The linkage between the lower receiver and the grip

T

Tool

New member
I'm surprised to realize that the grip on my AR-15 is simply connected to the lower receiver through a hex screw. Is that a really dependable way of doing things? I'm very worried that the grip will fall off when I need the gun to defend myself :D

As you know, handguns normally would either have a metal skeleton underneath the grip, or a polymer grip integrated to the lower half of the gun, thus boasting a much stronger connection. It's crazy that the lower receiver does not have an integrated 7075-T6 skeleton designed for the grip.
 
Is this really a concern?
Somehow that screw managed through Vietnam, Iraq, Somali, etc but somehow won't survive your backyard.
 
sevt_chevelle said:
Is this really a concern?
Somehow that screw managed through Vietnam, Iraq, Somali, etc but somehow won't survive your backyard.
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That's a good point though. Maybe it is stronger than I thought. I am the type of guy who wants to build everything like a tank :-)
 
Ive used AR pattern rifles all over the world in pretty harsh conditions and my experience doesnt even come close to some of the stuff SF guys do on a daily basis. Ive never heard of, much less seen, anybody ripping a pistol grip off a M4.
Other things are much more problematic then the grip attachment system.
 
I am the type of guy who wants to build everything like a tank :-)
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There's a reason tanks aren't shoulder fired.

The AR in original form is a light, tidy and easy to use rifle. You can redirect the compromises in design to make it more accurate, even lighter, cheaper, gentler recoiling or smaller, but some of those goals will pull in different directions.

There are lowers with integrated grips, but then you are stuck with the grip the lower manufacturer chose.
 
It could be a valid concern for AR pistol, where the grip is in the recoil path, so is the thorsen stock in certain lost states.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
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Original M16s and M16A1s used a screw (slotted IIRC) and a lock washer.

Not sure what's done today, or what was used on your rifle, but the original system has worked acceptably well since the gun was introduced. AND it seemed to work ok during full auto fire....:rolleyes:
 
Study the engineering of the grip to frame joint.
There is a very strong tenon and two vee blocks.

The screw is not the the end all/be all of the strength.

Consider carrier based fighter jets with folding wings. What sort of loads do they withstand?

How many bolts do the flight deck crews install and torque each takeoff?

If you want to worry about strength, look at that little loop of material on the lower the buffer tube screws into.

How often do the lowers break at the buffer tube?

Worry is mediating on a bad outcome.

We can dream up an infinite number of "what if/maybe" fears.
There are enough real problems to face that we don't need to expend the energy worrying about the ones that only exist in our minds.

Filter it down to immediate problems that we can do something about.

Cross the river when you get to the river. Danged if enough other people had to cross the river before you they built a bridge. A nice bridge. All the worry was wasted.

Its just a flipping gun! A lower is about $100 a grip is about $30 . How much is a cart of groceries? A Tank of gas? Do you worry a lot about a pound of ground chuck???
I suggest a 1/4 -28 socket head cap screw from the hardware store about 1 inch long. Why? I prefer to stick the screw on a long allen wrench and reach that up in the grip. Its easier than finding a slotted screw with a screwdriver.
"But what about......" What? Me ? Worry?
I don't carry a long straight screw driver, in the field,either! Use the lock washer.

Presumeably, you are thinking you will be walking into a situation with this AR where people with intent to kill you will be shooting at you.

Now,that might be something to worry about.

Unless you are looking for something dangerous to do.

I prefer grilling a ribeye. I'm told that is dangerous.
 
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I was an Army Small Arms Repairman (MOS 45B20) in the 70s. Worked on / inspected a LOT of M16A1s. Don't recall seeing broken pistol grips, or missing grips because the screw came out.

Army doctrine at the time forbid users from removing the pistol grip. Also forbid disassembly of the lower receiver internals and some other things. Line troops still did it, some, but not much, as they could get in trouble for doing so.

If the idea of just the screw being all that holds the grip on bothers you, I suggest you put some threadlocker on it, (properly) snug it down, and forget it.
 
There's a reason tanks aren't shoulder fired.
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Yet another ATF anti-gun conspiracy??:eek::)

Typically the grip is slotted onto a pillar/stub and has a sort-of beaver tail on the rear--so the screw itself isn't really the main load-bearing system of the grip.
 
Colt and USGI rifles use a high strength stainless steel bolt and a star locker to insure it never unscrews.
The screw's threads are long and go through a good amount of the aluminum frame, so it's extremely strong and durable.

In short, worry about something else more likely to fail.
 
I have seen aluminum screw. But it shouldn't be problem in shoulder fire configuration. The pistol grip just "hang" on the lower receiver, not bearing any of the recoil force.

However, if that configuration is changed, things could be different. That's when the grip bears the recoil force as in a pistol.

It is a silly grip. But for us who live in the lost states, it can could determine the legality of the rifle.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Like sharkbite, I too have carried an M16/M4 in harms way in distant lands. The method used to secure the pistol grip to the receiver is more than adequate. The buffer tube ring is fare more apt to fail, yet almost never does. The most common "failure" in an AR lower is someone who breaks one of the wings holding the trigger guard on by missing with the punch during assembly. Though ugly, it is a "failure" that can be overcome.
 
5whiskey said:
Like sharkbite, I too have carried an M16/M4 in harms way in distant lands. The method used to secure the pistol grip to the receiver is more than adequate. The buffer tube ring is fare more apt to fail, yet almost never does. The most common "failure" in an AR lower is someone who breaks one of the wings holding the trigger guard on by missing with the punch during assembly. Though ugly, it is a "failure" that can be overcome.
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Jb weld?
 
The most common "failure" in an AR lower is someone who breaks one of the wings holding the trigger guard on by missing with the punch during assembly.
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First point, damage to a firearm caused by a user is not a failure of the part.

Second, I see someone "missing with the punch" as a civilian problem, not something military.
 
Installing the trigger guard. For winter applications the guard can be released at the rear and swung down. There is a detent rather than a pin to permit this.
So the rear hole through the lower is a blind hole. Don't make the mistake of tapping a roll pin into that hole.

The front hole for the trigger guard pin is a through hole. That gets the roll pin.
It can be driven through for removal.

OK,yes! I was dumb enough to get it wrong.....once.

Take a deep breath! Slow down. No,not the big hammer!!

1) Order a new trigger guard and pin

2) get out your Unlicensed Dremel. Chuck up a mandrel with cutoff wheel.

Study the situation. There is a way to cut only the trigger guard and pin to get you out of this mess. No damage need be done to the frame.

You'll never do THAT again!
 
Installing the trigger guard. For winter applications the guard can be released at the rear and swung down.
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One of us is misremembering it. :rolleyes:

Best I recall (and I got rid of my last AR 15 for twice what I paid for it in early 94) but the M16s & A1s I remember from the70s had the trigger guard pivot to the rear, so it laid against the front of the pistol grip for winter mitten use.

The detent was at the front (by the magwell) and the pin was at the rear, by the pistol grip.

As long as you had a loaded round, you had a "tool" to depress the plunger, and, of course lots of other things would work as well.

Also, back in those days, removal/installation of the trigger guard was not an authorized user function. Nor was it allowed for the unit armorer, it was a Direct Support level function. So was disassembly of the rest of the internals of the lower receiver. Yes, some troops did it, but getting caught doing it would get you chewed out, and punished, and, possibly at worst, an Article 15.

Civilians with their personal guns can bugger up what ever they want, its their gun and their wallet. :D
 
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