magpul BAD lever

Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
200
Likes
11
Feedback: 3 / 0 / 0
my search-functioning has revealed nothing-

does anyone have experience with one of these:

http://store.magpul.com/product/96/100

as usual with a magpul product, initially i thought it was stupid, but now see potential value in it. my concern is that it would be easy to accidentally lock your bolt to the rear, given that there is now a giant lever on the left side of the weapon system.
 
high speed low drag!!!! i'm going to order one....

Developed from the operational experience of the Magpul DynamicsSM team, the B.A.D. Lever (Battery Assist Device) is designed to considerably improve the speed and efficiency of the AR15/M16 bolt catch. The B.A.D. Lever quickly addresses reloading and malfunction clearance shortcomings of AR15/M16 platforms by extending a paddle to the right side of the weapon, allowing manipulation of the bolt stop from the fire control/ready position with the right-hand trigger finger.

Made from milspec-anodized aluminum, the B.A.D. Lever attaches to the standard AR15/M16 bolt release without permanent modification to the weapon. Functional for both left and right-handed shooters, the B.A.D. Lever also allows traditional bolt catch manipulation according to the AR15/M16 manual of arms. All mounting hardware included.

NOT! it's not "tactical" so it's for mall ninjas and wannbe's only. if they had a "tactical" model, i'd be all over it... [rolleyes]
 
I rock my mall ninja on, and use the BAD lever on my rifles... It is an EXCELLENT tool if you TRAIN with it. It eventually becomes second nature, and makes locking the bolt to the rear and closing the bolt less than a second to do so. Also it is great being able to keep my primary hand on the rifle, holding it as I would shooting, etc.

There is one HUGE DRAWBACK we have found with using the BAD lever... Like I said before you need to TRAIN with it to be profient with it, that being said.. it then Fudges you up when you operate an AR without the BAD lever. Trust me. LOL. Get a hold of a rifle without the BAD lever installed and go to lock the bolt to the rear.... FAIL.

So if you use an AR for work, or military a lot, you may NOT want this item on your personal rifles, because once you're muscle memory is set using the BAD lever, you may be in a world of hurt when you're using the work rifle and for example, you get a double feed.. I have had this problem personally just handling AR's recently. It sucks.
 
Like others have said, the BAD works well for what it was made to do. Yes it solves problems that many will never really encounter. Again, if you have a duty rifle and you can't run a BAD on it you can form some bad habits.

With proper training will a BAD make your gun mechanics go faster? Quite possibly. However unless you are working it a lot you may not get use to it. I have heard from several end users about having bolt lock issues using a BAD. They have reported that they don't get full bolt lock on an empty mag due to the weight and drag of the bad added to the bolt catch itself.

Another draw back is you have an object inside the trigger well. The BAD takes up a good amount of space in there and if you are a fat fingered person or wear gloves you stand the chance of hitting it. If you are using a MOE or other trigger guard that adds more space it's not quite as bad but can still be an issue from going from trigger finger indexed to Fire.

Personally i don't run one as I am a lefty but I have tried them and found they take some getting use to. it is not for everyone and is cheap enough to justify giving it a go and seeing if it works for you.
 
Mall ninja-ish... [rolleyes] Hmm. I disagree. They're great for clearing malfunctions and for allowing you to keep your trigger finger hand on the grip at all times. If you actually train with it and learn how to use it, it becomes invaluable in a malfunction. I think they're great and run them on my carbines. Another nice feature is they still allow use of the bolt catch if you choose to.
 
I'm with sf3 and Cuda on this one. I am very happy with mine. I have had one on one of my carbines for a few months now and while it did take some getting used to I do like it quite a bit.
 
i'll retract my mall ninja comment.

i just love how these companies market these products as if EVERY SWAT / SPEC OPS "Operator" uses them....

i was deployed and attached to an SFODA-team... other than the beards, all their equipment was pretty much "standard" military issue... slight modifications on SOME stuff, NONE of it was as sexy as this stuff

-that is all. [wink]
 
thanks for the helpful replies! i suppose i'm still on the fence about it.

i think there is very little gear out there that is inherently 'mall ninja'. well, no, i take that back, there is a fair amount, but my point is, why you get something greatly impacts whether or not you're being a mall ninja about it. if you buy it because it looks rad and you figure all the small hats are using it, that sounds mall-ninja to me.
if during everyday use of a weapon system you find something about it that isn't optimal for you, and holy crap this piece of gear makes it better, that's different.



and seriously? 'solution to a non-problem'? is that based on your experience with the equipment? if so, thanks for the input. if not,[rolleyes]
 
My name is Hanwei.... And I am a Magpul Koolaid drinker.

Now that that's out of the way... I use a BAD lever on my carbine. At first I wasn't sure if it was going to be a mall ninja accessory... or if it was actually going to improve the overall ability to manipulate the controls/rifle. After a few months of having it on there... I can say that I agree with those that say the BAD lever DOES improve your ability to clear jams or lock the bolt open without playing twister with your rifle (move stock from shoulder position to hip position, move shooting hand and grasp charging handle, move support hand and depress bolt release, etc etc). With the BAD lever, nothing moves except your support hand to pull the charging handle back. Done.

The BAD lever is certainly not something you NEED... but it's definitely nice to have. If for no other reason than it simplifies (thus, speeds up) how you manipulate your rifle.
 
Never used one. It seems like it could be useful in a malfunction but I could see how the clunkiness could outweigh the good, especially as mentioned if using gloves. If someone was giving one away I'd probably grab it, but not for 30-40 bucks.

Mike
 
I just got one and tried it out for a few minutes. I love being able to lock the bolt back without having to switch hands around. I'll report back once the rest of my parts show up and I get it to the range.
 
Back
Top Bottom