Now before you tune out just because this is a vertical fore grip, I implore you to read a little further. A couple of years ago I reviewed a Grip Pod, but really didn’t do much with it after. It was solidly built and put up with a ton of abuse, but again, it was a vertical fore grip, and I found it just getting in the way, unless I needed a quick and expedient bipod for my rifle during 3-Gun.

During my shoot with Cobalt Kinetics for their reveal of the CARS, I met Steve Azhocar of Mid-Evil Industries (a company based in Southern California also responsible for the Mag Magnet). He had provided a fore grip for use on the full auto variants we were shooting. I didn’t really think much of it at the time since I really didn’t get to play with it–the girls (Bre, Alex, and Kristie) were hogging the rifle with it installed… 🙂

Fast forward to SHOT Show 2016, and Steve ambushed me as I was trolling the lanes looking for interesting things. We chatted for a bit and he handed me one of the 360 Vertical Fore Grips to take home and play with. I ended up getting slammed with life and didn’t get a chance to really run it anywhere and I didn’t feel it would be fair (nor do it justice) to only spend a couple of hours with it at a tedious range practice.

Construction

At it’s heart, yes, it can be used as vertical fore grip. But that is where the similarity ends. It has a pretty unique (at least to me) feature that allows the “operator” (as in user of the rifle; not referencing bearded savants in multicam) to position it in basically ANY angle within a half sphere.

It attaches to the weapon through any of the current mounting options: picatinny, KeyMod, or MLOK (depending on which variant you buy).

Attach it to whatever mounting system you prefer–there are options for each.

You operate it by a simple twist of the lower portion of the grip, swivel it to your preferred orientation and then reverse the twist.

And. And. And. If you continue loosening the lower handle you will find that it is hollow and will hold a variety of things from batteries, to tools, to a spare bolt (I am assuming; I don’t have one to test as I write this but to my highly accurate eyes it looks right).

Observations

Since I was invited to Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun, and I would be shooting on equipment entirely unknown to me, I could run it there. I contacted Russell Phagan and he was kind enough to get a picatinny section (the version of the 360 vertical fore grip I had) installed on the bottom of the KeyMod rail on the rifle I was to be shooting.

Getting instructions from the RO for the stage.  360 VFG preset.

I found the 360 Vertical Fore Grip to be surprisingly intuitive, and because it could literally be positioned to any direction within the confines of a half sphere (maybe a tiny bit more due to the stand off), surprisingly versatile. No tools were needed. And once it was set, it was SET. It got banged around, and bumped into nearly everything, and never once lost its position.

Nice comfortable angle.

I actually got a few comments which are a little too risqué for this group (since we need to keep it “G” rated and all)–it was good natured ribbing, of course, relating to the sanctity of my manhood for running something like it on my loaned rifle at Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun. But then, after I ran a few stages with the 360 Vertical Fore Grip, and it became apparent it had a number of other uses, it started to get some begrudging respect from people in my squad. At the bequest of Glen Stilson I even ran it on one stage 90 degrees perpendicular to the barrel… 🙂

You can even stick it straight out to the side… 🙂

It was really nice because it allowed me to configure the ergonomics for ME. I’ve been trying to get behind the whole “C” grip thing and, honestly, it just doesn’t work well for me. It puts an unnatural bend in my wrist. Holding underneath the barrel is the same way.

Starting with the minigun, transitioning to the Milkor and then moving to the rifle before grabbing the shotgun. Who ever said 3-Gun was just three guns?  The VFG gave a nice stable grip I could tension against.

With the Mid-Evil 360 Vertical Fore Grip I was able to get a very natural position, and one I could adjust with regard to fatigue or stage on the match. For example, I was not running a bipod on my rifle (obviously), but for a couple of the distance stages I was able to orient the 360 Vertical Fore Grip allowing me to load it against a barrier for stability (much like you would load a bipod, or even for pulling tension against).

I used the 360 VFG to lock in and pull against the barrier while shooting targets out to 250m. Probably my fastest stage.

Conclusion

The more I used it, the more uses I found for it. Based on it’s performance at the 3-Gun match, it is going to become a feature on my rifle. It is a well constructed piece of gear. If you are a looking for a versatile way to manage the fore end of your weapon, give this a shot.

You can order one directly from Steve’s website at: https://Mid-Evilindustries.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=25_82.  MSRP: $150.