I’ve been using the Magpul AFG for a little while now but previously bought the RVG. After seeing a bunch of hand stops and seeing the photos of what the RVG looks like chopped down to a hand stop, I decided to cut my own and give the whole hand stop concept a shot. Turns out it feels fantastic! I still need to see how it fairs at the range but I might end up ditching the AFG for it. Don’t get me wrong, I think the AFG is great but I feel like I can get the rifle into my shoulder more with a hand stop. Anyway here’s some pics of the result:
That looks great. You did a good job on it. I use the troy modular in short form. I like it and Id never think of chopping that down but maybe Id do that.
Thanks! I can’t take credit for the idea though because apparently Travis Haley from Magpul tried it first. And I know Stickman has some pictures that he’s taken of one as well. Not sure if it’s on his rifle or not but feel free to chime in if you want, Stick.
I didn’t do a whole lot of price researching on current hand stops but I know the ones from KAC and Gear Sector are well over $50. Now of course theirs are milled aluminum so cost goes up significantly. But I think I paid something like $20-$24 when I originally bought my RVG. So for half the price and getting a little dusty from sanding, you can make a hand stop that works like a charm.
LaRue Tactical does make a two piece hand stop set for the same price of a RVG so there’s always that route. I just already spent the money so I made the best of what I had.
I like what you did with yours. I was actually planning on cutting mine that high up in the rear but wanted to play around with how it felt before I put too much time into it. However I like the way yours looks better so I might have to tweak mine.
Did something very similar with an MVG. For anyone wanting to do this, use a skill saw or something. Holy crap it took forever to cut through it with a Dremel and the standard cutting wheel(s).
I think you answered your own question. A hand stop is a place on the handguard for the hand to stop. It just provides a reference point for the heel of your hand
It also gives you an additional point to pull the stock into your shoulder instead of the clamping power of your hand alone which can alleviate fatigue if shooting for long strings of fire.
The RVG/MVG is considerably cheaper than most handstops on the market… I think that’s the biggest reason for doing this… I need to grab an MVG for this very purpose.
I did the initial cut with a band saw, then took it to the belt sander to get the curve I wanted. After that I took a dremel with a sanding barrel to bevel the edges, did some touch up work with a felt bit, and then after doing some final sanding with some sand paper, I took it to a cotton buffing wheel to kinda smooth it all out. I’m not 100% satisfied with it so chances are I’ll probably re-work it tomorrow. But with my luck I’ll probably screw something up in the process :laugh:
