The Cavalry A1 Stock

Cavalry Arms (now Cavalry Manufacturing) has been producing their modern A1 stock for a number of years. Known as the C1 stock, Cav Manufacturing offers a plastic stock with a few quirks, but overall the stock and components are welcome in a market where fixed stocks seem fairly unpopular.

The C1 is a polymer A1 length stock. Pretty simple. A1 length stocks are a welcome change from the length present on A2 stocks. Many shooters find A1 length more comfortable overall than the A2. I know my recent experience at a carbine course proved to me that a shorter stock would make my weapon handle better. It was hard for me to get a good nose to charging handle cheek wield when changing positions. Having to hyper extend my neck forward to get a good sight picture didn’t work so well during some of the more fast paced drills in the recent carbine competition I entered.

If it is the right change for you then full steam ahead… but their are few options in the A1 length market.

Either buy a used Vietnam era A1, pay a mint for the Colt CS stock (a A1 made of modern materials) or pick up Cavalry Manufacturing’s offering.

My green C1 stock is a simple setup. You can see that it has a shorter screw and doesn’t utilize the stock spacer being that it is a shorter length than the A2.

Aside from being shorter the base C1 setup has some unique quirks that may sway your purchase.

The first (and most complained about quirk) is the rubber buttplate. It is a hard type of rubber but quite flexible compared to the standard A2 plastic buttplate. The door and hinge are both molded pieces and thus has less parts than the A2. It is also much lighter than the A2 buttplate. The quirk here is that the soft rubber of the C1 stock can deform rather easily.

In the above picture I tightened the setscrew against the rear sling mount. Past a certain point the more I tightened the screw began to pull through the soft rubber. Obviously not good. The same can occur when tightening the top set screw that mounts the buttstock to the receiver extension. Again, not good, but here is the caveat: tightening the hardware down to that point is not necessary. Once both setscrews are snug I cannot fathom a situation where they will pull through the buttplate unless severely over tightened. 

If that concerns you the C1 buttplate can be switched out with a A2 hard plastic buttplate. Problem solved.

The rear sling mount is another fun quirk. It is beefy. It looks like an A2 sling mount on steroids.

However I couldn’t get my Nylon CMP legal sling to attach to the mount. It was simply too fat. This may not be an issue for you, so then this might be a moot point. That would all depend on what type of sling you run on your rifle.

One feature in particular might strike a pack rats fancy: the storage compartment is a cavern.

A2:

C1:

That is some good storage space. In the photos above it appears that the C1 might be weaker since it lacks the foam reinforcement. I find that the polymer feels robust and durable. I don’t fear breaking the stock anytime soon.

Overall I find the stock a great value if you are looking for a A1 setup. Replace the buttplate and you have eliminated the stocks biggest Achilles heel. I am choosing to run the plastic buttplate currently and put it through its paces. Not only is it lighter, but I like rounded edges and soft texture. If mounts to the shoulder well and doesn’t turn my arm into ground meat like the A2 buttplate can. Furthermore leaving the stock with its original components lightens the weapon. The A2 feels several ounces heavier than the Cav setup but I don’t have an exact number since I lack a quality digital scale. The weight difference is noticed easily.

If you haven’t tried an A1 length stock in general I would suggest you give it a shot. It feels natural where as the A2 simply feels too long. The Cav stock suites my needs and I believe it is a quality rifle stock. If the buttplate makes you uncomfortable then give it a swap for the A2 version. Overcome it’s quirks and I am sure you will find it to be a welcome addition to your rifle.