How BAD are you?

  Originallyposted:

 Grey Group Training Blog, "How Bad Are You?"

 

How BAD are you?

I love kit, I love toys, and I love things to throw on my M4/AR15. When MagPul came out with the B.A.D Lever I could not wait to get one and try it out. Critics said it was another piece of kit to get in the way on a rifle and was borderline dangerous because you had to put your finger near the trigger to activate it.  I took the plunge and installed it on my 3-Gun rifle looking for an advantage and found it.

 The MagPul “Battery Assist Device” Lever clamps onto the bolt release with a simple screw with a provided hex wrench requiring no permanent modification to the weapon. For a right handed shooter you push up on it while you pull back the charging handle and the bolt carrier will lock to the rear.

 Insert a loaded magazine and push the lever down and it drops the bolt on a loaded magazine.  The ‘unfair advantage’ comes when you have to perform an emergency reload with an empty rifle and need to get a fresh magazine in the weapon. Instead of manipulating the small bolt release paddle with your support hand and/or pull the charging handle to release the bolt you just move your trigger finger down toward the trigger and the lever releases the bolt.  The rifle is up and back in the fight in a split second.  It may not sound like a giant advantage, but when you start adding other issues or accessories to a rifle like a ‘Redi-Mag’ it is worth its weight in gold.

Critics of the B.A.D. Lever have said that manipulating an accessory that close to the trigger may lead to a negligent discharge.  Key rule is that whenever one adds any new piece of kit to train with it on a flat range first. In this case the difference between curling the finger around the trigger and pushing down are two different motions. With the BAD Lever the finger is moving down, not pulling. If a shooter practices reloading and locking the bolt to the rear it greatly mitigates any chance of having a negligent discharge.

Putting the Bad lever to the test I have been running it on two different 3-Gun rifles this past year at monthly matches. The good news is that I have not had any negligent discharges and the hand full of times I had to reload in a hurry it worked well. The main benefit I have noticed is the ability to lock   the bolt to the rear at the end of a stage when I need to ‘show-clear’ and demonstrate to the safety officer that my weapon is unloaded. Traditionally in competition shooting, reloading from a bolt open or slide locked to the rear position adds time to a run.  In this case the split second it requires to release the bolt on a new magazine for me went from a moment of panic to a moment of confidence like in this clip at :33 seconds: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151063097023094&set=vb.167919879956101&type=2

The other good part is that MagPul has finally been able to produce the BAD levers in quantity so they are not as rare to find anymore. If you are in the store ask to see one of the Bad Levers mounted on a rifle and manipulate it for a minute and decide if you want an ‘Unfair Advantage.’