Hey guys, I know this is sorta necroposting, and many forums get a little butthurt about it, even if it was within a year the post was made, but o well. This is a good thread and a good read. I figured I'd add in my 2 cents as a first post.
I just picked up a milspec ctr stock and I figured I'd add a few things about it.
The pros.
-No side to side or twisting wobble.
-The lock really clamps it down. Something you don't see on an "oem" m4 collapsable stock.
-Price. Really, 70-100 depending on where you buy it from is no biggy. If you can't afford 100$, maybe you should be looking toward the ak side of things as m4's generally eat money like a big block chevy eats gas.
Cons.
-there is some vertical slop... no matter the stock or buffer. If you have none... you were one of the lucky ones that got a perfect stock (generally it's a stock that wasn't molded quite right that will not wobble due to the imperfections. Kinda seems ironic don't it.
-Price. Not good for those "cheap arses" who want everything for flea market prices.
-Not worth mounting to a "Chinese cheepy" as I call it, buffer tube. I'd only get a "Chinese Cheepy" buffer tube if I got a MOE stock, because well, mating **** with **** makes sense, but mating **** with a Ferrari doesn't.
-NOT as sturdy as a solid stock. Hate to say it but there is no collapsable stock on the market that will be. I'm actually iffy on putting my milspec ctr on my ar in place of the carbine ace skeleton I have on there now. Guess I won't be staking the castle nut after all, as I may just go back to the ACE if I don't like this. The feel and ergonomics of the ctr are much better than the ace, but in a breaching / self defense situation, I doubt the ctr will be worth a damn. Especially since it has a rubber (or if you take the rubber off, then a plastic) butt end to it, which won't hurt or impact like the steel of an ACE will.
Now the pro's and con's are done (add more if you wish, this thread is good!, and it brought me to this site after all), I feel that I should mention that if someone is using this thread for info and they have a solid stock, you NEED to stake your castle nut when installing. Many many sites don't say this, and normally left out because people are too caught up in the coolness of all these new accessories for the ar. By staking I mean putting a post, pin, set screw, nail, or whatever you want btw the receiver end plate and the castle nut. This stops the castle nut from unscrewing, but also makes it a pita to remove the buffer tube if you don't like it. (set screws ftmfw!)
Last off... that ergo stock that was brought up towards the end of this thread. The reason magpul discontinued it was because the stock was literally shearing in half during impact. It was a defective design SO BEWARE. Rather than magpul eat the cost of the R&D and failure of a stock, they sold it to another company that didn't care about the many flaws it had. Sooo in other words your basically buying something magpul noted as an utter failure and pawned off on some other company (reminds me of all the "Lemon" vehicles around which people sell the problem off to someone else).
Anyways, I'm going to enjoy digging through this site and all it has to offer. YA'LL seem like decent folk and I'd be happy to contribute any way I can, especially if it's ar-57 or any of the "off" calibers for the AR platform.
Cheers! .ZeroCool. (bringing back "hackers" one day at a time
))