Are you looking for the lightest possible buttstock for your AR-15 or AR-10 rifile?
If you do not mind using a fixed length buttstock, Gear Head Works offers what seems to be the most lightweight buttstock I could find. And that lightweight buttstock is their “Mod 1 Tailstock“, machined from billet aluminum, it is designed to fit on the end of a completely cylindrical buffer tube or receiver extension (one that does not have a “boss” – the part that protrudes along the bottom length of the tube, containing stop positions for the buttstock adjustment).
Who is Gear Head Works?
Gear Head Works, founded in 2013, brings to the market, USA made firearms parts and accessories. They are perhaps best known for their Tailhook line of pistol braces.
Gear Head Works Mod 1 Tailstock Features
- QD attachment point
- Sling loop
- Machined from billet aluminum
- Fits buffer tubes & adapters with a diameter from 1.17″ to 1.20″
Gear Head Works Mod 1 Tailstock Specs
Weight: 1.75 oz
Height: 4.75″
Gear Head Works Mod 1 Tailstock Pricing
MSRP is $99.99 and you can buy it directly from Gear Head Works.
General Impressions
The Tailstock is surprisingly compact and lightweight. It is meticulously machined and has a nice black anodized finish. There is ribbing on the rear side that comes in contact with your shoulder.
I attached the Tailstock to the end of a custom length, Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube (no boss), commercial diameter, which itself weighs just 3.25 oz. The Tailstock is held in place at the end of the buffer tube by 2 hex screws.
The combined weight of the Mod 1 Tailstock (1.75 oz) and the Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube (3.25 oz), is just 5 oz!
As far as I could find, this seems to be the lightest separate buttstock and buffer tube combination. However, a carbon fiber, one-piece, buttstock and buffer tube from Smoke Composites would be slightly lighter at 4.37 oz for their open, short pull version.
Does the Gear Head Works Mod 1 Tailstock fit on a Battle Arms Development Sabertube?
The Tailstock will only fit on the pistol tube version of the BAD Sabertube. It will NOT fit on the buffer tube used in the Sabertube Lightweight Stock Kit as the diameter of that tube is 1.25″.
At the Range
I really like its minimalist design of the Tailstock which I find to be comfortable against my shoulder. I actually prefer its ribbed aluminum rear surface to a traditional rubber buttstock pad.
Is the Mod 1 Tailstock Worth It?
Using the Tailstock in my most recent, ultra-lightweight, V Seven, AR-15 rifle build, along with the Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube, saved about 8.6 oz over a Mil-Spec buffer tube and a Magpul MOE SL buttstock. So, for me, it was well worth it to buy the Gear Head Works Mod 1 Tailstock.