Nordic Retractable AR Butt Stock Review

Nordic Compact Retractable AR Butt Stock Review

PART 3 - 10/22 Troy Chassis Upgrade + Timney Trigger + Nordic Components Retractable Stock Review
In case you have missed my articles lately, I have been upgrading my old 10/22 to, I quote a friend when I say, “the coolest 10/22 ever conceived”. My old 10/22 was reborn again with the new Troy T-22 chassis (review here), accuracy improved with a Timney Trigger (review here) upgrade and now I am upgrading the cool even further with a Nordic retractable butt stock.

As I started this build, it had everything to do with “tacticool” and little to do with “preparedness” however I cannot ignore how useful this compact critter extermination tool has become.  It is compact, light and oh so handy. Will this 10/22 turn heads at the range? Yep! Has it already been referred to as the coolest 10/22 ever conceived? Yep!  Does it seem to vaporize two bricks of .22 ammo at the range? Undoubtedly, at an alarming rate. However it is still at its heart, a reliable and now more accurate 10/22 which remains a fundamental staple of anyone serious about preparedness.  This upgraded version just does it with a little more style.

The Troy T-22 is a mighty fine 10/22 chassis however after I saw the Nordic Components Retractable Butt Stock, well I just could not look at my newly upgraded 10/22 without thinking it would look even better with that Nordic Stock.

ABOUT NORDIC COMPONENTS
Nordic Components really has three facets to their business; CNC based OEM manufacturing, R&D Engineering & Design, and a Retail side focused on selling both their products and others within the industry.  Nordic is well known for the OEM development and manufacturing of Ruger’s SR-22 Chassis, JP Rifle forends, and a number of other parts and accessories we consider innovative and marketed by other brands.  Obviously, they also have an eye for style as is illustrated in this gorgeous retractable stock.

FEATURES & FUNCTION

The NC "Compact Retractable Butt Stock" is actually intended for AR15’s that do not require a buffer tube such as some with forward mounted spring systems.  Although not common, I have to hand it to Nordic for originally making this stock available to a small AR15 demand market. However the stock is a perfect add on to their own 10/22 billet stock featured in the Ruger’s SR-22, for Nordic’s NC22 dedicated .22LR AR15 complete upper, and of course the Troy T-22 chassis. Like a standard 6-position stock, this butt stock gives you six lengths of pull options between 5-1/4" and 13-1/4".  This allows for super compact for storage and carry and total only is 1lb total or .3lbs heavier than a standard buffer tube and stock assembly.

Installation is simple; remove your stock tube assembly and tighten on the Nordic retractable stock with the single hex nut.  The entire upgrade uneventfully takes about 60 seconds. Once attached to your AR15 compatible receiver such as this Troy T-22, the stock locks in each of six positions buy just pulling out to the position desired.  From closed position you can grab the gun and rip open the stock, rack the bolt and you are ready to fire. Closing the stock only requires the operator to press a button on the left side.  

Functionally this is a simple and easy to use stock that takes more thought than your standard 6-position stock, but stows much more compactly. I will note once fully pushed in, you really cannot hold the gun’s grip, however more on my workaround/upgrade later in the article.

FIT, FEEL & FINISH
As I shoulder the Troy T-22 chassis with the Nordic stock, my check falls naturally on the left steel stock support bar as it would on a standard stock. Of course it is not as comfortable as a standard stock and would not want to fire a AR10 with this stock, but for CQB 5.56 ARs or this .22LR powered build, the stock is more than comfortable enough.  Even on the bench as I was punching groups for over an hour; it did not feel uncomfortable.

That space between the trigger guard and the pistol grip was starting to bother me, so I also picked up the Nordic Grip Gap Filler.  This is cast from a Hogue-like rubber and pops in between the trigger guard and grips without removal of the grip, fills the gap and is worth the $9.50 just from an aesthetic perspective.

