AR-15 Stocks

Stocks are one of the easiest parts to upgrade on an AR15, requiring no tools or experience for a quick improvement in ergonomics. You don’t have to spend much money to improve over a standard carbine stock, and with dozens of brands available, you can customize your stock to fit any application.

The only thing you need to know when shopping for a stock is the size of your buffer tube. Most ARs come with carbine-length MIL-SPEC buffer tubes. If you have a rifle-length buffer tube, you’ll only be able to use rifle stocks, and if you have a commercial spec buffer tube, then you’ll want a commercial spec stock.

If you are considering swapping your fixed A2 Stock for an adjustable carbine stock, we cover the pros and cons of this easy upgrade, in our article on How to Remove and AR-15 A2 Stock.

Why is the AR-15 carbine stock such a popular choice?

Carbine stocks are lighter, shorter, and offer much more adjustment than rifle stocks, allowing you to use your AR-15 in a variety of different positions. Most off the shelf AR-15s come with carbine stocks by default, so you can easily swap it out without having to change the buffer tube to a fixed rifle length version. Just pop off the old stock and throw on your brand-new stock.

There are many popular brands for carbine stocks, but our top sellers are Magpul, Mission First Tactical, and B5 Systems.

Magpul stocks use extremely durable polymer material, and they have a ton of different styles and colors to choose from to fit your build no matter your preferred price point. The Magpul MOE SL-S Carbine stock is great for building a versatile AR-15 without sacrificing durability or functionality. It features reinforced locking levers to keep it locked into the correct position on the buffer tube and a tension spring to eliminate any sort of wobble. This Magpul stock features an enhanced cheek weld with water resistant containers built in for storing batteries or other necessary items and even has QD sling swivel slots.

The MFT Minimalist Carbine AR15 stock does just what the name implies. This AR15 carbine stock has all that you need in a stock to eliminate as much weight as possible. At only 5.8 ounces, this carbine stock is still built to withstand heavy use and can even be mortared without fear of breaking. The toe of this stock is angled to roll into your shoulder pocket faster even while wearing gear.

The B5 Systems Precision AR15 Adjustable Stock comes with all the features of a high-end rifle stock like cheek height adjustment and length of pull adjustment all while securely mounting to a 6-position carbine length buffer tube. It’s more expensive than the other options on this list, but the functionality allows for enhanced precision in your marksmanship.

There are way more AR15 carbine stocks to choose from, and we struggled to narrow it down to just our favorites, but we believe that if you choose to go the carbine stock route, these are great starting points for your AR.

What is a fixed stock, and why do people choose to use them over adjustable stocks?

Sometimes, lightweight and compact aren’t what you need for a specific rifle setup. Generally, AR15 rifle stocks offer much more stability and durability at the expense of weight. This is great for those looking to get every bit of accuracy out of their rifle when shooting at long distance.

Where an adjustable stock may have some wobble, a fixed rifle stock is completely rigid, allowing you to position the rifle to your body the exact same way every time you present it. This is tremendously important for competitors and hunters alike.

There are many out of the box fixed stocks on the market today but another common method is to 'fix' or pin a collapsible stock to the buffer tube. You can learn more in our how to fix an AR-15 collapsible stock guide.

Many people choose fixed rifle length stocks is for long range competition shooting. While the standard A2 rifle stock is certainly capable and is even a requirement in certain military competitions, the market has grown significantly and added many features to their designs to meet the demands of serious competition shooters.

The AR15 stock market is enormous, but some stocks stand out among the rest. Here are a few of our favorite fixed stocks:

The Magpul PRS Precision Rifle Stock has all the rock-solid stability that you need to be consistent, and all the adjustability that you need to ensure the rifle is perfectly tailored to your body shape and shooting position. And to top it off, the PRS can be used with both rifle length and carbine length buffer tubes, so you can easily throw it on your carbine with minimal effort.

However, the PRS isn’t the only AR15 fixed stock on the market designed for long range shooting. The Luth AR MBA-1 Modular Buttstock Assembly is popular with competition shooters because it offers a lot of the same adjustable features, but is much lighter, so you can carry it all day. The integrated castle nut and lock ring is a nice touch as well.

