The pistol brace market just got a little more interesting with the entry of Magpul to the business. Their new BSL and BTR pistol braces are due to hit stores later this year.
Magpul’s chosen to go with a Shockwave BLADE-type design. Like the Shockwave, Magpul won’t be shipping the BSL or BTR with a Velcro strap to attach the brace to the shooter’s forearm.
That’s in contrast to Strike Industries’ AR Pistol Stabilizer which is also a Shockwave BLADE-style design, but includes a forearm strap.
The 800-pound gorilla in the stabilizing brace business is, of course, SB Tactical, with their full line of strapped braces in a variety of configurations.
Magpul BSL Pistol Brace
The Magpul BSL is an AR arm brace designed to improve the single-handed employment of large-format pistols. The BSL utilizes Magpul design and engineering to offer a stabilizing accessory with a robust feature set and trusted Magpul quality.
With classic Magpul aesthetics, the BSL is compatible with Mil-Spec carbine receiver extensions and employs a simplified, durable, and easy to use adjustment mechanism. An integrated QD cup and two M-LOK compatible slots provide ambidextrous sling mounting options and enable stabilizing sling tension to be applied, drastically increasing single-handed control of the firearm. With a straight-forward design and Magpul innovation, the BSL is a simple solution to improving your AR pistol.
Made in the USA.
Magpul BTR Pistol Brace
The Magpul BTR is an AR arm brace designed to improve the single-handed employment of large-format pistols. The BTR utilizes Magpul design and engineering to offer a stabilizing accessory with a robust feature set and trusted Magpul quality.
With classic Magpul aesthetics, the BTR is compatible with Mil-Spec carbine receiver extensions and employs a simplified, durable, and easy to use adjustment mechanism. An integrated QD cup and M-LOK compatible slot provide ambidextrous sling mounting options and enable stabilizing sling tension to be applied, drastically increasing single-handed control of the firearm. With a straight-forward design and Magpul innovation, the BTR is a simple solution to improving your AR pistol.
Made in the USA.
And what’s it supposed to cost!!?
Disappointing.
SB Tacticals offerings to me seem to be thus far the pinnacle of brace development. These appear to be a rehash of what is already out there, and no competition to SB. Darn.
Maybe it’s half the price?
price would be the only reason to consider these over SB
You only speak for yourselves, not sure why you act like everybody shares the same opinion as you with your “that’s just how it is” kind of comment.
SB tactical is taking people to the cleaners with their prices. Just take the SBA3 as an example, $100-$130 for low-quality polymer brace that wouldn’t stand a chance if it weren’t simply fulfilling a unique market demand. Even Magpul’s high-end ACS stock costs $20-$50 less than SB’s “affordable” brace.
The production of plastic-products is an incredibly cheap process once you move past the needed tooling. The most SB would of required to produce this product was a new set of injection dies being that they would of already had injection mold machines to produce their older generation of braces. They are taking advantage of the fact that they had, for awhile, a practical monopoly on pistol braces. Magpul’s about to make them step up their game.
I’ve never used anything but SB Tac Braces, so I can’t comment on Shockwave or other designs, but I really like the SB, so I don’t any reason to actively look for anything else.
However!!…don’t stop the innovation. Keep the ideas flowing.
Trump is not happy to see this… ATF in 3…
I’ve tried the Shockwave and several variations of the SB Brace. The Shockwave is much less practical and much less effective as a third point of contact when shouldered. It’s just too narrow to be effective.
If we’re all being honest, the only reason to own one of these things is to be able to have an effective short-barrelled rifle-or pistol-caliber firearm without going through the senseless, expensive, cumbersome and lengthy process of FORM1 with BATFE to legally create a “real” SBR.
That being the case, if you can’t comfortably and effectively shoulder the device, it’s no good. Unfortunately, Magpul seems to be taking the Shockwave approach with their product. SB Brace will continue to get my business, but I’m 100% in favor of continued product development in this segment by Magpul or others.
I’ll pass on these. They reverted to ripping off the blade style (which is dying). SB A3 or A4 braces are the way to go.
this
Sba3 meaning what? The adjustable nature? Look and read it says mil spec, and looks to be adjustable.
Now yes, it doesn’t really look much different from the rest, so that’s kinda disappointing
That’s cool. You guys enjoy your weird principles. We’ll enjoy a higher quality blade.
Just make it comfortable to shoulder and it will be a hit
Regarding the few comments on how they feel in the shoulder, And please correct me if i’m wrong BUT, Isn’t it still considered illegal to shoulder these braces? The only exception that i know of, is the Sig braces, that have a BATF form letter giving them approval.
Gotta wonder if Magpul stuck with the blade format because they’re the least “offensive” in terms of not being construed as a stock (unlike GHW and SB’s products)
But yeah, they’re blades with cheek welds. Big fat hairy deal.
Big fat hairy cheeks.
They’re the closest style to being a stock.
Maybe from the side view they are, but certainly not from any other angle.
The SB Tactical products have are wider in the rear. A blade is a 2 dimensional buttstock, at best
Style, maybe. Try to shoulder it and shoot something with more oomph than .223 and you will find out why the sb brace is closer to a real stock, even if it looks less like one.
I have used the KAK Shockwave and ever since I bought the SB, it collects dust on the shelf. Even with .300 blk and blowback 9mm it’s too uncomfortable to use as a stock.
Wow such innovation!
They need to make these just a hair wider and I’d be game… especially if they’re in line price wise with the MOE and SL stocks they look like they’re emulating. The QD mount on the end is a clever way of proving it’s really a brace.
Awesome! I’ve been wondering why Magpul doubted the legitimacy of pistol braces for so long, however I understand from a business perspective that it’s a gamble making an investment in R&D, tooling and marketing for a product that could of been prohibited with the change of the ATF’s opinion.
I own a few of SB tactical products, like the PDW and their newer light-weight, adjustable brace. I also own the first-generation of KAK stabilizing braces, but I always wanted one that was constructed to magpul standards, as SB Tactical and KAK just have inferior, cheaper feeling polymer, and they cost way too much considering that.
The problem with SB is their pricing. Right now Primary Arms is asking $129.99 for the SBA3 with a run-of-the-mill receiver extension. They’re simply taking advantage of their position in the market, whereas Magpul, even though they’re easily one of the largest, if not the largest providers of firearm accessories, has always charged a fair price for their products. Their most-expensive PRS stock cost less than what I paid for my SBPDW.
SB tactical isn’t as bad as Maxim though. They’re asking almost $500 for their 7th generation brace. At that point it would just be cheaper to pay for your stamp, and buy something like an LWRC pdw kit.
@Mecanica JG si o si tienes que colocar el código de bono
antes del depósito. Te recomiendo si no son muchas Lucas,
jugarlas o si no esperar tu próximo depósito.
Cuando realices tu próximo depósito pones el código CMC2 :).