I’ve been very drawn to the UBR ever since first seeing it some time ago. Getting to check one out in person at the 2007 SHOT show, was a convincer for me. I REALLY like this stock. I finally got one to try out and give a run. I know lots of folks have pre-production ones already, but I still thought I’d throw up a few thoughts of my own.
I’ve only had it week now, so I havent really had a chance to get to the range and give it a run. However, my initial impressions are the same as they have been since SHOT. This is an excellent stock. I used to be a HUGE VLTOR fan. I still am. VLTOR makes excellent stocks, and is a great company to deal with. All I ran were VLTORS. I always liked Magpul as a company, and the Magpul M93 was interesting, but just didnt float my boat. The number of small parts, and just some other minor personal preferences just made it not quite right for me. I briefly owned one, and it was good, but prefered VLTOR’s. Along comes the Magpul CTR. The CTR was right up my alley. It was light, simple, and solid. It won me over pretty quick.
Then, along comes the UBR… After lots of waiting, we find ourselves at the present. Since as I mentioned I havent got to the range yet, I can only offer some initial thoughts. For the longest time, I always wondered why no one made a stock for the AR that offered a fixed cheek area, and the stock to move inside of/under it, instead of over the outside as with a standard stock. When I first saw the pics of the XM8, that was one of the first things to catch my eye. I REALLY liked the stock, and again asked myself, why can someone do that for the AR.
Little did I know the Rich and company were already WAY ahead of me. The UBR offers just that. A fixed cheek area, that is always the same. Never changes, never moves, nothing, no matter what position you have the stock in. The way the stock assembly attaches it about as simple as it gets, yet still seems to be very solid. I dont have an y scientific way of testing, but short of using the entire weapon as a sledge hammer, with the UBR as the head, I dont thing durability will be an issue. I know some have questioned/wondered if the way the stock section attaches to the receiver extension sectionwill be a week point, and I honestly dont know. Only time of lots of controlled abusive testing will tell.
Adjustments on mine are very positive and solid. No play at all. Some may find making position adjustments slower than on a standard stock, VLTOR, or CTR, but honestly, I cant really think of a reason that would require a speed adjustment of the stock position, to the point that its an issue with the UBR. The UBR is slightly heavier than say a CTR or VLTOR. That is to be expected though. The multipe sling attachment points should please virtually anyone in finding a suitable mounting point.
To me, the UBR is NOT for a super light AR configuration. If you are wanting to keep one as light and minimalistic as possible, a CTR is the way to go. The UBR is, to me, just about te BEST general purpose stock out now. Be it on a RECCE type carbine or just a GP carbine, I think it will be hard to beat. It should also be a perfect fit on something like a DMR type rifle, allowing a much better cheek weld than a standard stock, yet still adjustable for individual user preference, and allowances for armor, gear, etc…
I put mine on my own version of a combination GP/RECCE type carbine. I really like it in this setup so far. I’ll probably put up some more thoughts after I’ve had it for a while, and made some trips to the range. So far though, the UBR is a huge hit with me. I think that Rich, Drake, and the whole Magpul crew have another hit.
