With the ATF’s pistol brace rule being vacated by the Federal District Court in June, it’s looking like pistol braces are here to stay. It’s a good thing too because I’ve been working with the Strike Industries Dual Fold Stabilizer brace, and I’m kind of partial to keeping it. I first saw these at the SHOT Show in January and have had one for a couple of months now to mess with. Let’s take a look and see what I found out.

The Dual Fold Stabilizer Brace

Strike Industries makes the Dual Fold in both a stock and stabilizing brace configuration. I had the brace version to work with along with the adjustable Cheek Riser. The package contained the Dual Fold assembly with the Stabilizer Brace already installed, a Torx tool and a set of rubber pads to adjust the brace tension when opened. The Cheek Rest came separately with the appropriate mounting hardware. The brace assembly itself is modular, and I could swap out the brace end for a stock if I decided to SBR my pistol later. Or you can buy it as a fully assembled stock assembly.

The Dual Fold attaches to a 1913 Picatinny end plate, and will fit any pistol that has such attached already, or will mount to an AR lower with an adapter in place. Keep in mind this is only going to work on an AR platform if you have an upper that doesn’t need a buffer system. Strike Industries sells such an adapter, and I actually already had one installed on the Solo 300 pistol that I was planning on using with the Dual Fold Brace.

The big thing that sets the Dual Fold apart from other folding braces is that it can fold to either side of the pistol without modification. The brace has two buttons on the top of the mount and you depress either the right or left one depending on which side of the pistol you want to fold the brace on. So you can switch back and forth every time you fold the brace if you want, too.

The Dual Fold has a steel hinge assembly and an aluminum strut. The brace itself is polymer, and it ha a single QD attachment point on the rear. The arm of the brace has a 3-degree downward tilt to help clear the ejection port of most pistols when folded along the right side. The weight of the brace assembly is just 10 ounces.

Installation

If you’re pistol already has a Picatinny mount installed assembly is as easy as sliding the hinge portion of the brace in place and tightening down the two Torx screws with the provided wrench. If you have the cheek rest it can either be installed before, or after, the brace is installed on the pistol. It slides on to the brace arm and is attached with two hand tightened screws. It’s adjustable for height and cant. I mounted my brace low on my Picatinny mount to allow for a low mounted optic, and set up the cheek rest so that it was comfortable while looking through the Swampfox Liberator dot sight on my pistol. The entire process took under five minutes. Strike Industries has a quick video that shows you how to install and adjust it too.

Use and Observations

The Dual Fold Brace was comfortable to use on my Solo 300 and didn’t add any undue weight or bulk. If you aren’t familiar with the Solo 300, it’s a straight pull, manually operated pistol platform. It sues a shopped bolt carrier group and has a left side straight pull bolt. It mounts on any standard AR lower and is compatible with standard AR parts. I got my upper as a complete assembly with a six-inch .300 Blackout barrel. I added a handguard and flash hider, and mounted it on a spare PSA lower that I had. When firing the .300 without a brace, recoil is actually a little spicy, so I added a Hogue rubber grip.

Having the stabilizing brace on the Solo 300 definitely helps with accuracy whether its just using it as a third point of contact from your forearm, or by ringing it up to eye level and using the cheek rest. Of course the occasional, and incidental shouldering of the brace, that ATF has said is okay works, too.

When it comes to folding the brace, you depress the button on the opposite side from where you want to fold it. For example, if you want the brace to fold to the left, depress the right hand button. The brace will then lock in the closed position.

To open it again just lift up on the brace and hinge it to the open position. If you need to remove the brace without detaching the hinge portion simply press in both buttons at the same time and pull the brace to the rear.

With the brace folded, my Solo 300 is an extremely compact package at just under 17 inches length. I can fold it in either direction although I found with it folded to the left I can’t work the straight pull bolt. This wouldn’t be an issue with a rear-charging, semi-auto platform or a right-side charging handle, but it could possibly interfere with a left-side charging handle. No problem though. Since this is a Dual Fold, just swing the brace around to the other side. This worked much better for my Solo, and I could operate the straight pull bolt freely with the brace closed and could fire the pistol in that position.

I did notice though that it does impede the ejection port door cover from opening when folded it though. So, if I want to fire the Solo with the brace in the closed position, I need to make sure the ejection port door is already open and the brace is folded to the right side. Pretty simple, it just took a few minutes of manipulating the pistol with the brace to see what configuration worked best.

A Nice Setup

The Strike Industries Dual Fold Stabilizing Brace with the optional cheek rest is a nice setup for bufferless pistols. It’s solidly built and works well without adding undue weight or bulk to your pistol. Having the option to easily swap back and forth between which side you fold the brace may not always be necessary, but it’s a nice option. It’s nice too that you can use it with any any pistol system, regardless of whether it requires a right- or left-hand specific folding brace.

I also like the modular aspect of it in that you can start with a brace, and then if you decide to SBR your pistol later you don’t have to buy a whole new system, you just need to pick up a stock end piece.

The Dual Fold Stabilizer Brace as tested has an MSRP of $198, with the optional cheek rest being another $32. If you do go the SBR route later, the stock end is also only $32. Those prices are very competitive with other folding braces on the market that don’t have the same degree of modularity that the Dual Fold does.

For more information check out Strike Industries.

Strike Industries Dual Fold Stabilizer Brace Specifications:

OVERALL LENGTH:[Stabilizer] adds 9.24 in.
FOLDED OVERALL LENGTH: Adapter adds 1.02 in.  to overall weapon length in folded position
FULLY ASSEMBLED w/ STABILIZER:
LENGTH: 9.44 in.
WIDTH: 2.09 in.
HEIGHT: 5.59 in.
WEIGHT: 9.60 oz.

Dual Fold Compatibility:

-Rear-facing 1913 Picatinny rails
-Strike AR Picatinny Stock Adapter -B&T APC9/45, APC223/300, GHM
-Brownells BRN-180 lower receiver
-CZ Bren 2
-CZ Scorpion EVO pistol w/ SI Stock Adapter Back Plate
-Galil ACE
-Ruger PC Charger
-SIG SAUER MCX/MPX

 

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