TYPE-A is a premium/high-end AR-15 manufacturer based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company was started back in 2013 by Chris and Brandon, both men with wildly different backgrounds. Brandon was a businessman climbing the corporate ladder who wanted to start selling rifles and outdoor gear. Chris was a massage therapist in Florida who decided to join the Marines and at one point had a side business running guns from Jordan to Iraq. Brandon would meet Chris through one of these gun runs and the two became best friends. Later on, these two men would decide to start their own firearms manufacturing business and that brings us to their company TYPE-A. You can read more about these two here on their website as there are a few interesting notes I have omitted.  

Type A @ TFB:

• TFB Review: Type A CQBR Block II
• TFB Review: TYPE-A EG11 6,000 Round Review
• TFB Review։ Type A’s 10.5 308 AR Pistol – The Shredder of Everything
• Type-A Rifle Co’s New Ambi Billet AR10 Line of Rifles

TYPE-A offers a variety of rifles and a few different calibers. One of the unique aspects of purchasing a rifle from them is that you get to pick a lot of the components that go into it. You start with a base and build up from there with different handguards and muzzle device options. While they are not the first company to offer a service like this, they do it better than most from what I have seen. For my rifle, I opted for a 14.5″ Pro Carbine with a pinned and welded Warcomp wrapped in 50 shades of FDE. The lead time on this rifle was 6 months when I ordered it back in March of 2022. 

The 14.5″ Pro Carbine was purchased by myself and TYPE-A has not been allowed to view this review prior to its publication.

Specs 

 

BARREL

• Caliber: 5.56 NATO or 300BLK
• Length: TYPE-A 14.5″ Lightweight Contour Barrel
• Gas block: 30 Position Adjustable Gas Block – 416R SS Matte Finish
• Material: 416R Stainless Steel
• Gas System: Carbine Length or Pistol
• Twist Rate: 1:7 twist (5.56 NATO) or 1:6 twist (300BLK)
• Finish: Matte Finish
• Thread: 1/2×28 or 5/8×24
• Muzzle Device: ASR Ready Muzzle Brake – 1/2×28 or 5/8×24

UPPER RECEIVER

• Platform: SPR GEN3 Precision Machined 7075-t6 Aluminum Upper Receiver with Extended Feed Ramps
• Charging Handle: TYPE-A Ambi Charging Handle

• BOLT CARRIER GROUP: TYPE-A TITANIUM NITRIDE W/REM POLISH BOLT CARRIER GROUP
• CARRIER:
  • Semi-Auto Bolt Carrier
  • Gas Key (Staked)
  • Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specifications
  • Grade 8 Hardened Fasteners
  • Coating: QPQ
• BOLT ASSEMBLY:
  • Case Hardened, Shot Peened & MPI Tested
  • Extractor (Fully Assembled)
  • Coating: QPQ

LOWER RECEIVER

• Platform: SPR GEN3 Precision Machined 7075-t6 Aluminum Lower Receiver
• Finish: Option
  • Black – MIL-A-8625, Type-III, Class 2
  • Color – Type III Anodizing with Cerakote Ceramic Coatings
• Trigger: TYPE-A PMC 2-Stage Straight Trigger (3.5lb.)
• Extension:Carbine 6-Position Buffer Tube
• End Plate: TYPE-A QD Single Point End Plate (4140 Pre-Hard)
• Fire Selector: TYPE-A Ambi Billet 90°/70° Adjustable Short Throw Selector
• Magazine Release: TYPE-A Extended Billet Mag Release
• Lower Parts: Stainless Steel/Aluminum Detents & Springs

HANDGUARD/RAIL

• Platform: Option
  • TYPE-A SPR/13.5 M-LOK Handguard
  • TYPE-A MK2/13.5 Slim M-LOK Handguard
  • TYPE-A MK/11.875 Quad Rail Handguard

FURNITURE

• Stock: B5 Bravo Stock 
• Grip: B5 P-Grip 

ACCESSORIES (INCLUDED W/RIFLE)

• Magazine: MAGPUL PMAG 30 AR/M Magazine
• Soft Case: 36″ Single Rifle Case

Special Features

One of the special features of this rifle is the fact that aside from a few components, everything on the rifle is made in-house by TYPE-A. Of course, the furniture from B5 Systems is not made by them, but most everything else is and I think that’s a really important aspect of this rifle. Aside from that, I think one of the standout features of this rifle is the titanium nitride coating on the bolt carrier group. You can also get this rifle in any color your heart desires. There are a few base color options that you don’t have to pay anything extra for but if you’re willing to shell out an extra $50, you can get this rifle colored in any way you see fit. I think that’s a really interesting and unique thing that TYPE-A is doing. I had them give my rifle the 50 shades of FDE treatment.

Ergonomics

If you are familiar with the AR-15 platform, then this rifle isn’t really going to have any special ergonomic features that stand out. The rifle does come with a B5 Systems stock and pistol grip and while I know, some people aren’t big fans of these components, I think they work fine on the rifle. The pistil grip and butt stock are also very easy to change if you’re looking for something different. 

The handguard on this rifle is the TYPE-A SPR 13.5-inch Pro Gen 3 M-LOK handguard. This handguard has M-LOK slots and also Picatinny rails at the 3, 6, and  9 o’clock positions on the front and back quarters. When I first started using this handguard, I thought it was all about aesthetics. Having a partial Picatinny, and partial M-LOK handguard seemed kind of like a strange idea to me, and when I first started mounting accessories to the rifle, it did create some issues. For example, when trying to mount a weapon light that has an M-LOK attachment, the front of the Picatinny rail would often get in the way and make it not possible to mount.

But then I came to the realization that I needed to have Picatinny rail mount attachments for anything like a weapon light that was gonna go on the end of the rail and then mounting accessories became much easier.

Overall, this is a good rail and I think it does improve the ergonomics of the rifle. TYPE-A  also makes a few different rail options that you can swap out for if you want only an M-LOK option or only a Picatinny rail mount option. This is nice as it gives you the option for whatever style rail you want and you don’t have to go ahead and ditch whatever comes with the rifle to buy the actual one you actually want. This is one of the things I appreciate about TYPE-A and their rifles is that they’re pretty much built however you want them when it comes to the major components.

The selector switch is ambidextrous and is a bit taller than a traditional selector making it easier to bring this rifle from safe to fire. The T handle on top of the rifle is ambidextrous and oversized making it a breeze to lock the bolt back 

The magazine release button is enlarged and sticks out past the fencing on the lower receiver. At first, I thought this would probably lead to a lot of magazines falling out, but in the end, I can’t say that ever actually happened because of the magazine release button. 

If you want to attach a sling to this rifle, as you should, you’re going to have a couple of built-in QD mounts – one on the stock and then one below the buffer tube and that’s it. While there are plenty of Picatinny and M-LOK slots to mount sling adapters or run paracord through, I would’ve liked to have seen one more QD point on the rail itself. I think that’s a slightly missed opportunity. I could be wrong, but I don’t believe any of the other rail systems from TYPE-A have QDs built into them.

 The Review Continues in Part 2