Company Background

Luth-AR LLC was founded in 2013 by Randy Luth, the former owner/founder of a company you may have heard of called DPMS. After 22 years with DPMS, Luth sold the company to Freedom Group in 2007 and announced his retirement. The retirement was short-lived, however, and he decided to make a return to the firearms industry and bring a much desired alternative to the AR "stock market".

Features & Specifications (straight from the Luth-AR website)

- Modular buttstock assembly for the AR
- Interchangeable with standard A1 or A2 buttstocks or any aftermarket buttstock with overall length of approximately 10.5″
- Length: 10 3/8″ ( 11.5″ extended )
- Fully Ambidextrous and can be comfortably used shooting off either shoulder (Cheek piece pre-installed for right handed shooters but can be installed on either side for right or left hand shooters)
- Not interchangeable with carbine rifles with telescoping assemblies.
- Length of Pull (LOP) – Extended: 14 3/4″
- Length of Pull (LOP) – Collapsed: 13 5/8″
- Overall Length Extended: 11 1/2″
- Overall Length Collapsed: 10 7/8″
- Weight: 1.26 lbs

First Impressions

Upon the initial handling of the stock, I was very impressed with the features. Unlike the Magpul PRS, the cheekpiece and buttplate do not move while rotating the knobs. The knobs are made of metal, have knurled edges, and serve as tension knobs rather than true adjustment knobs. The user loosens the knobs, adjusts the cheekpiece or buttplate to the desired height or length, and re-tightens the knobs to lock the cheekpiece or buttplate in place. When first attempting to install the MBA-1 on a BCM buffer tube, it was a VERY tight fit. It would only slide over the tube halfway and I figured it must use a proprietary buffer tube similar to the Magpul UBR, but it eventually went on. It may take quite a bit of effort like mine did, but rest assured, the MBA-1 does use a standard rifle extension. The MBA-1 also has a slot at the rear for a sling swivel as well as two QD swivel mounts on each side. The stock is fully ambidextrous so you can move the knobs to either side with the provided allen wrench and you can see in the pictures below that Luth even incorporated a slot within the stock which securely holds the allen wrench for quick accessibility. You can also mount the backing plates for the cheekpiece/buttplate tension knobs in any of the holes seen in the pictures, allowing you to move the cheekpiece/buttplate further back or forward.

My only complaints at this point were 1) there is no mounting option for a monopod and 2) the cheekpiece is only attached on one side, allowing for a little up and down movement. However, the MBA-4 and MBA-3, which are Luth-AR's carbine offerings, do accommodate rail-mounted monopods. Also, if they were to attach the cheekpiece on both sides, it may hinder the stock's ambidextrous or customizable features.









At the Range

The testing rifle was a Rock River lower paired with a complete Noveske 18" upper. Between the new Sprinco green spring, 5.2oz rifle buffer, and the Luth-AR MBA, this rifle has never shot softer. I shot about 150 rounds and only had one issue with the stock itself, which was partly my fault. If you prefer to use your off-hand to support the stock in the hook, you may have an issue with your fingers inadvertently loosening the tension knobs, primarily the knob for the cheekpiece. This happened to me a couple times, but although the knob had come loose, the cheekpiece never collapsed or even moved its position. Other than that, the stock is very comfortable to shoot with and allows the shooter to maintain a consistent and near-perfect cheekweld. The cheekpiece on this stock is slightly flared giving it the edge, in my opinion, over the cheekpiece on the Magpul PRS. If you are a fan of the cheekweld on stocks such as the SOPMOD, STR, ACS, etc., you will probably find the cheekweld on this stock to be very comfortable as well.





Conclusion

There have been countless people on other forums who have said that this stock is half the weight and half the price of the Magpul PRS, and as far as I can tell, this is false. The Luth-AR MBA-1 retails for $139.95 and weighs 1.26 lbs, while the Magpul PRS retails for $255.00 and weighs 1.68 lbs. Although the MBA-1 does cost and weigh less, it is certainly not half the weight and price. All-in-all, I would highly recommend this stock to anyone looking for a comfortable fixed stock with user-friendly features and at a great price. Would I take this stock to war? Nope. Would I take this stock to the range, hunting, or for competition use? Absolutely!

I hope y'all find this review helpful and please let me know if you have any questions about anything I may not have covered.

- Josh