The milling and detail work on the mount and stock are exceptional and the design of the ribs on the billet aluminum shoulder pad artistically set off this rifle in a way that should be featured in sci-fi movies. The Nordic stock is every bit as good as the Troy chassis finish. Honestly they look like they were meant to be together, like peanut butter and chocolate and rum and coke. You expect an angelic chorus sounding when they are installed together - my wife would use the terms “they complete each other”... being a dude, I would instead say “that’s f*$king cool”.  

Topped with the Eotech Zombie Stopper Sight and you have everything short of a suppressor attached to make the ultimate zombie gun with 1” groups still doable at 50 yards and 3” groups at 100 yards - at least this is what it delivered this weekend for me.  It is so accurate and easy to shoot that Pa Pandemic noted there was so little challenge to hit anything that it felt like he was shooting in a video game. With that Eotech Zombie Stopper sight Biohazard logo, all zombies should beware.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I have to admit, this is a “fanboy” type review as I love this freaking gun and upgrades for a couple reasons.  

First of those reasons was that 10/22 heart of this gun was not feeling the love after four truly custom Force, Kidd, PWS, and Tactical Innovations/Clark barreled 10/22 rifles entered the safe.  The gun originally looked in pretty freaking sad shape with the Tactical Solutions barrel being the only discernible part which did not look like it had been dragged behind a bull dozer.  Now it is the Tacticool bad ass rifle of my entire collection and is “the” rifle everyone wants to shoot.  This transformation is due in part to this bad ass Nordic retractable stock. If you own a Ruger SR-22, Nordic’s original chassis, a dedicated .22 converted AR15, or this wonderful Troy T-22 and are looking for a cool to bad ass transformation, then you need this stock.   

The other reason is that Nordic understands how to do math and figured out that a typical 16” or in this case 16.25” barrel will need to add up in the receiver to over 26” or it will classified by NFA/ATF law as a SBR (Short Barrel Rifle) and require an SBR tax stamp.  The total length of this build is 26.5” - yeah! This means I have the most compact 10/22 possible while not requiring any short barreled rifle paperwork and still provides me with a great little camp, hunting, and survival rifle that is light, accurate, and reliable just as Bill Ruger intended.

UPGRADES POST MORTUM

The only thing that was driving me nuts a bit was that I could not hold the pistol grip with the stock in collapsed position.  Why do I need this functionality? Well here it is; we have what you would term as critters around the house and my twelve year old, night blind, nearsighted dog insists on going out one last time just after midnight. We have had several incidents where my wife or I needed to intervene to prevent the dog or us from harm. Thus a firearm almost always accompanies us out at that hour.  It would be handy to be able to shoot this gun pistol style if needed so the following upgrades were made to improve ergonomics.

The A2 grip was bugging me as they always have and I performed my patent pending dremel chop, solder iron burn pattern, and sand modification to the stock AR15 grip.  Now it looks custom and is about 100% more comfortable with about 50% more grip which is handy if you plan on shooting a rifle single handed.

 

 

The other modification was to remove the right support rod so that the buttstock could be rotated out of the way in fully collapsed position to provide unencumbered grasping of the pistol grip.  As the Nordic stock ratchets into position, it worked great and can also now collapse quickly with a ¼ turn of the buttstock. Unwilling to leave well enough along I spun up a plug for the right support arm which would catch and hold the buttstock in a 45 degree offset position when closed.  These mods now allow me or Mrs. Pandemic to assure our fur covered idiot has cover should a nefarious critter again decide to go all bat shit crazy in the wee hours.  Now I have the equivalent of a single sided motorcycle swing arm in my retractable forend which is pretty trick and dropped .15lbs in the process.

SPECS
Weight 1lb  v s .7lb for tube and stock
MSRP - $139.99

SOURCES
Nordic Components
http://shop.nordiccomp.com
http://shop.nordiccomp.com/NC-Compact-Retractable-Butt-Stock-STK-CRS-BRS.htm