Flipping B.A.D. A.S.S.

Steve Coulston talks to us about the Ambidextrous Safety Selector from Battle Arms Development.

Building ARs is, for some, an act of creative expression. It is a practical tool that one has the ability to customize and tailor to suit one’s personal taste and mission profile. I find that assembling and modifying ARs is therapeutic and relaxing. I have built many and have used a wide variety of parts. Barrels, rails, uppers, lowers, triggers, stocks, LPKs, BCGs, BUIS and muzzle devices have all varied from build to build. There is one part however, that always remains the same on my guns. The safety selector. And that safety is always B.A.D. A.S.S. I always use the Battle Arms Development, Ambidextrous Safety Selector in my ARs. No exceptions. Period.

Who is Battle Arms Development? They are an American owned and operated business started in 2009. Their facility is located in Henderson, Nevada. B.A.D. specializes in the design, development, and marketing of tools, parts, and accessories of M14/M1A/M1 Garand and AR/M16/M4 style weapon systems.

Why do I prefer the Battle Arms ambi safety? First, it is very robust and rugged. It is machined from 12L14 bar stock steel right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. It is Magnanese Phosphate finished and is heat treated to a Rockwell hardness of 48-52. Second, it has aggressive groves in the face of the levers for positive feel and engagement yet the corners are rounded for comfort and to prevent snags or cut fingers. Next, you can buy the B.A.D. A.S.S. with two detachable sides, three lever styles to make up nine different lever combinations. Like the AR we all love, this safety is just as flexible and customizable. For example, you can set up your safety with a standard lever on the left side and a short or thin lever on the right side so the lever doesn’t touch or rub your trigger finger as you change the condition of the firearm. Very cool feature that works for each individual.

Another nice touch is each lever has a “V” grove marker machined into the side that will point to the condition of the gun be it “no pew”, ”pew” or “pew, pew, pew”. Lastly, it is also offered in a 90 degree or 45 degree throw. This last feature is just icing on the cake. I have both the 90 and the 45 in various guns, but the 45 is by far my favorite. I have the 45 in my AXTS AX556 billet ambi-lower. This is truly a match made in AR heaven and looks very bad ass. The 45 degree throw allows me to easily flip back and forth between “safe” and “fire” with my firing hand thumb. There are many manufactures that are now offering lowers that will work with 45 degree safeties. This, in my opinion, is a big improvement over the 90 degree throw levers we have been used to for so long.

Installation is very easy and drops in just like a standard safety lever. It comes with all the tools you need for the install to include the levers, machine screw, KNS hardened stainless steel safety detent and star wrench. Install only takes a couple of minutes. When operating the weapon, switching back and forth from “safe” to “fire” to “safe”… over and over again is very easy even with bulky gloves. If you are looking for the perfect safety lever for all your builds, look no further. The B.A.D. A.S.S. is flipping sweet. You can buy the various configurations from Rainier Arms here: https://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop%2Fmanufacturer&manufacturer=121

Cost is $54 and $85 depending on the configuration you want and well worth it.