The AR-15 isn’t just popular because it’s a good rifle. It’s popular because it’s so modular. You can change out just about any component on your AR, including the barrel, the stok, the accessories, and the grip. This last part is what we’re going to be looking at today.
In our search for the best AR-15 grips, we’ve tried to choose the models that are most popular, which means we’ll mostly be looking at Magpul and Hogue grips. This isn’t to say that other companies can’t make a good AR pistol grip. There are plenty of them out there.
It’s just that there aren’t really that many differences in terms of design, and we’ve tried to stick with parts that are reliable and durable. And it’s hard to go wrong with the most famous brands in the business.
So what’s the best AR-15 pistol grip for you? Read on, and see what we’ve come up with.
10 Best AR-15 Grips
The Magpul MOE K2+ has a standard angle, and a fat, textured grip.
Key features
- Rubberized grip
- Large beavertail backstrap
- Standard angle
- Includes mounting screw
- Available in 4 colors
The Magpul AR-15 MOE K2+ has the same shallow angle as a stock AR-15 grip. However, it’s fatter than a factory grip. The backstrap is wide, with a beavertail that extends far over your thumb, accommodating even the biggest hands. It comes with a mounting screw and does not require a washer.
The finish on this grip is a textured rubber. It provides enough grip to keep your hand from slipping, so you won’t have any trouble using the MOE K2+ in the rain. That said, the rubber is a bit thin. It’s designed for texture only, and you’re not going to get any recoil absorption out of it.
The MOE K2+ is available in four colors: Black, Gray, Flat Dark Earth, and O.D. Green. It’s designed to accept Magpul storage cores, which allow you to store gun oil, batteries, an extra bolt and firing pin, or other accessories.
Pros
- Easy-to-hold texture
- Accepts Magpul storage cores
- Sized for big hands
Cons
- Rubber coating is thin
This AR 15 grip is a great choice if you have big hands.
2. MOE+
The Magpul AR-15 MOE+ sits at a standard angle and can be upgraded with storage cores.
Key features
- Textured rubber finish
- Standard angle
- Standard size
- Includes mounting screw
- Available in 4 colors
The Magpul AR-15 MOE+ is a standard size pistol grip that’s the right thickness for an average sized hand. It has a relatively short backstrap, and a slim forward strap with an ergonomic cutout for your index finger. It ships with a mounting screw and doesn’t require a washer for installation.
This grip has the same rubber finish as the K2+. It’s designed to provide texture and improve your dexterity, not to absorb recoil. That’s not to say that the MOE+ is as hard as a rock. It’s made of polymer, so it’s fairly forgiving. But it’s not as soft as some other pistol grips.
The MOE+ is available in four colors: Black, Grey, Dark Earth, and O.D. Green. Like the K2+, it’s designed to accept Magpul grip cores. These allow you to carry small accessories inside your pistol grip.
Pros
- Accepts Magpul grip cores
- Comfortable and easy to hold
Cons
- Rubber is not very thick
This is Magpul’s standard AR, upgraded with a textured finish.
3. Hogue Pistol
The Hogue AR-15 Pistol is a standard angle grip with good recoil absorption.
Key features
- Soft rubber grip
- Standard angle
- Standard size
- Available in 4 colors
The Hogue AR-15 Pistol Grip is engineered with the same angle as a factory AR grip. It’s also a standard size. However, there are some key differences that make it both more comfortable and easier to shoot with.
To begin with, it has an ergonomic shape, with indents for each of your fingers. But the real attraction of the Hogue is its thick, soft padding. This makes a serious impact on recoil reduction. You’ll notice your palm doesn’t hurt after a long afternoon shooting paper.
The Hogue’s downside is installation. It’s not complicated, but the grip doesn’t ship with mounting hardware. You’ll need to re-use your existing mounting screw, and you’ll almost certainly have to buy a new washer for a fresh, clean fit.
This grip is available in four colors: Black, Tan, Ghillie Tan, and Pink. It’s well sized for most shooters, although people with larger hands may prefer Hogue’s beavertail grip.
Pros
- Comfortable
- Ergonomic
- Good recoil absorption
Cons
- Does not include mounting hardware
This is similar to a factory AR pistol grip, but with a much softer touch.
4. Bravo Company
The Bravo Company has a beavertail and a vertical angle.
