248 Shooter Michigan Gun News, Reviews and Politics
Related Articles
For that price you will get your very own MBA! Modular Buttstock Assembly…. O.K. I laughed, and sometimes that’s all it takes is a little childish humor….
Now on to the good stuff! So this one was handed to me by 248Shooter and he asked me to really look at this one good. My background as an F-Class & Benchrest shooter puts this right in my wheelhouse. So he handed it to me and I looked it over top to bottom and just kind of laughed, another stock! YAY…. Well I finally got it installed on a rifle just a simple build really; I used the Palmetto State Armory lower that it was attached to when he delivered the LUTH-AR stock to me. I snatched an 18″ bull barrel 5.56 upper off of one of my rifles and headed to the range. When I got to the range I was able to adjust the stock quite easily; the designer of the stock Randy Luth really put some thought into the end user and how they were going to interface with the stock. Randy founded DPMS and Panther Arms and has over 31 years of experience so it is no surprise that when he went to work on designing a revolutionary stock he nailed it.
Over the years of teaching others how to shoot long range I have had the opportunity to shoot a lot of rifles and every weapons platform is just a little different for each person, so being able to make the adjustments to your rifle that give you the optimal relaxed and repeatable position is EXTREMELY important.
The upper that I was using for this test is a proven performer consistently yielding groups that resemble a 3 leaf clover on five shot groups, the best you can hope for with a thrown together rifle using a semi auto action!
The build quality on this stock is top notch. I could not find any sharp edges or flashing to speak of (this can be a problem when dealing with parts made of composites”) but the QC at LUTH-AR is on top of it.
Now we have the Luth-AR MBA-1 mounted and ready to shoot, I have my favorite pet load Detroit Bullet Works 75 Grain BTHP; the ammo is just plain accurate and another item I can take out of the equation while testing. So we have our rifle, our ammo, and we have our target hung…. Let’s shoot!
The stock is comfortable, but does take a little getting use to and it helps if you already know how you like things adjusted to create the sight picture you are looking for. However, the guys over at LUTH-AR have made the adjustments very intuitive and easy to do. With a few tweaks to the LOP (Length of Pull) and the cheek rest I was able to dial this thing right in and yield the groups I was looking for. As you can see from the photo below this thing does not fail to deliver!
Pros
- Cost – this is a very reasonable price for what you get
- Durability and Construction Quality
- The weight of this stock it is extremely light
- Highly customizable
Cons
- There are a lot of adjustments on this thing, and it may be easy for someone to get frustrated with it
- As Henry Ford said “you can have it any color you want so long as it is black”! Well in today’s market people like options
Suggestions
- Add a few color options even if it is just OD Green & Flat Dark Earth
- A video on the website that gives a lesson on fitting and proper alignment
Here are the product specs…..
Product Description
- Fully adjustable: extra 1″ height on cheek rest, additional 1 1/16″ length of pull with extended length buttplate
- Approximately half the weight of competitors’ adjustable stocks The “MBA” weighs just 1.26 lbs.
- Easy to replace and quick to install
- Fits all .223 and most .308 AR style rifles
- Super Strong Glass Filled Nylon
Features
- Modular buttstock assembly for the AR
- Interchangeable with standard A1 or A2 buttstocks or any aftermarket buttstock with overall length of approximately 10.5″
- Length: 10 3/8″ ( 11.5″ extended )
- Sling swivels not included
- Not interchangeable with carbine rifles with telescoping assemblies.
- Fully Ambidextrous and can be comfortably used shooting off either shoulder (Cheek piece pre-installed for right handed shooters but can be installed on either side for right or left hand shooters)
Final Thoughts (Editor Note)
Most of you will know this already but be aware this requires the use of an A2 buffer tube. The more standard M4 collapsible stock buffer tubes will not work and need to be replaced.
I was an idiot when I first ordered this and had to wait to receive an A2 style buffer and spring to complete the lower used for testing.
The MBA-1 beats the competition in all categories:
- Weight,
- Adjustability
- Price.
This stock is not a battle stock and I would never put it on a PDW style weapon. The MBA-1 however is just about the best benchrest stock you can find, as well as an incredible varmint stock. My issue does not come from a fear the stock would stand up it is purely a form vs function issue. Like trying to make the horsepower in a Lambo to tow a boat its just not a good use.
If you plink, long range shoot, varmint hunt or just shoot in prone a lot this stock is a screaming deal that will dial into your personal needs.
