Without any doubt in my mind, the AR-15 is the rifle of both today and the future for American shooters. The guns are reliable, easy to shoot, easy to maintain and are very easy to modify for even novices. Quite literally, you can build one of these guns from a block of aluminum that has only been partially machined using hand tools. I suspect that this market will continue to grow as more people discover these rifles and current owners decide to spend more time customizing their existing guns.

Blackhawk previously entered the AR accessories market with several items like its Blaze trigger kit. For 2017, the company is expanding its line of AR products to include a new charging handle, pistol grip and stock.

The No Latch charging handle dispenses with the normal latch and uses a leaf spring instead. This allows the latch to be ambidextrous without having to add any additional parts. Also, Blackhawk added a rubber overmold to the handle to increase traction between it and the shooter’s hand or glove. The charging handle remains low profile so as not to interfere with any optics. Overmold pieces will be available in a variety of colors.

Blackhawk’s new pistol grip uses the Knoxx name, but it does not have any of the normal recoil reducing mechanisms that the Knoxx stocks are known for. It has a slightly different palm swell and grip angle than the normal A2-style grips, plus is textured and does not have any finger grooves.

Like the pistol grip, the A-Frame stock uses the Knoxx name but doesn’t use the typical recoil reduction systems. The stock is similar to other M4-ish stocks with an adjustable length of pull, but it includes a fit adjustment screw to eliminate play between the buffer tube and stock. Also, the stock has multiple QD attachment points and a rather thick, honeycomb recoil pad.

At the time I am writing this, prices have not yet been announced on these products.