AR-15 Pistol Brace Straps & Installation

[JAL]

When completing a couple AR-15 Pistol builds from stripped lowers, the two fin style braces didn't come with arm straps. The proposed Draconian ATF 4999 Braced Pistol Evaluation is impossible to pass with a fin style brace if it has no strap on it that can wrap around the arm, if it has an elastic strap. I used a couple dirt cheap 12" long by 1" wide Velcro straps, but they're flimsy, very flimsy. The slots in the fin braces are 1-1/4" wide, making the Velcro straps even flimsier in use. There are no 1-1/4" wide Velcro straps with buckles on them that I could find. The width leaps from 1" to 1-1/2".

The slot width, however, is the same width as a common rifle sling, and for rifles or shotguns without a shoulder stock sling swivel, there are 16" long D-ring straps that can be wrapped around the shoulder stock to provide a D-ring onto which one can hook a sling. These same straps can be used to provide a fin style pistol brace arm strap that satisfies the ATF 4999 strap requirement for fin braces. Amazon sells a pair of them with metal D-rings and extremely sturdy tri-glide buckles for $6.99 and Amazon Prime free shipping. Non-elastic, more than strong enough, and much better than the Velcro.

Amazon 16" D-ring Straps

Installed them onto the two fin braces when they arrived, replacing the flimsy Velcro straps that had been on them:

Magpul BSL Fin Brace (Mil-Spec):




Mission First Tactical Mil-Spec Minimalist Blade Pistol Brace:



Wanted to share my fin style pistol brace strap solution that satisfies the ATF 4999 non-elastic strap requirement.

John

 

[Slow Hand]

Not trying to be a pessimist, but ATF will still probably rule it an illegal SBR, because they can and want to!

Now, if this does satisfy them, someone needs to make these with a continuously printed “F*ck the ATF!” On them!

 

[JAL]

Not trying to be a pessimist, but ATF will still probably rule it an illegal SBR, because they can and want to!

Now, if this does satisfy them, someone needs to make these with a continuously printed “F*ck the ATF!” On them!

Not to be that much of an optimist, but it is possible to beat the ATF 4999 scoring. I built mine to squeak by with simple buffer tube mods if the ATF 4999 rule is adopted this Winter. You might not like what you have to do in order to accomplish it, but it is doable without serious inconvenience. Most won't like having to pull the backup iron sights, flip down magnifiers, and hand stops under the handguard off, nor will they like giving up being able to adjust the length of pull and reducing the length of pull enough to pass Section III. Section II is designed to fail most AR pistols. It is apparent from the 18 pages of narrative and 3 examples with their scoring (and rationale for the scores) that the AFT has declared war on the SB Tactical SBA3 and SBA4 cuff braces. That's why I bought these two fin style braces.

That said, the Fat Lady hasn't sung yet and the court challenge with their latest "Frame" and "Receiver" rules targeting the 80% lowers has just begun -- with 17 state Att'y Generals joining GOA as plaintiffs. Normally they only file amicus curiae (friend of court) briefs supporting one side or another. Unusual for one to join as a party . . . and unheard of for a third of the states to do so.

John

 

[Ark]

Just tell em you were failed by the American education system and you can't read the worksheet.

 

[shootersix]

So you saved 2 points by adding the strap to your brace

But your folding stock adapter adds 2 points

So you took 2 steps forward and 2 steps backwards!

 

[JAL]

So you saved 2 points by adding the strap to your brace

But your folding stock adapter adds 2 points

So you took 2 steps forward and 2 steps backwards!

The folding buffer tube isn't considered a "folding adapter" by ATF definition. The entire buffer tube . . . i.e. the pistol . . . unfolds . . . just as a folding stock on an AR-15 rifle unfolds the rifle. A "folding adapter" for the ATF is a pistol brace that folds, not the pistol itself. In particular, there are some folding counterbalance adapters that are targeted by that subsection as they unfold to extend length of pull. This was already passed by ATF for clarification some months ago. The pistol is non-functional when folded. See the "Stabilizing Support" subsection in Section II and its consideration of a folding counterbalance adapter (not a fin or cuff). There are also adapters that attach to the back of otherwise functional pistols - non-AR type - that fold up onto the side of the pistol, and the ATF doesn't like them. Examples are the SB Tactical braces made for the HK/B&T that fold up alongside the pistol. The brace attached to the back of the pistol is folding, not the pistol itself. See the clarification letter from the ATF regarding a this question about what constitutes a "folding adapter":

ATF Folding Brace Clarification Letter

The difference is the pistol is folding, not the brace adapter. You have to look at the wording very carefully and understand what the ATF defines as the "adapter" and what they define as the "pistol" and read that letter several times. Overall length is the pistol without the brace adapter as the adapter is an accessory to the pistol. Unlike a rifle, overall pistol length is measured with the pistol buffer tube mechanism unfolded and the fin adapter removed. (On a rifle, it would be unfolded and with the shoulder stock at max extension.) If you remove the fin brace, the pistol still folds. This is not the same as for a "rifle" or "shotgun" on which the stock folds as those are intended to be shoulder fired. A pistol is not intended for shoulder firing. The folding mechanism is part of the pistol, not the brace adapter, and therefore it's not a "Folding adapter extending length of pull."

FWIW, the primary purpose of that letter was to show how the overall length should be measured to determine if the firearm is over or under 26" overall length (OAL). For a "rifle", OAL is measured with shoulder stock (unfolded if it's a folding one), and if it's under 26" it's a NFA regulated Title II "Short Barrel Rifle". For a "pistol", increasing OAL over 26" makes it a "firearm" (until its length is reduced back to less than 26" to become a pistol again). Adding a foregrip to a pistol less than 26" in length makes it an NFA regulated Title II "Any Other Weapon", aka AOW. The redefinition of how to measure pistol OAL was to stop users from adding braces to get the OAL over 26" to legally allow adding the foregrip, if OAL is measured with the brace attached. ATF "clarified" how to measure OAL to put a stop to it by requiring the brace to be removed when measuring OAL. A foregrip on a pistol is illegal unless it's registered as an AOW, complete with Tax Stamp. The fringe benefit of that letter was also defining what is meant by a "folding adapter".

Clear as mud now? Yup. The ATF 4999 is a quagmire with complexities that are difficult to understand just looking at the form, and the 18 pages of discussion help some, but not completely
John