted: 5/4/2017 11:28:51 AM EDT
What CA complaint devices are you guys using these days?
Are standard bullet button pointless now? We're trying to cater more to our Cali customers and would like to know which devices you guys prefer? We're already stocking the Patriot Mag Release. Is there anything else we should carry that Cali guys need specifically? Thank you! |
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[#1]
From what I have seen on this forum, and in response to talking with gun buddies, the Patriot is a good option but not the preferred solution.
Franklin Armory has their DFM magazine. I like the idea, but honestly I would have rather seen them roll the body with no bolt catch provision in the mag to clear a standard bolt catch. But it is a good option and people seem to like the no-mod/easily reversible/no gunsmithing installation aspects of it. Thordsen, Herra, Hammerhead, etc stocks are good but pricey options. Getting a dealer discount and passing some of that on to customers may get you some good sales. Lastly, and I think the best current option, would be kydex grip wraps. Honestly, I think that's the way this are trending right now. |
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[#2]
Quoted:
From what I have seen on this forum, and in response to talking with gun buddies, the Patriot is a good option but not the preferred solution. Franklin Armory has their DFM magazine. I like the idea, but honestly I would have rather seen them roll the body with no bolt catch provision in the mag to clear a standard bolt catch. But it is a good option and people seem to like the no-mod/easily reversible/no gunsmithing installation aspects of it. Thordsen, Herra, Hammerhead, etc stocks are good but pricey options. Getting a dealer discount and passing some of that on to customers may get you some good sales. Lastly, and I think the best current option, would be kydex grip wraps. Honestly, I think that's the way this are trending right now. View Quote |
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[#3]
Read thru several older threads before they get archived. There are several other devices discussed.
GENERIC ITEMS: The charger/stripper clip that goes into the mag well is pretty cool but I haven't yet seen one. Be sure to carry top quality ten round mags. Magazine clamps would be good, too. As capacity goes down, a way to carry more rounds is important. Clamping two magazines together into one unit could be part of the plan. Modifications/replacements for the pistol grip is going to be popular. Anything/everything that needs to be converted to avoid the registration will sell here. These are somewhat specialized but here they are: I plan to convert one rifle to rimfire. If you can get uppers, ten round rimfire magazines and/or conversion kits, that would be good. I also plan to convert a rifle to 458 SOCOM. Magazine conversion kits for that would be good. Others will add more comments. |
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[#6]
Quoted:
What CA complaint devices are you guys using these days? Are standard bullet button pointless now? We're trying to cater more to our Cali customers and would like to know which devices you guys prefer? We're already stocking the Patriot Mag Release. Is there anything else we should carry that Cali guys need specifically? Thank you! View Quote Every device gets complaints. Especially here on GD. Right. Bullet buttons are pointless in California now. The new law requires the action be disassembled before the magazine is released, if you want to include any of the "listed features." A featureless rifle can use the original magazine release. I decided to go featureless so haven't studied the various mag release approach options. That said, there are, besides the mag "locks," I'd think the different pin styles which allow for a faster pin push or pull would be popular. I haven't seen any Ca. rifles stock equipped with a Thordsen stock (don't know if any ship that way, just haven't seen any). All I've seen locally were either finned or with a Hera stock. So maybe that might be an option, the various "stock" replacements or wraps. Although for most folks adept with simple tools, replacing a grip or finning it is pretty easy, so offering up a "featureless" mod where the manufacturer doesn't may be hard to price out for a profit. |
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[#7]
There is nothing compliant available for FALs so far that does not involve pinning, welding, or riveting. No good way to do Cali-legal FALs since January.
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[#8]
Didn't follow it because I wasn't in the market then but did stripper clip mods for the FAL types ever work out back in the old ban days? A top loading/stripper clip fixed mag FAL type, might be a seller. Not sure there are any out there. Never tried a fin gripped .308.
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[#9]
Quoted:
Didn't follow it because I wasn't in the market then but did stripper clip mods for the FAL types ever work out back in the old ban days? A top loading/stripper clip fixed mag FAL type, might be a seller. Not sure there are any out there. Never tried a fin gripped .308. View Quote If the language in the withdrawn DOJ regulations persists in a subsequent version, then there is no good way to fix the magazine without going the pinning/welding/riveting route. The FAL does not lend itself well to a setup that allows for the magazine to be removed after opening/disassembling the action due to its configuration. Regarding charger guides, they are usable, but the FAL is one of the more difficult rifles to load with chargers. It takes a lot of practice to get reasonably good at it and loading chargers full of ammo after the first is even more difficult. One can understand why the U.S. Army and the British experimented with horseshoe chargers. You have to try to keep the rounds aligned up front and not just at the rear or they will not load correctly and may even jam up during the loading process if you are using conventional NATO chargers. You have to adopt a different technique compared to what you'd use on most bolt-action rifles or self-loaders designed to be principally or exclusively loaded using chargers. You could, of course, go featureless, but that presents its own issues. I don't consider such a weapon to be practical. |
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[#10]
A few days ago, I converted a rifle to be featureless. Getting the Bullet Button off was a real PITA. In the end, I had to fabricate a tool to get it off. I needed an old screwdriver, a Dremel tool with a cutting wheel, time and patience. I wished I had previously purchased a proper installation/removal tool.
