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Fitting an AR type pistol grip to a Butler Creek folder

6K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  Machine 
#1 ·
I love the look and feel of my Butler creek, but the pistol grip leaves something to be desired. It is not a good fit to my hand and is a little dated in its look. I have so far fitted a lower rail (at a corrected angle to the top rail) and fitted Magpul QD sockets in the factory locations. But I want to fit an AR type grip, and be able to change it just as easy.



So I picked up a cheap A2 style grip for testing Brownells A2 Pistol grip and an AK to AR grip adapter to use as a base for my adapter Brownells AK to AR grip adapter. While I bought a 3 dollar grip for fab, my main goal is to fit a matching Magpul to match my Foregrip.

Positioning is going to be key, to preserver or improve ergonomics. As well as maintaining rigidity and allowing for easy swapping of grips. I hope to mount the grip as high and as far back as possible. I am somewhat limited by the trigger assembly, as well as the folding mechanism, so its going to be tight.



I'm planning on shaving the adapter down to its smallest possible size, to allow it to be as far back as possible; while maintaining a comfortable fit to the web of the hand. Once I have it in the position that I want, I plan to machine a block of aluminum to fit into both the adapter and stock, as well as create a threaded part in which to bolt the AR grip to. Space is tight, but I believe I have the room for at least 1/2in of thread for a solid fit. Once everything is in place (the adapter and aluminum block) I will epoxy it all into place.
 

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#3 ·
The ATI and Tapco look cheesy and cheap in my opinion. The Mini is a metal-heavy rifle , and they don't fit. The metal folder of the butler creek is the right look; solid and durable like the mini.

Mil-spec AR is a standard that supports a broad range of parts. Fitting to that standard makes sense to me on an availability point. My QD swivels, ALG muzzle brake, Magpul MOE foregrip, while universal, were generally designed for ARs.

When I get the block machined, I might have a few made if others are interested.
 
#5 ·
The ATI and Tapco look cheesy and cheap in my opinion. The Mini is a metal-heavy rifle , and they don't fit. The metal folder of the butler creek is the right look; solid and durable like the mini.

Mil-spec AR is a standard that supports a broad range of parts. Fitting to that standard makes sense to me on an availability point. My QD swivels, ALG muzzle brake, Magpul MOE foregrip, while universal, were generally designed for ARs.

When I get the block machined, I might have a few made if others are interested.
I agree the AR options are generally superior and more plentiful. The thought with the AK interface being it opens the door to all options as adaptors already exist for AR parts on AK rifles.
 
#6 ·
The AK adapter is useful as a baseline only, it will have to be noticeably modified, and permanently fixed to the stock with the machined block. It would site too low and to far back otherwise. Basically, only the part that directly fits to the grip will remain, held in place mostly by the block and functioning only to orient the grip. But once completed, any AR grip would bolt up (beaver-tail grips wouldn't clear, or would need to be trimmed.


And what type of stock is that??? It looks like a BC, but has some noticeable differences (besides being wood).
 
#8 ·
I took a deep breath and hacked off the grip with a small miter saw. Got a good clean cut, and then used a belt sander to bring it down a bit more and get it level.



I then cut and sanded the top of the adapter down as far as I could. once it was set, I traced it out on the stock with the trigger in place. I fit a large router bit on a drill press; and along with the pictured drill vise, managed to "machine" out the shape by hand. Worked pretty darn well



Double checked the alignment before final trimming and sanding. Also measured and drilled the mounting screw location. I used wall anchor of some kind I found at the local True-Value.



Set the modifed adapter into the stock with some "anything" epoxy. The anchor is also epoxied. Fit the mounting screw (with a ton of anti-seize on it) to pull the adapter down and hold it till the epoxy sets (24hrs). Ill have an update tomorrow when I put everything back together and check it out.
Got my Magpul grip on order.

 

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#15 ·
Fit the cheap grip on there and I am very happy. Grip is higher and a little farther back. The web is up against the folder mechanism and the finger rests on the trigger in a much better spot (at least for me). Engaging the safety requires a bit of repositioning, but disengagement is quick and natural. The smaller and slightly more angled AR grip is overall a big improvement, and I look forward to shooting it soon.

You can also see the Magpul swivels in these shots.



 

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#21 ·
Finished with the Magpul Grip that matches the foregrip. It comes with multiple front and backstraps. The A2 finger grip is staying on the front, but I want to swap in one of the bigger rear straps. Problem is the two larger ones have beavertails that have to be trimed back and also might interfear with the folder button. Regardless, I love the change, and total cost of this project was about $60.

I'm thinking of sanding off the stippling on the sides, maybe adding some more rail. And eventually I would like to get a bull barrel with an integrated brake to bring the overall length down even further.

 

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#23 ·
Finally got some time out on the range with this. 50deg in early December in MN is a rare occurrence.

Very happy with how it turned out. The web of the hand sits hard against the folder mechanism, but it is not uncomfortable at all. In addition, the extended length to the trigger is a nice change for me and is much more comfortable.

The epoxy ended up taking over a week to completely cure due to the cold temp, but it hold solid now and the grip screw can be torqued down hard with no issue.
 
#24 ·
RIGHTEOUS !
Thanks for doing this before I did !
I have been doing it in my head since I put the butler creek folder on my mini.
Now How do I attach the AR stock mount I have, to the Butler Creek folding mechanism for the SOCOM stock sitting in the safe ?
SUBSCRIBED, I am NOT losing this post !
 
#26 ·
I did not end up making a mounting block. I simply measured for the correct grip screw angle and drilled into the stock. I fixed a threaded wall mount into the stock, along with some semi flexible epoxy. Then I epoxied the AKtoAR adapter onto the channel I created. I have been getting asked about it a lot when I'm at the range.

Thanks for all the replys.
 
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