Key features
- Textured polymer grip
- Vertical angle
- Standard size
- Includes mounting hardware
- Available in 2 colors
The Bravo Company AR-15 MOD-3 Gunfighter Grip is designed with shorter ARs in mind. It has a steep, near-vertical angle, which gives you better recoil control, although it makes your barrel feel heavier, which is why it’s a better choice the shorter your barrel is.
This grip is well designed for most hand sizes. It’s slim, so smaller people will be able to grip it. However, it’s also long, with a beavertail to protect a large thumb. The finish itself leaves a lot to be desired. It’s just bare polymer, with some cross-hatching to improve traction.
The MOD-3 is available in two colors: Black, and Flat Dark Earth. It ships with a mounting screw and a washer. It also includes two trigger guard inserts to close the gap between the forward strap and your rifle’s trigger guard.
Pros
- Good recoil control on shorter ARs
- Good fit for most hand sizes
Cons
- Hard finish
This is a well-engineered polymer grip for short-barreled AR-15s.
5. MOE SL
The Magpul MOE SL is aggressive and easy to mount.
Key features
- Textured rubber finish
- Vertical angle
- Slim profile
- Includes mounting screw
- Available in 5 colors
The Magpul AR-15 MOE SL is a smaller, more aggressive take on the MOE+. The “SL” stands for Slim Line, which means this grip is designed for people with smaller hands.
It sits at a straighter angle than a factory AR grip and is a good choice for ARs with shorter barrels. The MOE SL comes with a mounting screw and is designed to install without the need for a washer.
This grip has a textured rubber finish. Like the rest of Magpul’s line, don’t confuse this for a recoil absorbing finish. It’s not thick enough. It does make the grip easy to hold, though.
The MOE SL is available in five colors: Black, Gray, Sand, Dark Earth, and O.D. Green. It’s designed to accept Magpul grip cores. These are small storage compartments for batteries and other supplies.
Pros
- Accepts Magpul grip cores
- Sized for smaller hands
- Comfortable, textured finish
Cons
- Thin rubber finish
This is an ideal pistol grip for people with small hands.
6. Hogue Beavertail
The Hogue Overmolded Beavertail has an ergonomic design for large hands.
Key features
- Soft rubber grip
- Standard angled
- Wide profile
- Available in 2 colors
The Hogue AR-15 Overmolded Beavertail Grip mounts at the same angle as a factory AR pistol grip. It’s built for people with larger hands, with a wide profile and a generous beavertail to protect your thumb.
Hogue is best known for their comfortable, ergonomic grips, and the Overmolded Beavertail Grip is no exception. The finger cutaways are well spaced and generously sized. The entire grip is coated with a thick, tacky rubber that provides plenty of dexterity and recoil absorption.
What Hogue gives you in superior comfort, they take away in ease of installation. This grip does not include any sort of mounting hardware, so you’ll need to be careful not to strip your mounting screw when you remove it. You’ll also want to replace the washer unless it’s totally pristine.
This grip is available in two colors: Black and Desert Tan.
Pros
- Comfortable
- Ergonomic
- Engineered for larger hands
- Good recoil absorption
Cons
- Mounting hardware not included
This is a well designed pistol grip with good recoil absorption.
7. MIAD
The Magpul MIAD is both modular and easy to install
Key features
- Rubberized grip
- Standard angle
- Modular design
- Comes with mounting screw
- Available in 4 colors
The Magpul AR-15 MIAD is an ideal pistol grip if you want to leave your options open. This grip sits at a standard factory angle and mounts with a single screw. No washer is required. The rubberized finish is textured for an easy grip, but is designed for dexterity only — it’s not thick enough to offer recoil resistance.
The MIAD is a modular system. It includes a basic, flat forward strap, as well as an ergonomic forward strap with a finger cutout. It also has three backstraps: a flat backstrap, one with a small beavertail, and one with a large, fat beavertail that will cushion even the largest of thumbs.
This grip is available in four colors: Black, Gray, Flat Dark Earth, and O.D. Green. It accepts Magpul storage grip cores and comes with one preinstalled. This core includes a small bottle of gun oil.
Pros
- Fits just about any hand
- Comfortable and easy to grip
- Accepts Magpul grip cores
- Includes oil grip core and gun oil
Cons
- A little pricey
- Limited recoil resistance
This pistol grip is a good choice if you’re not sure what you want, or if your needs change from day to day.
8. Brownells
The Brownells Retro will make your AR-15 look like a classic M16A1.
Key features
- Textured polymer grip
- Shallow angle
- Standard size
- Includes mounting hardware
- Available in 3 colors
At first, the Brownells Ar-15 Retro Pistol Grip Kit looks like a gimmick. A retro M16A1 pistol grip might look cool, but that doesn’t mean it’s any good.
Except it is. This is a quality grip, with cross-hatching in the polymer to make it easy to hold, and a much steeper angle than a standard AR grip, making it much more like a hunting rifle.
The Retro Pistol Grip Kit is a great choice if you have a longer-barrelled AR for hunting. It gives you finer control when lining up a long-range shot, although it feels awkward when you’re staring down the iron sights on a short-barreled ARm.
This pistol grip comes with all the hardware you’ll need to mount it. It comes in three different colors, which are designed for different types of rifle. The one you’ll want is probably the black, which is standard for all AR-15s, and all M16A1 and other M16s made after 1963. Check the product details for information on the other two colors, which are for vintage rifles.
Pros
- Replica M16A1 grips
- Good for long-barrelled ARs
Cons
- Poor choice for short-barrelled ARs
This is a solid choice if you use your AR for hunting .
9. Picatinny
The Magpul Picatinny Rail Vertical is a vertical polymer grip for your rifle’s forend.
Key features
- Mounts on a Picatinny rail
- Polymer construction
- Vertical forward grip
- Available in 4 colors
The Magpul Picatinny Rail Vertical Grip isn’t a pistol grip, and that’s okay. Maybe after looking at all of these reviews, you haven’t seen anything better than the pistol grip you already have.
If recoil control or comfort is still a major concern, you might consider adding a forend grip instead. This will help you improve stability, and you can keep the pistol grip you already like.
This forend grip mounts on any Picatinny rail. It’s molded from polymer, so it’s lightweight and durable, and it’s also surprisingly ergonomic, with a curve at the top for your thumb and forefinger. The only thing we didn’t like was the open end, which can pick up dirt and leaves if you’re out in the woods.
This grip is available in four colors: Black, Gray, Dark Earth, and O.D. Green.
Pros
- Easy to attach
- Helps control recoil
- Ergonomic design
Cons
- Open end can retain debris
This rail-mounted grip can take some of the strain off your trigger hand.
10. Hogue Groover
The Hogue Groover With Mil-Spec Buttstock is an ergonomic upgrade to both your grip and your buttstock.
Key features
- Rubber grip and collapsible buttstock
- Standard size
- Standard angle
- Available in 2 colors
The Hogue AR-15 Groover Grip With Mil-Spec Buttstock is an upgrade kit for your gun’s entire stock. As such, it’s a little bit pricier than the other grips we’ve looked at, but there’s a lot in this package.
To begin with, you get Hogue’s Groover Grip, which is a standard size, factory angle pistol grip with Hogue’s thick rubber padding. It goes a long way to reducing recoil while making your AR more comfortable to hold. It’s also ergonomic, with grooves for each of your fingers.
The buttstock is also well designed. Its frame is engineered from durable polymer, with rubber pads to protect your cheek and armpit. It extends and collapses easily, with the aid of a simple lever grip in the top of the frame.
This kit is available in 2 colors: Black and Flat Dark Earth.
Pros
- Sized well for average and large hands
- Durable polymer buttstock
- Comfortable and ergonomic
- Good recoil absorption
Cons
- Pricey
- Mounting hardware not included
This is a quality combination kit for upgrading your entire stock.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, these are all good quality grips. Which one of them is truly the best AR grip is going to come down to your personal preferences. There are three factors you’re going to want to look at.
- Angle — Do you want your grip to have a slight angle, like a stock AR grip? Or do you want it straight up and down, or at a more aggressive angle?
- Thickness and contours — How thick you want your grip is going to depend on how big your hand is. Whether you want a plain or ergonomic grip is more a matter of preference.
- Material and texture — You’ll have to decide whether you prefer a recoil-resistant rubberized grip or a more stable hard grip.
No matter what you end up choosing, we hope you found our reviews helpful. The more you know, the better decision you’ll make.
Check out all the other AR-15 articles put together by our expert team here at https://thegunsafes.net/;
The Review
Best AR15 Grips
Read through our reviews of the best AR15 grips on the market today.
Review Breakdown
- Best AR15 Grips
- MOE+
- Hogue Pistol
- Bravo Company
- MOE SL
- Hogue Beavertail
- MIAD
- Brownells
- Picatinny
- Hogue Groover
Best AR15 Grips DEALS
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