Product Review - Troy Ambidextrous Bolt Release

Some may tell you that the AR-15 is the “perfect rifle”. Those who do are probably a little too free with the word “perfect”. It may be “perfect” for some applications or people, but as the height of perfection for rifles, it is not. That’s certainly not to say that it’s bad; the AR platform is fantastic. Fortunately, due in no small part to the wonders of modern manufacture and the customizable nature of the platform, it can be further improved.

Enter Troy Industries. Founded on the principle of “making reliable, innovative, over engineered products that will function without question”, Troy makes some incredible accessories and upgrades for one of America’s most favorite weapons. One of the most ingenious – and one of our best-sellers! – is the Ambidextrous Bolt Release.

Small part. Big improvement.

From the first look, the quality of the “Ambi” is immediately apparent. Its simple design, realized in hardened aircraft aluminum, with subtle but positive serrations at key points, belies its ingenuity. Once out of the bag, if you can push a button and turn an hex key (packaged with every Ambidextrous Bolt Release), installation is a breeze; (after ensuring the weapon is completely unloaded) open the upper receiver as you would for standard cleaning, place the two-part “head” of the Ambi around the existing bolt release, and tighten hex screw. Close the upper receiver and admire your work. (Naturally, instructions are supplied with Ambi, but come on…as I guy, I didn't read those.)

Before I installed mine, I must admit that I was concerned that something entering the trigger guard would become (at best) a distraction or (at worst) a point of failure in operation. Being narrow and situated close to the receiver, there’s room for days – even when wearing most gloves. If you have a non-standard or enhanced trigger guard that gives you even more room, astronaut gloves might be the only thing that wouldn't work. It’s not an annoyance or a distraction, and I hardly notice it until it’s time to have it do its job.

The Troy Ambidextrous Bolt Release - installed.

And what a job it does! The concept behind the Ambidextrous Bolt Release is in the name – to make available, for left-handed shooters, a weapon control located on the left side of the rifle. Left-handed shooters would find it awkward to access the standard bolt release with their left hand on the grip. Meeting this objective creates an interesting benefit for right-handed shooters, though: the bolt release operation can now be handled by the shooting hand. This saves time for the support hand in magazine changes. Give yourself more time between mag changes with a 40-rd. magazine, and your support hand could get positively bored! As a right-handed shooter, a quick flick of the Ambi’s tab in the trigger guard, and the rifle smoothly jumps back into battery (especially if you've got a quality buffer tube spring).

You can hang a lot off an AR. Whether it’s cosmetic or serving some auxiliary purpose, there are a LOT of options available. The AR platform isn't the final word in rifle achievement; someday, something really cosmic will find some way to surpass it. Right now, though, the Troy Ambidextrous Bolt Release is an easy, effective way to push your AR a little closer to perfection.

- Matt

An Introduction to Southeast Outfitters

It hasn't even been a full year, but we are excited about the phenomenal first nine months of Southeast Outfitters. It's been an exciting challenge to open up in such a shaky economic time, but we know how privileged and blessed we have been. We also think that the way we can all prosper is through individual initiative and hard work. There have been ups and downs, surprises and windfalls, but we feel that there are three key features to Southeast Outfitters that set it apart:

Southeast Outfitters is a responsible business.

We feel incredible responsibility to our community, to our customers, and to ourselves. We feel that we must be the best business we can be for our friends and neighbors in the local economy. We feel that we must offer the finest products for the best prices we can and that we must be straightforward with our customers in all things. And we feel that, after the business was founded in such a careful and deliberate way, we must manage and grow Southeast Outfitters with that same care and deliberation.

We only sell quality products that we believe in.
Auction sites and other e-tailers are full of sellers offering fine products but trying to pass them off as something they're not. We are committed to creating and maintaining trust in the products we carry. No clones. No knock-offs. No imitations. Period. We may carry more economical alternatives to some items, but that's what they are - alternatives. We refuse to allow for any confusion as to what our customers are buying. If you buy Magpul's latest and greatest PMAG 30 GEN M3 or Troy's excellent Ambidextrous Bolt Release, then you can be certain that's what you'll get.

We want to grow, and we have a plan.
Today, we run this business online, and after our day jobs with a major IT company. Despite that, we process and ship virtually all of our orders in the same day or the next day. We devote every minute we can to building and improving this business that we have become so proud of, but we don't want to stop with a great website full of great stuff. We want our own brick-and-mortar store so our local customers can come in and check out our products first-hand. We want a top-notch shooting facility. (Indoors? Outdoors? Pistol? Rifle? Skeet and trap? Archery? All of it!) We want to offer gunsmithing services for maintenance, repairs, and custom work. We want to offer training services for shooting, reloading, and survival skills. We want to do all of that while continuing to offer a superior web experience and a dedication to all of our customers, near and far, in everything. As I've said before, we want to handle 'our baby' with care and deliberation. Our long term goals may take some time to achieve, but that's only because we want to do it right.

We plan to post here regularly and to offer new and different products as often as we possibly can, so we hope that you'll check back often to this blog, for more posts including product reviews, and to SoutheastOutfitters.com, to find that perfect piece to complete your next project, outing, or adventure!

- Matt