AR: Vertical Grips or Not?

By Kyle Lamb

In some circles, tactical gurus speak of the ill effects of using a vertical grip on your AR. As a former operator, I find this radically amusing. Defining why and why not isn’t an easy task; actually, defining why not is almost impossible for me. So cutting to the chase, I love the vertical grip on a tactical rifle. For that matter, if I were to step back into the tactical 3-Gun world, I would more than likely attach a short vertical grip to that blaster as well.

The benefits quickly outrun the negatives.

Driving the Gun When trying to drive your AR from target to target, the vertical grip works well as a reference point to position your hand in precisely the same location each time. That being said, I use a nonstandard grip on the front end of my rifle, starting with the hand wrapped around the vertical grip and the thumb either over the top or along the side of the Picatinny-railed, free-floating handguard. I prefer to run the thumb down the side as it helps point the carbine more naturally; more importantly, it allows for the activation of the infrared (IR) laser tape switch attached at the 10:30- …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo