I’ve never been a fan of the standard A2 grip on the AR-15. I find it’s too thin and encourages placement of the second joint of the index finger onto the trigger, which can lead to poor shooting habits. For this reason, I’ve been running a Magpul MIAD grip for a while.
When Todd Smith at TangoDown sent me one of their BG-17 battlegrip, I was intrigued. The first thing I noticed was its distinctive shape. The BG-17 slopes backwards and has a hump at the bottom, whereas the A2 and the MIAD backstrap travel in a straight line. At first, this threw me off. Later, I came to love it.
The sides (though not the front or the backstrap) of the grip are textured in a manner similar to the tape on a skateboard. It is quite an improvement over the A2 grip, especially when you’re out in the sun and your hands are sweating. Another neat feature of the TangoDown grip is its storage capacity.
If you’ve ever tried to store anything in your A2 grip, you know the frustration that I have felt. Yes, Ergo A2 Pistol Grip Plug, I’m thinking of you. The Magpul MIAD comes with a plug which can fit three extra rounds, which I’ve always thought was cool, but of limited usefulness. The BG-17, has a watertight integral plug and just enough room in the grip to fit my Hoppes bore snake, which I think is fantiastic. While this may not be important to you, I love my bore snake and am very excited to be able to carry it everywhere I carry my carbine.
A note on installation; the BG-17 is easier to install than the Magpul grip. I really appreciate the fact that TangoDown includes an appropriately sized hex key. This allowed me to install it rather easily, though the last few turns of the screw give you a bit of a forearm workout.
While the BG-17 is smaller than the MIAD, it does provide enough thickness for proper finger placement to occur naturally. Furthermore, the ergonomic design simply feels right when held in the hand and encourages an aggressive stance when the weapon is brought up to the shoulder. The high backstrap allows for a higher hand placement with the firing hand than with an A2 grip. I find this allows me to gain more control of the weapon.
Bottom Line: the TangoDown BG-17 gets my stamp of approval. That isn’t to say that it can’t be improved. In that vein, look forward to an upcoming article on do-it-yourself modifications to weapons components.
By Allen Cosby
Latest posts by 53gr (see all)
- H&H Medical: H Bandage and Thin H Bandage - January 2, 2020
- S&W M&P M2.0 Series - January 9, 2017
- SIG Sauer P938 - October 19, 2016
Recent Comments