Be sure to stock and sell some Bullet Button Installation & Removal Tools. |
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[#11]
Quoted:
A few days ago, I converted a rifle to be featureless. Getting the Bullet Button off was a real PITA. In the end, I had to fabricate a tool to get it off. I needed an old screwdriver, a Dremel tool with a cutting wheel, time and patience. I wished I had previously purchased a proper installation/removal tool. Be sure to stock and sell some Bullet Button Installation & Removal Tools. View Quote |
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[#12]
I'm using the Franklin DFM magazine. It was sort of a pain because I had to hammer out the bolt catch release roll pin to put it in place, and then put it all back together. I have the DFM bolt catch release but I don't want to accidentally close the upper and go to jail. Instead I am leaving the magazine fixed and I am going to be using Mean Arms loader.
If I was selling ARs in California I'd keep them featured, install Franklin DFMs and include an MA Loader with every sale. |
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[#14]
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[#15]
Hi RTBA,
Consider assembling CA specific AR build kits to help keep CA building them. Two types of kits (rifle and carbine) would be useful for the two types of AR pattern rifles currently legal to assemble, featureless (featureless means no assault weapon features), and with AW features (action disassemble to load). That would ease the pain for many people that are not particularly familiar with CA AW laws. Thank you RTBA for your CA support. I appreciate your fair prices, excellent customer service, and fast shipping. |
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[#17]
Quoted:
DSA used to weld or pin the magazine to the receiver (I forget exactly what they did). They used a charger guide top cover with it and had the upper cut for the tabs. This is an unsatisfactory configuration for obvious reasons. If the language in the withdrawn DOJ regulations persists in a subsequent version, then there is no good way to fix the magazine without going the pinning/welding/riveting route. The FAL does not lend itself well to a setup that allows for the magazine to be removed after opening/disassembling the action due to its configuration. Regarding charger guides, they are usable, but the FAL is one of the more difficult rifles to load with chargers. It takes a lot of practice to get reasonably good at it and loading chargers full of ammo after the first is even more difficult. One can understand why the U.S. Army and the British experimented with horseshoe chargers. You have to try to keep the rounds aligned up front and not just at the rear or they will not load correctly and may even jam up during the loading process if you are using conventional NATO chargers. You have to adopt a different technique compared to what you'd use on most bolt-action rifles or self-loaders designed to be principally or exclusively loaded using chargers. You could, of course, go featureless, but that presents its own issues. I don't consider such a weapon to be practical. View Quote And easy with a G1. AR is more difficult since most have 6 position stocks. |
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[#18]
Quoted:
Kydex grip wraps and remove flashhider. More practical than the banned bullet button fixed mag FAL. And easy with a G1. AR is more difficult since most have 6 position stocks. View Quote |
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[#19]
Quoted:
I posted a question about the Thordsen stock for featureless, since Turners was selling them. The web of the hand location might be an issue; otherwise, I would like a grip like that without the stock http://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Thordsen-Customs-Stealth-Black-FRS-15-Buttstock-Stock.jpg?2f07f3 View Quote |
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[#20]
Quoted:
Kydex grip wraps and remove flashhider. More practical than the banned bullet button fixed mag FAL. And easy with a G1. AR is more difficult since most have 6 position stocks. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
DSA used to weld or pin the magazine to the receiver (I forget exactly what they did). They used a charger guide top cover with it and had the upper cut for the tabs. This is an unsatisfactory configuration for obvious reasons. If the language in the withdrawn DOJ regulations persists in a subsequent version, then there is no good way to fix the magazine without going the pinning/welding/riveting route. The FAL does not lend itself well to a setup that allows for the magazine to be removed after opening/disassembling the action due to its configuration. Regarding charger guides, they are usable, but the FAL is one of the more difficult rifles to load with chargers. It takes a lot of practice to get reasonably good at it and loading chargers full of ammo after the first is even more difficult. One can understand why the U.S. Army and the British experimented with horseshoe chargers. You have to try to keep the rounds aligned up front and not just at the rear or they will not load correctly and may even jam up during the loading process if you are using conventional NATO chargers. You have to adopt a different technique compared to what you'd use on most bolt-action rifles or self-loaders designed to be principally or exclusively loaded using chargers. You could, of course, go featureless, but that presents its own issues. I don't consider such a weapon to be practical. And easy with a G1. AR is more difficult since most have 6 position stocks. |
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[#21]
The FC Hook Magazine Lock looks promising.
LA Police Gear - Torque Precision FC Hook (Instruction) |
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[#22]
View Quote I have a bunch of ten round mags on their way to me right now. |
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[#23]
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[#24]
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[#25]
Quoted:
Does anyone else second this? We have CMMG 22 conversion kits with 3 10 round mags if anyone is interested View Quote |
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[#26]
Quoted:
I don't agree with it. I prefer the Monsterman grip and an A2 stock. It takes a little getting used to like anything else. Fit and function are fine. I'm satisfied with them. View Quote I put a MonsterMan grip on my wife's AR. It has an ACE shorty stock on it. |
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[#27]
Quoted:
Quoted:
We have CMMG 22 conversion kits with 3 10 round mags if anyone is interested As this is not a sales thread, I will add that I am getting the rimfire conversion for one rifle as a way to avoid it being a "Bullet Button Assault Weapon" (what a stupid name). |
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[#28]
Not a big fan of the fin approach where something like the Thordsen allows a pretty traditional hold. .308s notwithstanding, there is essentially only one stock/grip design to work with for something like the Thordsen and the ARs. Not sure if the demand (quantity) or the standardization of the grip/attachment is there for the FALs or HKs, etc., to support producing a similar stock for them.
Kind of wonder how the recoil and hold of an underslung stock versus a fin grip would work out on the bigger .308 type rifles. |
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[#29]
You don't hold a 308 or 30-06 when they recoil. In recoil, they hold you. ;-)
Honestly, recoil is managed by the butt stock not your hand hold. I shoot rapid fire holding the bolt knob not the hand grip. |
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[#30]
Quoted:
Not a big fan of the fin approach where something like the Thordsen allows a pretty traditional hold. .308s notwithstanding, there is essentially only one stock/grip design to work with for something like the Thordsen and the ARs. Not sure if the demand (quantity) or the standardization of the grip/attachment is there for the FALs or HKs, etc., to support producing a similar stock for them. Kind of wonder how the recoil and hold of an underslung stock versus a fin grip would work out on the bigger .308 type rifles. View Quote |
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[#31]
Quoted:
I don't agree, either, but to each his own. I put a MonsterMan grip on my wife's AR. It has an ACE shorty stock on it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I don't agree with it. I prefer the Monsterman grip and an A2 stock. It takes a little getting used to like anything else. Fit and function are fine. I'm satisfied with them. I put a MonsterMan grip on my wife's AR. It has an ACE shorty stock on it. For a FAL, you have disassembly/disabling of semi-auto function, featureless (grip fin and muzzle brake that can't be used as a grenade spigot, plus a fixed stock), registration (not an option for any 2017 builds, though), or welding/riveting the magazine to the receiver like on some of the earlier CA compliant FALs. Options are pretty shitty. But it sounds like based on the new regs, I can just remove the piston and spring and put the weapon on grenade setting, which is easy and quickly reversible in an emergency. But I'd never be able to legally use it as a semi-auto in CA. AR owners definitely have the best options. |
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[#32]
Quoted:... it is much more difficult to manage a weapon for social use when it is fitted with a grip fin (which I presume is the point of the ban on pistol grips). Any weapon fitted that way, IMO, is little more than a range toy.
I do agree the MonsterMan grips adds a degree of difficulty but do not agree with the "range toy" limitation. Anything with a fixed-mag which cannot be reloaded by alternative means without the use of a tool is similarly just a range toy, to include weapons with the bullet button. At least with a FAL you can load with chargers, although it's not the easiest rifle to load that way. The new charger for the AR-15 looks very promising, if [b]excessively expensive. I ordered some of the chargers from Mean Arms for testing. I've never had trouble with stripper clip loading but there are some aspects of the videos that cause me concern. I do see these as "range toys". Detachable ten round mags using magazine couplers and a featureless rifle are the most likely option for me. I don't want to have this turn into a discussion of self defense scenarios and options. I think the basic topic of this thread is presentation and discussion of the available options. |
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[#33]
Quoted:
Have you received and used your MA Loader? View Quote I'm hoping it works as good as they say it does. It looks like you can reload just as fast, if not faster, than mags. I've been picking up parts for two builds but don't want to go featureless. Everything is on hold until I try this out on my existing AR. |
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[#34]
I ordered a couple to try, too.
