People dispute how many AK-47s are in worldwide distribution; I’ve read numbers from 50 million to 140 million. What no one disputes is that there are more AK-47s in the world than any other firearm. And you can tell from the grip. It’s bland. If you’ve held one, you’ve held a thousand; it’s small, it’s thin, it’s as innocuous a grip on a rifle can be. Plainly put, it wasn’t designed or engineered, it was simply made. As a result it gives the user a small piece of plastic to bitch about. It’s a built-in excuse, like the sun in your eyes or the crosswind that started a split second before you pulled the trigger.

The AK-BG changes that design in two major ways – shape and size. By glove manufacturer standards, my hands are somewhere between a medium and a medium/large, but a normal AK grip makes me feel like I’ve got something from Fisher Price. My First Assault Rifle? Kinda. I can only imagine what guys who can easily palm a basketball go through. US PALM’s grip isn’t substantially larger than the old standard, yet it feels significantly better. I see far fewer hand cramps in the near future because I’m able to actually grip the gun instead of deathlocking down on a sliver of plastic. The shape of the grip is fantastic – it actually puts your hand in a proper shooting position. There’s a whole new element of control that never existed in the AK-47 platform.

The grip has a very similar profile to Tango Down’s BG-16, but the AK-BG is a little bit larger. The extra size is a welcome change if you wear gloves when firing your AK-47. When I plan on shooting my AK for a extended period of time I bring a pair of gloves in case I overdo it and superheat the barrel. I’d usually just wear the left one, however it wasn’t a lifetime of playing golf that inspired it, I couldn’t wear a right hand glove, it was simply too awkward with the tiny grip. The AK-BG is big enough that a pair of gloves is almost welcome. It feels very natural.

That’s all with just dry, bare hands. As a many year survivor of Phoenix’s monsoon season (snicker snicker laugh laugh) I know the importance of holding onto a firearm with wet hands. The old grip has a ½ inch by 3 inch section of very mild cross hatching for texture – that’s it. The AK-BG has an aggressive texture that completely covers its sides. After soaking my hands I tried handling both; first my rifle with an AK-BG then the comparison model with old and busted. Quickly transitioning from low ready to a firing position I had no issues, the gun didn’t twist or come loose. With the standard grip I nearly dropped the gun twice. Now, you may be thinking “But Jeff, I’ve had wet hands before and never dropped my AK!” yes, I’m sure you have. But you didn’t do it after handling a rifle with an AK-BG. THAT’S the difference. Let me explain.

I first got my grip a few weeks ago, and right away thought that it felt great. I first handled the grip when it was in its white plastic larval prototype phase – it’s been a long time coming and it’s been worth the wait. Ultimately it’s a better shape and a bigger size; both are beneficial for sure but we aren’t exactly curing cancer here. It wasn’t until I gripped an AK-47 with the old grip that I got it. I’ve been ruined for life. The old one feels so unbelievably … I don’t have a word. It isn’t just smaller. It isn’t just shaped poorly. Maybe it’s such a big deal because the grip is the most common and most crucial point of human/gun interaction we have, but whatever it is, I’d strongly suggest you try the comparison. The AK-BG has enough surface area to allow you to handle the gun one handed if need be – in virtually any capacity. Old and busted doesn’t give that confidence. Ultimately it’s not that the AK-BG is that much better than the normal AK-47 grip, it’s that the standard AK-47 grip is so vastly inferior to the AK-BG.

Somewhat of a side note, the interior storage space is pretty impressive. US PALM has gone with a less regimented space, meaning you can put whatever you like. Two AA batteries fit without issue, you can fit four SureFire batteries, but the rubber closure piece flares just a bit, at three of them it fits flush. Also, I fit 26 Q-Tip branded cotton swabs without issue. Did I do that because I take my aural hygiene very seriously? Or Q-Tips are a small item that can be used to convey size? We’ll never know.

Posted on July 16th, 2010 by sed-sgc
Filed under: Rookie Reviews...