New AR 15 Parts That Actually Improve Your Shooting

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With all the companies marketing after-market grips and components for AR-style rifles, is there room for another brand? Afterall, many of the products are just personal preference when it comes down to the nitty gritty, but few really improve the shooters connection to the rifle to help improve accuracy and weapon control, which is one in the same. Modern precision rifle shooters have found a more vertical pistol grip maintaining a 90-degree angle from the center line of the rifle bore to be advantageous for improved accuracy and recoil management. While the AR15 market has slowly grown towards a more vertical pistol grip angle, Die Free Co. has nearly perfected it with their Kung Fu grip. 

Couple this unique pistol grip with a solid forward hand stop on your favorite AR-15 and you will have a very controllable rifle system that allows for precision shooting with the ultimate recoil management when the trigger is bouncing to reset with a purpose. While a true rifleman can make do with any rifle in their hands, to maximize potential with any system, having the proper control starts with the hands and the two locations on the rifle that they contact.

Kung Fu Grip

This AR-style grip is designed to increase shooter control in recoil management by giving the shooter a better means of connection for maintaining constant rearward pressure on the grip to maximize the control with a firm wrist and forearm alignment. The traditional angled grip of the A2 grip, breaks the shooters wrist into an unnatural position. When we increase the grip angle to be more perpendicular to the bore, the wrist is now in a better position to maintain a firm, rear-ward pressure to gain optimum control in recoil management without inducing fatigue on the shooters hand.

Another benefit of a more natural grip angle is allowing the shooter a better connection with the trigger as well. With the Kung Fu grip, I have found a better 90-degree trigger finger connection to the trigger shoe, like my precision rifles, giving me better control to break precise shots on demand when shooting in a competitive environment. When firing from standing for fast shooting or prone making accurate hits at distance the proper connection to the trigger is key. 

This 90-degree bend in the index finger is a huge part of fundamental marksmanship and is often not possible for most shooters when the grip angle is wrong or the distance from the grip to trigger shoe is too far. This often results in the shooter stretching their hand out to reach around the trigger shoe and in doing so, implementing side pressure on the trigger shoe.

By shortening the distance to the trigger and aligning the hand to a more natural position, the shooter will have less muscle fatigue when trying to press the trigger. Less muscle strain allows for clean and concise trigger breaks, therefore increasing accuracy and precision. By removing the side pressure on the trigger, accuracy will often improve dramatically as now the trigger will break clean to the rear as designed without influence from the side of the shoe.

After some slight alterations, I was able to fit a Kung Fu grip to my XLR Element chassis rifle and was amazed by the control and comfort I gained with this rifle. I was able to have better control of the rifles recoil in the 20-inch barreled, 6.5 PRC weighing less than 7lbs with suppressor and scope installed. I could spot my impacts more easily just by changing the grip and having better control of the rifle. 

Tiger Claw 

Controlling recoil and muzzle rise on an AR15 platform comes down to the two points of contact with the rifle, your pistol grip and the forward hand stop on the handguard. With a solid pistol grip now achieved with the Kung Fu Grip, we introduce the Tiger Claw for keeping the muzzle rise controlled.

The position of the Tiger Claw is easy to set using the M-Lok attachment to place on your handguard the perfect distance for your support arm to be extended and have rearward pressure applied to towards the shooter’s shoulder. Allowing for a powerful “C-clamp” grip over the handguard or with the thumb parallel to the barrel resting on the handguard, you have excellent control with both the shooters hands applying rearward pressure back toward the shooter's chest.

Once in place, the low-profile leaves plenty of room to attach lights, lasers and other devices to the rifle for the intended mission. All while giving you a great connection to the rifle and keeps your thumb ready for hitting switches. The same concept applies for the Kung Fu and Tiger Claw in keeping the shooters hand in a "fighter's stance" allowing maximum control while minimizing fatigue. It really is a one-two punch for taming recoil. Pun intended.

Calvin Knife

I think we can all agree, you can never have too many knives on hand. I personally leave one fixed blade in each of my vehicles and always carry one on my person. Not as a trained knife fighter, that’s why I carry a 9mm pistol, but for work. There is always a need for a sharp blade nearly every day between house projects and range days. The uses are limitless, and I always subscribe to the idea “it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have”.

This utilitarian work blade is shaped from MagnaCut steel to provide a durable blade with a wicked sharp edge. The modified drop point shape gives the user a wide array of cutting applications in a short compact knife that’s fast and well balanced in the hand for work. The blade has “Jimping” on the spine of the blade to give a sure grip when choking up the grip on the blade for finesse work or delicate and precise cutting. The entire blade is coated with a durable finish to protect the steel from the elements and is offered in several colors and patterns.

The overall knife length is 7.2-inches with 3-inches of actual blade and weighs 5.6 ounces. The handle is covered in G10 Scales to provide an excellent grip surface for years of hard use as I have yet to wear out G10 scales on any blade I have ever handled. The blade is made with steel and G10 materials, sourced in the U.S.A and comes with great edge right out of the box. I did dress-up my edge with a hone and had it shaving sharp after a few strokes.The blade has it all including a lanyard ring for those in need and comes in a Kydex sheath to attach the blade to your favorite kit or just rock-it in your cargo pants tied off to your belt loop for quick, single-handed access. It should be noted the sheath does not include a belt clip.

To answer the above question, is there room for another AR15 parts company, the answer is yes for Die Free Company. They developed a solution a problem most shooters didn’t know existed and they did it with style and purpose. Check out their full line of hard and soft goods at www.diefree.com.

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