Just got a call from Army vet Alex Bosco (173rd ABNBGD (SETAS)) about his patent pending AR-15 pistol accessory. Alex describes his invention over at ar15.com (republished here with permission): “I have been developing with the Chief of Prosthetics at local Veterans Hospital a Stabilizing Brace (SB15) for the ar15 pistol, and a few other pistols that are similar in format . . . I am a veteran and after 12 years of service and various deployments I have some mobility issues with my shooting hand and arm and the intent of the SB15 is to assist those with limited strength or mobility while shooting from the one-handed pistol precision stance or one handed supported stance . . .

I think my product also finally gives some extra aesthetic value to the pistol version of the AR15. Attached are some pictures of the prototype that I sent to the ATF for their evaluation and approval. The actual versione will be in Black, Sand and Olive drab and wont have any of the defects you see on the original. The first run should be available by March 1st and the ATF letter [of approval] will be included in every box.

I talked with Alex about the issues of attaching the device. Specifically, how would a one-armed shooter do so without using their teeth? He assures me that vets are capable of doing so with a prosthesis or, if needs be, physical assistance.

If the product doesn’t run afoul of the ATF and helps stabilize the notoriously spray-like AR pistol genre (including the AK alternative) this could be a game changer, generally.

Alex will be testing the product with disabled vets soon and promises to give TTAG the early heads-up on the resulting YouTube video.

 

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22 COMMENTS

  1. From the pictures, I’m pretty sure the ATF will call that thing a buttstock and it would have to be classified as a SBR, right?

    • It appears to be made out of some foam sort of substance, and so would provide little to no support in parallel with the bore, which is what buttstocks primarily do. It’s more of a stabilizer type of thing.

      I’m thankful I don’t have the need for something like this, but it looks neat, and I’m a fan of anything that reliably increases accessibility, especially to people who lost limbs either (a) protecting my ass or (b) doing things I wouldn’t want to do.

      I hope it gets approval.

    • I don’t see how the device would enable the shooter to shoulder mount the firearm. I think he may get the OK.

    • Yup. And we know that how a device looks determines its classification.

      All kidding aside, the ATF guidelines for defining what constitutes a shoulder stock is that it be “intended to be fired from the shoulder.” This isn’t, and therefore cannot be–per the BAFTE guidelines–defined as a shoulder stock.

      The NFA branch of the ATF has a decidely different reputation than the rest of the ATF, and I expect their technician will make the appropriate determination as to the intended use and functionality of this device.

  4. Looks to me like it is good to go like it is. Don’t see how it could be classified as a buttstock as it has no set or solid pad(ding) for the shoulder and no way to securely mount one.
    But we all know the ATF is it’s own little entity.
    Kudos to you Alex. I truly hope it get’s the go ahead. If it does please let us know how much they are.
    You are definitely a good man!!!

  5. The close up looks like a big pancake. Now Im hungry.

    Interesting concept though. I have never shot an AR Pistol so Im not sure how nessescarry it is. It wont be long before we have to pay $200 to Uncle Sam before buying one.

  7. On ar.com he does say it is a prototype so the actual product shouldnt have that panckae look. Personally I’d buy it because it makes the gun look cool and I wouldnt have to pay that silly tax stamp. If it actually helps me shoot, then better still! I’m wondering how much it would cost and if there would be different styles? Kudos to this guy for thinking out of the box!

  8. I hope this works for Vets who need it and he gets ATF approval.
    Kinda brought a tear to my eye, and I hope if Alex is a Southerner he won’t take offense, but “Thank God for good ol’ Yankee Ingenuity!” Glad to see it’s alive and well. Looking forward to hearing any follow-up on this device.

    • I believe you’ve misunderstood how this works. He’s submitted it to the ATF’s um… Research Division (?) for approval. (I don’t know if that’s their actual name.) In any case, if they say it’s OK, they issue a letter saying so, and that is your coverage against said ATF agent.

  12. I dunno, that thing just looks silly…

    I would not buy one even if it does get approved. If its something that would help you if you have some sort of disability that doesn’t allow you to hold the AR with 2 hands, go for it.

    IMO an AR pistol is too heavy to fire one-handed to begin with, especially if you already have some sort of issue that makes you shoot one handed.

  13. I dont think it looks silly at all…the “problem” may be that it looks like a stock…and in reality I think anyone that buys one is going to buy it for that reason. I dont know how the ATF is going to accept it, but if they do I can tell you that anyone who owns an AR pistol will buy it…it’ll save them the $200 tax stamp and all the bs related to it….as long as it doesn’t cost anything like that SSAR15 i’ll totally buy two!!!

  14. An AR15 Pistol – what is it good for????

    I have watched videos of them in operation, and even with the assertion that they are “tactical” or have uses, what is the purpose of one other than a fun range toy?

    I did hear that it is the cheap man’s SBR without the paperwork, or as close as you can get to it.

  15. Yeah…and we all know that we buy guns only because of there “usefulness”!! If that we’re the case my gun safe would have a lot more room. I won’t bore people by schooling you in the purposes of a short barreled ar platform because I think most people already know this info. What I will say is that for someone like me who owns several of these pistol variants, the product is fantastic and it’s one of the newest ideas I’ve seen lately. If it helps some of these vets hold the gun and fire better more power to him. Frankly I think it would help anyone shoot better, but I’ll have to try it and see. Has anyone seen any videos yet???

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