Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/693549
The Pistol Grip Once the stock adapter is installed, one can restore the pistol grip to its usual position. Of course – not the original brown-plastic monstrosity, but the Tdi UPG: a very interesting design with exchangeable back- and front-straps, enabling to tailor the cir- cumference of the grip to one's hand. The whole grip is ergonomically shaped, rubber over-mold- ed, with distinctive finger grooves. Its front notch blends in with the trigger guard to additionally lock the entire grip into place – reducing the lateral movement and forces trying to wrench it sideways. The grip angle is comfortable and quite natural, so operating the safety causes no discomfort or trou- ble. There is a tiny stowage space in the bottom of the grip as well – even though fitting there anything but a few bundled banknotes or a small string-bag of diamonds might be a serious challenge. The Handguards Now that we dumped most relics of the Soviet era, the time has come for the handguards. The classic plywood furniture was replaced with a set of Tdi LHV-47: a set of two hard-plastic molded handguards. The assembly is brick-simple – just take the original furniture off and replace them with LHVs using the original latches and supports. The only problem spot that might need some brute force is the stripping of the upper hand- guard / gas tube assembly. You need to clamp the gas tube in a vise or similar implement, and rotate the wooden part 180 degrees to clear the U-shaped channels in the gas tube, then screw back the plastic replacement from the LHV-47 set. The new handguards have Picatinny rails all along the top of the upper and for 3/4 of the bottom of the lower handguard. Then, almost as an after- thought, there are two side rails as well, but very short, with only one slot each. With these four rails, one can (theoretically) configure the rifle any way one wants: put sights: red dots, BUIS, optics, NV, you-name-it, on top, add tac-lights or lasers on the sides, then put foregrip or even bipod underneath. The LVH-47 handguards seem to be quite simple, FIREARMS