Tweaking the AR-15 handle

    A couple of people have asked if lead or foam could be tucked inside the AR-15 handle grips to adjust buoyancy. There's room, but the little rubber plug that can be used to seal the end of the grip doesn't seem like the most secure attachment. But I saw a coupling nut used in a similar applicaton recently, and it gave me the idea for this quick modification


    You would just need to replace the normal grip screw with a threaded section from a stainless bolt, and a coupling nut. Cut a shallow slot in one end of the coupling nut so that a screwdriver can be used to tighten it down and secure the grip to the handle frame. Then, you have a female thread available to secure weights or foam inside the grip using an additional, longer screw. It should be an easy way of making small adjustments to get the buoyancy just the way you want it, without cutting int the gun.

    Good idea- as long as that's where you need the ballast. You could also add more weight if needed by adding another coupling nut, but that might mean a left handed thread (Does a coupling nut have a left and a right handed thread?). Or, you could just add a threaded shaft with however many ss nuts it took to get the ballast you needed. :confused2:

    Coupling nuts are typically just threaded all the way through with right handed threads. They are meant to connect two standard threads, not to be used like a turnbuckle.


    There is room inside the handle to easily accomodate a simple lead ingot 11/16" thick, 1-1/4" wide, and 2" long, which would weigh almost 3/4 of a pound. But anything that you could fit into the handle and drill with a 1/4" hole could be used as weight. Likewise, any wood or closed cell foam could be shaped into a plug to add some buoyancy.

    Edited once, last by Guest ().

    A lead ingot the size you mentioned would weigh a little over 11 Oz. Big enough unless the gun was pretty big. It would be easy enough to just downsize it to get it exactly right. Maybe the best thing about it, however, is how easy it is to change if you add / take stuff off the gun, like a camera mount or a reel. You could even make more than one ingot, depending on how the gun is configured for a particular day of diving. Suweeet, Jeff :clap:

    I don't see the handle as the primary place to ballast a gun, because it's probably too far back. More likely to use it as you mentioned, to make small adjustments due to adding or removing a reel, choosing to shoot a different diameter or length of shaft, etc.


    I did a little playing around, and the best you could get for adding foam (buoyancy) would be about one ounce, and that's if you used a plastic (nylon) bolt instead of the stainless one.

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