If 3-gun competition is the end goal for your rifle, then we recommend the Odin Works Zulu 2.0 Stock. This rifle stock comes with its own rifle length buffer tube already attached, so it will require a little more work to get on your rifle. However, removing the buffer tube is quite easy and you can reuse your castle nut and end plate.

If you are looking for a basic AR15 fixed stock that puts an emphasis on durability and value, we have the Magpul MOE Fixed Rifle Stock. This rifle stock is built around the same design philosophy as the classic A2 rifle stock. It even comes with modern improvements like 4 different QD sling attachment points and a standard sling loop, so carrying your rifle to your favorite hunting spot is less of a chore. The large internal storage compartment is a great spot to carry oil or batteries to make sure your rifle is always operating at maximum performance.

These PDW stock systems are generally come in at a higher price point but for good reason. They are completely all-in-one stock systems with their own proprietary buffer tubes, buffers, and springs to make your rifle as compact as possible. While they will require you to remove your standard buffer tube, it is easy and there are plenty of resources online to help you out.

The Strike Industries PDW Stock is one of the most well-thought-out platforms as the buffer tube is almost half the length of a standard carbine length buffer tube allowing for the minimalist buttpad to collapse the length of pull (the distance from rear of the stock to the trigger) to 7.5 inches. However, what makes this PDW stock special is the rapid deployment system that fully extends the stock at the push of a button.

In some states, your only legal stock option is featureless. These stocks meet minimum state regulations without compromising much on the overall performance of the rifle. Despite their name, featureless stocks can vary in quality and feature set, so if you live in a ban state, you’ll want to shop among our selection of featureless stocks to find the best fit for your needs.

The Hera Arms CQR Rifle Buttstock features a unique design with a built-in thumbhole. The design is similar to the grip found on SMGs like the P90, but it’s scaled up to meet the demands of a full-size AR15. Hera Arms also offers a truly featureless version which plugs the thumbhole to meet state regulations on pistol grips. Since many precision shooters prefer to keep their thumb on the same side as their trigger finger, this stock has minimal impact on your overall precision.

Carbine length buffer tubes are easy to identify when compared to a rifle length buffer tubes. They are shorter and can have between 5 to 7 holes on the bottom to allow your collapsible stock to lock into and set your length of pull. What is slightly more annoying to identify is whether it is Mil-Spec or commercial spec.

The difference between these two specifications is the outer diameter. Mil-Spec buffer tubes feature an outer diameter of 1.14 inches while commercial spec buffer tubes are 1.17 inches in diameter. Luckily almost nobody uses commercial spec anymore, so more than likely, you have a Mil-Spec configuration. However, we do have commercial spec stocks if you are running an old school DPMS, Stag Arms, or Colt rifle and want to upgrade to a modern adjustable stock.

Rifle length buffer tubes are much longer than carbine length, smooth all the way around, and only come in one diameter, so no need to get out your micrometer.

Like stocks and buffer tubes, you need to choose the correct style for your set up. Carbine length buffer weights and springs must be used with carbine buffer tubes and same with rifle length buffers and springs. An easy way to identify which you have is length.

Standard carbine length buffers will be 3.25 inches and about 3 oz. while rifle length buffers will be 5.92 inches and about 5 oz. While there are different weights you can choose from to help tune the recoil of your rifle, a standard weight will do just fine in most builds.

The castle nut and end plate are the components used to affix the buffer tube to your AR-15 lower receiver and are compatible with both carbine length and rifle length buffer tubes.

You can easily reuse the ones currently on your rifle or upgrade to the Primary Weapon Systems Ratchet Lock Castle Nut and End Plate set that ensure it won’t come loose over time and features a QD sling attachment slot.

Sometimes picking every part for a rifle can be annoying, and for that situation we offer complete AR stock kits that come with everything you need, so you know exactly what you are getting and that it will work on your rifle. Kits will include, a buffer, buffer spring, buffer tube, castle nut, end plate, and a stock.