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Building Fire (ACM) LaRue Tactical HandStop and IndexClip Combo


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Hey all!

 

This is my review of the Building Fire LaRue IndexClip and HandStop combo. I got this at ACMGear for HKD 76. I got this for my M4 purely because a Magpul AFG doesn’t agree with my fingers when I do transitions from shoulder to shoulder…I always end up smashing my fingers at the very bottom bit of the AFG for some reason, and that ###### me off. Also, I find the AFG’s grip angle to be a bit too much. I like to hold the handguard or RIS nearly perpendicular with the barrel and the AFG’s angle is too steep for that. Running a vertical grip would allow me to get a better and more comfortable grip angle that way but I don’t like to have a long bit of plastic or metal sticking out past my receiver if I’m not going to use the vertical grip the way it was designed for. As such, the LaRue Handstops were the ideal product for me as they are light, cheap and provides a pretty good purchase for my hand whilst removing everything that I don’t need to use. They also look pretty damn nice too :P

 

Another reason why I picked the LaRue over other replica handstops out there (like the TSC GearSector handstop) is because the LaRue Handstop is probably one of the lowest profile handstops out in the airsoft market right now. If not, it is one of the slimmest handstops available. Also, if you take a look at the handstop angle it actually has a contour that allows the edge of my palm to dig in whereas the other handstops allow a tendency for my hand to slip off it if I don’t use the very flat side of the handstop (like the KAC one). Therefore, given that from first glance the LaRue Handstop seem to be the most ergonomical for me, I decided to get one of those replicas to try out.

 

Anyway, this is what you get when you buy the replica package.

 

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It’s basically a jumble of the IndexClips and the two handstops that are with the package. My first impression when dumping everything out on a table is that some of the IndexClips have a lot of flash from the molds. This isn’t really an issue as a sharp knife or file will be able to remove the flash, but honestly from an ACM product this is the least of my worries as it doesn’t affect the function of the product itself.

 

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The handstop comes with LaRue markings, just like the real ones, and the stippled bits at first glance doesn’t seem to give a lot of grip given that they are formed INTO the handstop rather than the stippled bits sticking OUT, but mounting the handstop on an RIS and trying it out with gloves and without, the stippled part of the handstop gives excellent grip for both your flesh and gloves.

 

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Overall, the package comes with 60 normal IndexClips, 4 IndexClips designed to press tapeswitch wires against the RIS and 8 IndexClips designed to snap the tapeswitch wires to it such that the IndexClip can hold the wire. Compared with the real set of LaRue IndexClips and Handstop combo (http://www.laruetactical.com/larue-tactical-handstop-and-indexclip-combo-74-total-piece-set) it seems like Building Fire clone the reverse amount of the special IndexClips, which really isn’t a bad thing at all since I find the IndexClips that hold onto the wires be much more useful than the ones that press the wires against the RIS.

 

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I’ve also bought I believe the TMC version of the LaRue IndexClips before (see packaging for the old IndexClips I had) so I can do a bit of comparison with the BF ones. The old ones aren’t molded as well as the BF ones as the stipple line on the IndexClips is much more pronounced on the BF replica compared with the TMC one. The BF ones also snap onto my G&P KAC RIS without wiggling a lot compared to the TMC ones (which some wiggled and some didn’t, so their mold for the IndexClips aren’t made well).

 

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(sorry, forgot to rotate the photo. BF at the top, TMC at the bottom)

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(BF on the right, TMC on the left)

 

Anyway, if you want to get some replica LaRue IndexClips yourself then I suggest getting the BF one as opposed to the TMC one because of the quality of the BF over the TMC.

 

As for mounting the stuff onto a G&P rail, the handstops are meant to be locked down on both ends (back and front) with an Indexclip. Honestly though, the handstop took a bit of force to push onto my G&P rail because of how tight the fit was. I didn’t need to use a hammer, but needless to say, if I didn’t lock it down with the IndexClips I’m sure the handstop would’ve remained on the rail just fine without moving. Both the handstop and clips locked in without wobbling or wiggling and the amount of grip gain plus the ergonomic of the IndexClip was exactly what I needed for my rifle. I stopped smashing my fingers against the handstop because of the low profile and the IndexClips gave plenty of friction on the sides of the rail along with keeping the whole RIS under a slim profile, which I like ergonomically (I find the KAC rails and TD rails enlarge the diameter of the RIS too much for my liking). Overall, I’d say the BF replica of the LaRue Handstops and IndexClips are very good value for money, but given that it’s a product that is suitable for certain people only due to the ergonomics of the rifle once fitted, I suggest you do some research first and figure out whether the Larue set is really what you want. If so, then the BF replica is a good choice to get over the real LaRue stuff if you can’t get it (like me, being in Hong Kong) or you don’t have a large enough budget to get the real deal.

