AR-15 Workbench: How to Upgrade Your Rifle’s Furniture

One of the easiest upgrades is to the rifle’s “furniture.” This term usually describes the stock, forend, and grip, but it can also incorporate other accessories like slings. If you’ve been wanting to upgrade your AR but haven’t been sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll cover some of the most common and useful upgrades, and offer a few tips for selecting the right parts and installing them yourself.

The Stock

Of the three points of contact between you and a rifle, the stock is perhaps the most important. Having a good stock that can adjust to your body and offer a solid, consistent cheek weld will make you a more accurate and confident hunter. The good news is that swapping stocks on an AR-15 can be as simple as slipping on a new pair of shoes.

This is the UBR Gen 2 Collapsible Stock from Magpul.

Why would you want a new stock? High-quality aftermarket stocks come with features beyond what you’ll get on a budget rifle. Many feature quick-detach (QD) sling studs, compartments for spare parts, rubberized components for comfort and grip, and skeletonization to reduce weight. They also fit snugly around the buffer tube, so they don’t rattle and wobble like other stocks you may have used.

For this upgrade project on my Sig Sauer M400 SDI-X, I went all-in with Magpul’s UBR Gen 2 Collapsible Stock. The UBR comes with its own buffer tube (hence the higher price), but it doesn’t function like your standard collapsible stock. The lower buttstock portion can adjust for length of pull (LOP), but the top cheek rest portion remains in place. This allows the user to set the correct LOP without having to change the cheek rest or the position of the scope.

The downside is that it’s a pain to install. For most standard stock swaps, simply find the mechanism that allows the adjustment plunger to be pulled down flush with the stock and remove the old stock from the buffer tube. (This mechanism will change depending on the stock you have, but trust me, there’s always a way.) Then, reverse the process for your new stock.

Because the Magpul UBR comes with its own buffer tube, it requires quite a few additional steps. Fortunately, it also comes with instructions that, unlike Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, I read carefully and followed exactly.

To change stocks, remove the old stock from the buffer tube and follow the provided instructions to install the new one.

The Grip

The pistol grip is the other common furniture upgrade for an AR-15. There are literally hundreds of options out there, and they’re all easy to install.

This is the MOE-K2 grip from Magpul.

Why would you want a new grip? The grip you have might not have enough texturing, or it might have too much. Whatever the case may be, you can find an aftermarket option that matches your preferences. Grips can also be designed with different angles that can be matched to whatever you feel most comfortable using.

The grip that comes with the Sig M400 is great, but I was looking for something with more aggressive texturing. The Magpul MOE-K2 has exactly that, and I also like the slightly straighter and shallower grip angle.

To swap the grip, unscrew the old one using the screw located within the handle. These screws can have various head types, but I’ve found that flatheads and Allens are the most common. Whichever it is, just be sure to find the screwdriver that matches it exactly. The last thing you want to do is strip that screw. You’ll also need a screwdriver with some length as it has to reach down into the grip. The new grip will come with its own screw, so be sure to use that one during installation.

The one wrinkle to the process is that you’ll need to keep track of the spring that puts tension on the safety selector detent. Don’t lose it, and during installation set it into the hole in the grip as you screw it in. Be sure it’s straight in the detent hole as it goes up, and you’ll be good to go.

To change the grip, unscrew the factory unit using the screw located inside the grip. Then, install the new one, being careful to keep track of the safety selector spring.

Handguard

The final major piece of “furniture” on an AR-15 is the handguard. Like stocks and pistol grips, handguards come in tons of configurations and at a range of price points.

I like the full-length M-LOK handguard on this Sig Sauer rifle, so I decided to keep it.

Why would you want a new handguard? You might want a longer handguard to cover more of the barrel, make room for more accessories, or partially cover a suppressor. You may want a different accessory attachment system like M-LOK or picatinny rails. If you have a plastic handguard, you might want to switch to a more durable metal unit, or you may want something lighter and sleeker.

I chose not to change the handguard on my Sig rifle. I like the one that comes with the gun, and swapping handguards can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth. That’s because the handguard attaches to the barrel nut. The barrel nut secures the barrel to the upper receiver, but they aren’t all the same. They’re designed to attach to a certain handguard, so there’s no guarantee that what’s on your rifle now will work with the handguard you want to buy–in fact, it probably won’t.

That means you’ll have to remove the existing barrel nut and attach the new one that comes with the handguard. This is doable for most folks, and there are tons of how-to videos on the Internet. But if you like your handguard, you may want to think twice before embarking on that project.

If you ever decide to swap your handguard, you'll need to remove the old handguard, the gas tube, and the old barrel nut. Then, install the new barrel nut, gas tube, and handguard according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Vertical / Fore Grip

A vertical grip on an AR-15 attaches to the bottom of a handguard and extends towards the ground. Most rifles don’t come with one since they’re a matter of personal preference and are even more varied than stocks or pistol grips. They can range from full-sized vertical grips to shorter versions of the same to angled grips to simple handstops.

This barricade stop from Magpul allows for stable bracing against a barricade, and it also doubles as a hand stop.

Why would you want a vertical/fore grip? Giving your off-hand more purchase on the front of the rifle will provide better control–both on the initial shot and on any follow-up shots.

For this build, I opted for something a little different–a Magpul Barricade Stop. It acts as a handstop on the side that faces the shooter, but the other side can be used to brace the rifle against a tree branch, fence post, or any other shooting rest. Since I plan to use this rifle for hunting, and I try not to make unsupported shots if I can help it, I thought a barricade stop would be more useful.

This model of Magpul's barricade stop attaches directly to M-LOK slots.

Sling

If you’re like me, you forget about a sling until you head out into the field. Then, after an hour of lugging around a seven-pound rifle, you really wish you had one. Their utility is obvious, so I won’t bore you with an explanation.

Since most AR’s don’t have traditional sling studs, attaching a sling requires a little extra thought. Your stock should have QD attachment points, a slot for a sling strap, or some other way of attaching a sling to the rear of the rifle. For the front, some handguards have QD attachment points. If yours doesn’t (like mine), you’ll have to use an aftermarket QD mount that attaches to the rail system.

You can attach a sling to this UBR stock using the QD holes (pictured) or simply by threading the sling through the slot at the bottom of the stock.

Most AR slings are attached at either one or two points. For hunting applications, I’d recommend a traditional two-point sling. Single-point slings are designed to allow the shooter to drop his rifle and transition to another weapon without losing control of the rifle. But they aren’t great if you want to carry the rifle for extended periods of time.

If you're looking for a great two-point sling, you can go with the pictured model from Magpul or this versatile sling from FHF Gear.

Last Shot

At this point you might be asking, “Why would I buy a complete rifle just to swap out all the components?” This is an excellent question, and I think the answer is, “You shouldn’t.” Instead, think carefully about what kind of furniture you want on your rifle before you buy it. Get your hands on the rifle in person and see what you like and what you don’t.

If you can’t find an AR that has everything you need, you can always build your own. They don’t call them the Lego of rifles for nothing.