Problem Deciding a Stock

[BVickery]

I am building up my first 2 AR's and now will have a dilemma. Sadly, I like style so I have narrowed down to two stocks. Magpul UBR or CTR.

The setup for my AR is going to be a BCM 16" Mid w/ DD Omega 9" rails and a vfg. The optic I am choosing will an Aimpoint (Either M3 or M4s) with mounting a 3x magnifer later on (Thinking of the Bobro 150 from the review here).

I will not be using this weapon for work but will be taking classes and be used for home defense. My goal is to have it balanced out nicely and not be to front or rear heavy (unless that is ideal).

Any and all help on my build will be greatly appreciated.

-Brian

[Stickman]

Just something to think about, a back heavy carbine feel lighter in front, so it tends to point in on target a little quicker, and the weapon feels a little less heavy. That being said, I use a CTR on my duty weapon (M4 barrel), and have UBRs on some of my medium and heavier barreled setups.

[BVickery]

Thanks, I think UBR or its hopefully upcoming brother.

[Stickman]

Thanks, I think UBR or its hopefully upcoming brother.

Which brother? If you mean the ACS, its a great stock, and it may replace the CTR on my duty weapon.

[BVickery]

thats the one I was talking about. You have a review of it on here by chance? Or are you doing your evaluation for the review perhaps?

[Stickman]

thats the one I was talking about. You have a review of it on here by chance? Or are you doing your evaluation for the review perhaps?

Any evaluations or pictures of the ACS stock won't be posted until Magpul makes their announcement of the product release, or until Richard gives the word. Magpul is filled with good people, and no one here would abuse their trust. Especially not if someone had this alleged ACS stock....

[BVickery]

Any evaluations or pictures of the ACS stock won't be posted until Magpul makes their announcement of the product release, or until Richard gives the word. Magpul is filled with good people, and no one here would abuse their trust. Especially not if someone had this alleged ACS stock....

Fully understandable. Hopefully it will not be long before its announced.

[Ryo]

If your rifle is front heavy, I would suggest a heavy back to balance it.. hence the UBR or ACS.. though I believe the ACS is lighter than the UBR.

[Paulo_Santos]

I'm a big fan of the Vltor E-Mod. You may also want to check them out.

[TehLlama]

EMOD is the best thing for now - until the ACS. It's a touch longer, but that can be advantageous.

[Army Chief]

Sadly, I like style so I have narrowed down to two stocks.

I'll give you high marks for honesty, and I suppose that we all inevitably consider appearances on at least some level, but I would be quick to strip it from my list of considerations -- or at least, from those voiced here. There are other forums for such perspectives.

I presume you may add a light to the list at some point, but for the most part you seem to be planning a fairly lightweight front end configuration (to your credit, since there don't appear to be any compelling mission requirements to the contrary). With that in mind, I think the CTR is the better choice of those that you mentioned. We've many, many products from which to make a selection these days, but sometimes less is more. I still like the OEM M4 stock just fine, quite honestly, though I can definitely see the wisdom in moving to something like the CTR or MOE.

Once you start to talk about storage stocks like the SOPMOD (which feels great, but carries a weight penalty) or one of the VLTORs, you have to consider not only the weight of the stock, but also the weight of all of the crap that you're going to be tempted to store inside of it. Do you need to carry extra batteries when your starting configuration doesn't even include a light? Probably not. Weight may or may not be a major consideration for you in your applications right now, but there are a lot of 13 lb. carbines out there that look cool, and photograph well, but which serve no real purpose in civil guise -- unless one is a poseur looking for affirmation. Given your component choices, and where you asked the question to begin with, I believe that I am safe in assuming that you aren't "that" kind of guy. :)

My mantra? When in doubt, go with the highest quality that delivers the lowest weight penalty.

AC

[TehLlama]

For now, the EMOD is the closest you'll get to the NEW ACS - and it's a great stock, my EMOD lives on my wifle. Works great, good cheekweld, but MagPul will have one-upped it with the longer ACS model.

For the price, the EMOD is worth looking at in the interim!