If they work well, I will purchase more of them. I am especially concerned about using them when prone. |
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[#35]
Didn't see a video from prone but didn't look like it would be much of a problem. You load straight in from the side and you don't need to have space beneath the rifle to clear a full length mag in/out of the mag well. They don't have one for lefties but I don't see that re-engineering for the left side should be fairly simple. The big question would be the demand being high enough to cover the tooling costs, etc.
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[#36]
Quoted:
Remember the Thordsen and a couple of others are stocks. The Thordsen kind of swoops down and then curves back up for the buttplate, some are straighter. But it's a stock. They don't use the buffer tube to support a stock/buttplate. So while there is a portion of the stock that allows a grip, it's not a grip. If you just had the portion that swooped down to the rear, that would be a grip and then the positioning of the web of the hand might be problematic to Ca. definitions/regs. An acquaintance from my workplace got an AR after a great deal of thrashing around as the deadlines approached and passed that, if I understand him correctly, has a pistol grip than can be pivoted downward in the usual (not now Ca appropriate) position or back/up to extend straight to the rear. Not sure how that is compliant or if he described it accurately enough to tell. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I posted a question about the Thordsen stock for featureless, since Turners was selling them. The web of the hand location might be an issue; otherwise, I would like a grip like that without the stock http://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Thordsen-Customs-Stealth-Black-FRS-15-Buttstock-Stock.jpg?2f07f3 Thordsen attempted to follow the "web above the imaginary line" requirement, for the grip. Time will tell if it's okay to use. |
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[#37]
The proposed regulations (which came out after that old post) define both stocks and pistol grips now.
""Stock" means the part of a rifle, carbine or shotgun to which the receiver is attached and which provides a means for holding the weapon to the shoulder. A stock may be fixed,folding, or telescoping." Believe this copied ok from the PDF. I did add a comma. So what could be inferred before is incorporated in the regs now. |
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[#38]
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[#39]
View Quote As it is, you have to break position to trip the bolt release on every shot - ugh! |
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[#40]
You can use it with a Magpul BAD lever. It works great you don't have to move your support hand from the handguard
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[#41]
Quoted:
Their website says they have a projected shipping date of June 15. I'm hoping it works as good as they say it does. It looks like you can reload just as fast, if not faster, than mags. I've been picking up parts for two builds but don't want to go featureless. Everything is on hold until I try this out on my existing AR. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Have you received and used your MA Loader? I'm hoping it works as good as they say it does. It looks like you can reload just as fast, if not faster, than mags. I've been picking up parts for two builds but don't want to go featureless. Everything is on hold until I try this out on my existing AR. I remain hopeful the laws banning standard capacity magazines will be invalidated either by a permanent injunction, court ruling or some other legal means. I am hopeful the ruling will be across the board but preserving existing stocks of "grandfathered" magazines would also be a victory. |
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[#42]
Quoted:
You can use it with a Magpul BAD lever. It works great you don't have to move your support hand from the handguard View Quote ...still sucks though |
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[#43]
Quoted:
The MEAN Arms loaders arrived today. I haven't had a chance to try them out and am quite busy right now, so I won't get a chance today. I remain hopeful the laws banning standard capacity magazines will be invalidated either by a permanent injunction, court ruling or some other legal means. I am hopeful the ruling will be across the board but preserving existing stocks of "grandfathered" magazines would also be a victory. View Quote |
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[#44]
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[#45]
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[#46]
I'm an old guy and have RAWS and featureless configurations in the safe. But I am looking at other solutions for my kid's rifles. They are all currently BB equipped. Kids want to keep adjustable stocks and pistol grips, I'm trying to keep them from registering. Stubborn kids.
Stumbled upon this as a possible option. The AR Maglock combined with the Patriot-Pin. It looks interesting. I ordered a set today, not cheap, possibly gimmicky but worth a shot. AR Maglock and Patriot Pin eta IF it works AND I can convince these stubborn kids to not register their BB equipped rifles I will be buying several more sets. But, hey, if they want to register them they can. |
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[#47]
Quoted:
Kids want to keep adjustable stocks... I'm trying to keep them from registering. Stubborn kids. View Quote WOW! Those two items cost $145 not including tax or shipping. That is a LOT of dough. IIRC, the vertical foregrip makes the rifle an AW in CA. |
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