I’m one of the many Americans who take an AR just about everywhere. Like the thousands of servicemen who kept a .30-06 around after the wars of the first half of the 1900s, I am knowledgeable, functional, and trusting of my service rifle platform. So I usually have one in my truck. Part of the reason is that I spend a good amount of time driving in some very remote areas, and part of that is because of feral hogs. I have my own personal jihad against the tasty invaders . . .
But that means I hunt out of a truck quite often, and that invariably when I travel I take my AR out of my truck and into a hotel lobby. Of course, it’s always in a bag, as discrete as possible, but I get asked if it’s a gun quite often. Even when it was in a guitar case. And I’m really don’t want the attention. So I’m always looking for anything that will allow me to collapse the weapon and conceal it as much as possible.
Enter the Law Tactical AR Folding Stock Adapter. I picked one up at the SHOT Show. They run a little over $200. Looking at it, I have to say, that seems like a hell of a lot of money for two inches of steel, but I’m willing to give it a try.
The set-up is pretty simple, and you can probably do it yourself no problem, but you are going to need an armorer’s wrench. For me, I usually break anything I touch the first time, so given the price point I decided to get some adult supervision and headed over to Underground Tactical Arms.
I chose to install it on my Underground Tactical 6.8SPC, mostly because it’s the gun I use to hunt the most, but also because if the BATF smiles upon me and completes the processing on my Form 1, I will be able to complete my 10.5 .458 SOCOM upper and this is the lower I’ll put it on.
First things first. Read the instructions. But ignore the very first thing you will likely see, the little asterisks that tell you not to disassemble the parts, because step one in the instrcutions is disassemble the parts. Read the instructions fully and you will save yourself a little confusion as things go. That said, the install was pretty straightforward. As long as you have an armorer’s wrench and a hex set, there’s no problem at all.
Unless there is. After the install, mine just didn’t lock closed. Upon closer inspection, a slight amount of filing needed to be done on the attachment of the latch.
It wasn’t much work at all, but frankly if I wasn’t at Underground and they didn’t figure out exactly what was wrong, I probably wouldn’t have on my own. And really, at this price point for some relatively simple machining and very minimal parts costs, it ought to work right out of the box. However, I understand that not all lowers are made the same. If the specs really are that different from one lower to the next, they should at least provide instructions on troubleshooting for problems.
After a little filing, it locked up tight and unlocked without issue. However, the unlock button itself is too small and is pretty difficult to get unlocked with gloves on. Enlarging it and serrating the top would take care of the problem, and I’ll likely take a file to it to serrate it myself.
In this photo you can see the button protruding on the far right. Once the device is closed, there isn’t much space for your digit.
After installation, I took it out to the range and put 20 rounds through it fast fire and another 20 through it for accuracy. Zero malfunctions and no discernible difference in accuracy. The gun shot 3/4″ groups at 100 yards with handloaded 110gr Nosler Balistic Tip pills and it still does. Without gloves, I can hit the button easy enough and swing it open or closed in a jiffy.
Note that that it’s going to add to your length of pull, so if you are planning on putting this on a fixed stock like a Magpul PRS, that may be an issue. Also, I just added another step to my cleaning process, as the bolt extension has to be removed now. But that requires no tools and pops right in and out. Also, if you like a single point sling, you are going to have to do that with a quick detach from the bottom, your sides are now taken up.
All in all, a good piece of hardware that works as advertised. Folded up with a 10.5″ barrel, it will fit inside a backpack without further modification or takedown, and take up a lot less space in the truck.
Specifications:
Composition: 4140 steel
Compatibility: gas piston or direct impingement rifles
Weight: 8.5 oz. (plus 2.125 oz. for bolt carrier extension)
Length: Adds 1.3″ to length of pull
Price: $219.99
Ratings (out of five stars):
Ease of Installation * * *
Other than the slight filing and the confusion on the assemble vs. disassemble the parts, install was straightforward. But without any troubleshooting section in the instructions it leaves you needing to figure what’s wrong and fix it on your own.
Function and reliability * * * *
The release button is a little small and really should be serrated. Other than that, I have no complaints at all. Zero change in accuracy or function of the weapon, and the stock folks and unfolds with ease. Works as advertised.
Value * * *
It’s hard for me to justify that this is over $200 worth of steel and expertise, but I can’t find a better solutions out there.
Overall * * * *
If you need your stock to fold with minimal changes to your AR, this a great solution.