In order to improve rapid-fire controllability of Glock pistols in sport shooting and tactical applications, Wilhelm Bubits engineered and is now launching the ArmBrace Type G1 – a dedicated pistol stock, a category of accessories that has so far been met with mixed reactions by shooters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

And geography is fundamental when it comes to Wilhelm Bubits' ArmBrace. For once, and just like the vast majority of pistol stocks, the ArmBrace Type G1 is likely heading towards a better reception in Europe than in the United States. And there is a very precise reason for it.

In most European Countries, the use of a stock or a pistol-carbine conversion kit (think KPOS or RONI) on a handgun is not forbidden, nor restricted, since those accessories do not alter the technical and mechanical features of the handgun; and their purchase and ownership are, in most cases, not regulated by the law.

In the United States, as per the provisions of the 1932 National Firearms Act, no firearm with a rifled barrel shorter than 16 inches (and this includes pistols!) can be fitted with a stock of any kind unless it's registered as an SBR, or a "Short Barrel Rifle".
Registration of an SBR is basically a federal licensing procedure, which requires the applicant to pay for a tax stamp, fill a certain amount of paperwork, and wait for months until everything is sorted out by the "powers that be". There's a lot of red tape to go through, right there.

The ArmBrace Type G1 pistol stock is manufactured out of black high-strenght polymer that's highly tensile and won't break even when submitted to high levels of torsions, quickly returning to its original form; this of course helps it to withstand and dissipate recoil energies.
The ArmBrace is 40,6 cm / 16" long and weighs barely 228 grams, and clips to the rear of the pistol grip; legally speaking again – and this time in terms of European laws – it does not alter nor does it intervene in any way, shape or form on the mechanics and technical features of the firearm, so it can not be considered a restricted item or regulated gun component.

Among the features of the Bubits ArmBrace are three sling loops and a MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail located under the trip area that allows the installation of a tactical flashlight – which would be perfectly in axis with the grip of the gun, its beam not impaired by the position of the shooter's hands.

Just like a fixed stock, the Bubits ArmBrace reduces felt recoil and helps the shooter to dominate muzzle climb, but... there is a problem: when mounted on the pistol in fact, the Bubits ArmBrace brings the rear sight too near to the aiming eye, making it quite impossible to aim.

After some shooting, our conclusion has been that the Bubits ArmBrace could work fine only with tactical optical rear sights mounted on the pistol, like the Meprolight Micro RDS reflex sight, for example.

The ArmBrace can be carried on a duty belt and is ergonomically shaped to be easily swung when not in use, dubbing as a blunt self-defense instrument and possibly replacing the truncheon among some security personnel.

The Bubits ArmBrace is compatible with Glock 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 31, 32, 34 and 35 pistols, of all generations; Gen.4 Glock pistol users will have to do without an enhanced grip backstrap to install it, though. But then again, it provides superior stability and increased accuracy at a distance and in rapid fire, something that first responders sorely miss today – and given how terrorists attacked Europe in the past year or so using shoulder-fired, full-automatic weaponry, that's a gap that needs to be filled right away.

The Bubits ArmBrace Type G1 is already on sale online, at a price around 80 euro. For further information about the Bubits ArmBrace please refer to the official www.bubits.at website.