Tyrant Designs Halo MiniVert

How Tyrant Designs is Recreating Skeletonized Fore Grips

Fore grips were first seen as early as 1918 on the Thompson submachine gun to help with recoil management and heat alleviation. In the 1990s, they were included in a popular parts kit, to help with the rail system becoming too cluttered with lights and other accessories.

Fore grips have been hated as much as they are loved because of the shooter’s misunderstanding of their use and allowing horrible shooting etiquette. Fore grips on the rifle really come down to what type of build it is, why you’re using it, and using the part correctly. Let’s look into how we are going to use the Tyrant’s Designs Halo MiniVert Grip.

Tyrant Designs has over 30 years of American-Made machining experience in Defense, Aerospace and medical fields. They have a 10,000 square foot facility based out of Chicago, Illinois. Their main focus is quality control and their experience proves that they care about what comes off the line and into your home.

I was impressed with the nice clean labeling and professional appearance packaging of the product as a whole. On the inside, the grip was set into a foam cut out and wasn’t just floating around. Included with the grip were the screws and allen wrenches you need for installation. Plus, the individual screws and allen wrenches are packaged in little ziplock bags according to their size. Bonus, there is also a sticker.

Let’s talk about the pros of the Halo MiniVert Grip:

• Durable (all aluminum, skeletonized AR vertical grip)
• Use as Keymod fore grip and MLOK fore grip (direct interchangeable)
• Comfortable (chamfered edges for a smooth feel)
• Lip extension for additional grip styles
• Chamfered holes to allow finger placement inside
• Machined knurl for supreme grip
• Extremely lightweight
• Bead blasted and Type III Hard coat
• CNC engraved Logo
• Install kit included (meaning screws and Allen wrenches)

One issue I noticed is the lack of instructions Tyrant Designs provides to the end user. To a complete newbie, this could be an issue. They will be searching forums and looking for articles like this one all night long… Everything comes with instructions these days. Even the smallest of jobs like a assembling a shoe dresser from IKEA comes with instructions. Not this fore grip. Lucky for you: if you know guns, you will already have this mastered.

I’ve done some gun work and assembly before, so this was not an issue for me. The assembly was actually quite easy and didn’t require much time. What you’ll also need is your own tools for your rifle’s hand guard and some Loctite. Maybe a little knowledge of where you would like to place it, so you like where it will sit once you assemble it all together.

Requirements for easy assembly (Make sure your rifle is safe and clear):

1. Take the parts out of the bag and place to the side where you can account for all of the screws and tools.
2. Disassemble your rifle’s hand guard if it’s already on the rifle. If not, your job just got a whole lot easier.
3. Pick where you want to place the fore grip.
4. Pick the screws that fit your keypad or MLOK and add a little bit of Loctite (this is so the screw doesn’t back out once you start shooting and abusing your rifle).
5. Place the inside screws at your desired position then hold in place to screw in from the outside.
6. Use the allen wrench once finger tightening has surpassed your limits, or if your fingers are too big.
7. Do not over-tighten. Use the allen wrench to smartly hand torque the screw in. If you’re forcing it, you’re probably doing something wrong or cross threading.
8. Reassemble your hand guard with your new Halo MiniVert Grip installed on to your rifle.
9. Don’t forget to add a little Loctite to the screws on your hand guard.
10. Use your rifle: shoot it, dry fire it, love it, clean it and place it in your safe.

Ten over-explained steps to help make this install easier. Tyrant Designs also offers a lifetime warranty on all of their products so to help ease your mind with any issues you think you may have.

Now shooting it of course! I liked the ergonomics of the grip with my support hand. Also, in transitioning from strong to weak hand shooting (ie: demonstrating a left-handed shooter position) it was pretty equal in ergonomics.

The confidence in my shooting was still there with this for grip and I can say it would be a plush luxury addition. This is one of those parts that definitely makes me want to build a whole different rifle for it. As for this piece on my distinct Spikes Tactical Rifle, I will probably order their other fore grip for my current battle rifle, and save this part for a short barrel rifle build, full-automatic or a skeletonize beauty build of my own.

I would order the Mod series from Tyrant, called the MOD AR-15 fore grip. It is their new hybrid design that allows the operator to use, once again, either MLOK or keymod installation. It is a little more on the pricer end (about $14 more), but I have expensive taste in things. For my battle rifle build with the Spike’s Tactical, (which is really just an enhanced Estrogen model), I believe this MOD grip to be a little bit more on my playing field. It also is only 1.7 oz making it lighter than the Halo MiniVert Grip by 0.8 ounces. The design also allows it to be a little more flush with the hand guard making it a minimalist point for my support hand to hold and pull directly into my chest. The length is 5.5" making it longer than the MiniVert Grip, but overall a more flush appearance. It also assists your ergonomic grip overall with a closer to natural grip angle of the wrist as you hold the rifle.

I really adore the aluminum lightweight of 2.5 oz versus the heavier polymer designs from China and even the Magpul fore grips. The length is a sturdy 2.75" allowing you to hold it traditionally or by tucking the pinky behind. The smaller design allows your rifle to stay compact, less susceptible to snagging and keeps the overall weight down on your lightweight build. It’s also low cost as well at $55.95 without shipping. I would love to place this on an SBR (Short Barrel Rifle) version of an Official Q Rifle build called the Honey Badger Design. The design of that.300 blackout rifle is already skeletonized and with full-auto capability plus placing this Halo MiniVert Grip on there, would make it even more fun to shoot and destroy some targets with.

Overall, the Halo MiniVert Grip is an accessory to play with. Compared to the polymer alternatives from China, it has appeal and feels better to use. It’s a little harder to destroy than it’s plastic counterpart, but hey, if you’re not trying to break things you’re not working it hard enough right? The HALO MiniVert is affordable and another reason to start a whole new build and empty your wallet again.

Give them a try and let us know what you think! What other aluminum fore grips do you have experience with? How do they relate or differ from Tyrant’s design?

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the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.