 

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Oh, and gun porn! :D

 

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Well since I'm in HK and I buy from them locally, I know a number of their staff :P Three of them I consider as a friend :P

 

They're prices are good, a bit lower than most other HK retailers and as far as local sales go they're friendly :P From what I know talking with those guys is that they charge exact on shipping, and don't try to add extra costs up top, so in theory (as far as I know...I haven't bought stuff online other than from Shapeways and Lee's Precision Engineering, and they aren't based in Hong Kong so they don't count :P) they should have some pretty competitive prices :P

 

If anyone's looking for a recommendation though, then I give two thumbs up :P I'd give more if I had more hands :D

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Tokyo Model have 'good' service too; even if they know you're not planning to buy anything they make no reservations about taking stuff out of the display for you to handle and look at :P Other shops....well, let's just say almost all the other shops have bad service until you're slapping them in the face with a couple hundred dollars XD

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HAvent dealt with them yet, their search engyne is... well, lacking, but I will consider them for future times :)

On the TMC site, if you go to Advanced Search, and figure out that AND needs to be typed all in caps for it to work properly, then you can do some decent searches combining two key words.

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On the TMC site, if you go to Advanced Search, and figure out that AND needs to be typed all in caps for it to work properly, then you can do some decent searches combining two key words.

 

Sorry if this is off topic, but could you post a link to the TMC site? Ive spent ages looking for it and getting nowhere with it.

 

Cheers,

Paul

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If I recall correctly, TMC (the gear maker) is Ebaybanned, altough I thinkthey rebrand some items. Emal them, but dont expect much attention unless you tell themyou want to buy a ton of their products. If you want something specific, contact acm gear, emailed them the other day about an item and the answer was positive, friendly, and quick

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Thanks for the links and the help, much appreciated.

 

Good review too, i was thinking about getting these but i dont really like ordering overseas (which really means I'm too lazy and no credit card/paypal) but my local retailer might be able to get them at a decent price perhaps.

 

Thanks :P LOL first post actually regarding the product I reviewed HAHAH XD Anyway, I find using the LaRue handstop MUCH better on both the SCAR and the M4 only because it's even more low profile and I like to wrap my thumb to the top of the 12 oclock rail. Plus, they act as pretty good rail covers too (the rail covers are actually quite grippy believe it or not; the middle of the rail cover with the texture really help in preventing my hands from slipping) and are cheaper than AFGs :P

 

Never got the whole fascination with AFGs either...I struggle to believe that a significant proportion of airsofters find the AFG angle to be perfect :P The LaRue handstops doesn't lock your hand into 1 particular angle (you can move the back of your palm up or down on the handstop to get different angles, unlike the AFG) so I find myself getting a better grip than with an AFG. YMMV though :P

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sorry, my bad for the distraction :P

 

I usually grip the magwell, but im putting that down to not having invested in a set of rail covers in the two years that ive an aeg with rails lol. Ive never tried an AFG really as id still need covers for the side rails. Went looking on local retailers sites last night, and these were the same price as an (clone) AFG in an other nearby shop so im between the two at the moment. The AFG would probably hold its resale value better, could be wrong about that though

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sorry, my bad for the distraction :P

 

I usually grip the magwell, but im putting that down to not having invested in a set of rail covers in the two years that ive an aeg with rails lol. Ive never tried an AFG really as id still need covers for the side rails. Went looking on local retailers sites last night, and these were the same price as an (clone) AFG in an other nearby shop so im between the two at the moment. The AFG would probably hold its resale value better, could be wrong about that though

 

Yup, the AFG will hold better resale value but honestly you're still losing money at the end of the day if you went with the AFG (like I did) and end up disliking it :P Too bad it's as expensive as the AFG over where you are though, the rail cover + handstop set I mean. It's HKD 76 in Hong Kong and a PTS AFG is HKD 2xx, with the AFG2 being slightly more expensive.

 

The other good thing about index clips is that they will fit on out-of-spec Madbull rails.

 

Really? They were quite tight on my KAC M4 rails though O_o. Of course, you can file away material from those handstops too.

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Really? They were quite tight on my KAC M4 rails though O_o. Of course, you can file away material from those handstops too.

Yup. I have the genuine article in black from Larue, and some FDE and OD ones from another ACM manufacturer (not Building Fire), and they all snap on to the infamous Madbul RIS II rail. However, I use the armadillo that Larue supplies to pry some of them off!

 

On the other hand, I haven't tried sliding the Larue handstop on the Madbull. I imagine that would be very tight.

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Yup. I have the genuine article in black from Larue, and some FDE and OD ones from another ACM manufacturer (not Building Fire), and they all snap on to the infamous Madbul RIS II rail. However, I use the armadillo that Larue supplies to pry some of them off!

 

On the other hand, I haven't tried sliding the Larue handstop on the Madbull. I imagine that would be very tight.

 

Ohh right the rail covers work XD I think that's because of the way it's designed. It's not slide onto the rails, rather clipped on; hence if the rail's slightly thicker the plastic have some give to fit onto the rails.

 

The handstops on the other hand...I doubt they'll fit. The handstop rail part that mates with the RIS rails is PERFECT when combining the replica I reviewed with a G&P KAC rail. I'm sure if the rail was any thicker I'd need to bust out a file and remove material on the handstop to get it to fit :P

 

And lucky you, being able to get real LaRue stuff XD

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