Buy one: https://www.muletac.com/
“Glock, Glock, Glock, In your Stock, Stock, Stock.” — Sheik Yerbouti
We first caught wind of the MULE Tactical at SHOT Show this year. They were kind enough to send us one for review. I am a little tardy with this–I’ve had the stock for a bit over a month. There are a couple of reasons for my slowness but the primary one was figuring out if I liked the MULE or not. This isn’t your average AR stock, and once you get past the novelty of having a GLOCK in you stock, there is still a lot to consider. My opinion is below but lets get to the facts first.
Ready to be mounted.
MULE Tac
Here are a few specs on the MULE:
- Fits 1 and 3/16th threaded buffer tube attachments
- Weight of 27.5 ounces empty
- 10.75″ long
- 6.5″ tall
- 3″ wide
- Made in the USA
So what the hell is this thing? Simply put it is an AR stock that has a storage area inside. That’s not a new concept. The unique thing about the storage area in this stock is the holster that attaches inside to hold a pistol. Yep, you can put a GLOCK, Springfield, or other 4″ barreled pistol in the stock. The MULE does not come with the holsters so you can purchase the correct one for your pistol. It does come with a storage module that fits inside that can hold a small first aid kit, tools or whatever you want that will fit. But the real story is putting a gun in your gun.
All mounted up on the lower.
Installing the MULE
I used what I refer to as my “review” AR. This is the one that gets review products installed on it. This is a Frankenstein rifle, part this and part that. The lower (well most of it) is from Palmetto State, the MULE mounted to it with ease. If you can change out a stock on an AR you can install a MULE, which is exactly what you are doing. The directions are straight forward. The MULE also comes with a spacer for inside the buffer tube if you have a carbine length spring. I had to use the spacer and it worked correctly. There was one star bit in the MULE box that fit the screws that hold the butt pad on. There is one other star head bit needed that was not supplied for the bolt that holds the stock to the supplied buffer tube. Those two bits and an armorer’s wrench were all the tools required to mount the MULE. All told, at the range, it took about four minutes.
Setting the MULE up
The MULE comes with the storage box installed. When you open the MULE the box pulls out with a small tug. It is held in place by friction and seems to be reasonably well secured. This is the box you can use to hold a small first aid kit, little tools, emergency prophylactics… what ever will fit, really. That is all fine and dandy but you can put a gun in a gun, too! With the storage box removed you can mount up one of the holsters. The review sample was shipped with a holster for a GLOCK 19 sized pistol. The holster is held in place with dovetails. It is a little tricky to get it lined up just right so it will slide onto the dovetails, but once it is installed it feels very secure. The pistol is held in the holster by friction. It is relatively tightly held–think of a quality Kydex holster and how it holds a pistol.
You can see how big the MULE is.
Using the MULE
So once everything was mounted up to the AR and the holster installed it was time to take the MULE for a ride. As most of you will know, ARs tend to be delicately balanced (or a bit front heavy when you load up the quad rail). With the 27 ounce MULE mounted up my carbine length AR, it remained balanced. But that 27 ounces is with an empty MULE. Add another 30 ounces of loaded GLOCK 19 and you quickly have a butt heavy rifle. Heavy is a key word here. This set up adds right at 3.5 pounds to the rifle. The older Magpul stock I had on the AR comes in at just under .5 pounds. The AR I used for this review tips the scales at just under 8 lbs. Adding the MULE took it to 11. That is a heavy carbine. I only have an Aim Point point mounted at this time. Think of how much it would weight if I went to a more traditional optic and a foregrip and all the other AR gizmos. You could get to 12 or 13 pounds quickly.
The heaviness aside, the MULE functioned flawlessly. I was able to go from shooting the AR, drawing the Glock, and shooting it relatively fast. As fast as I could from a holster on my hip? No, not remotely that fast. But there’s a time and a place for this set up.
Going for the Glock in the stock.
Opinion Time
I’ll just throw this in here, as it needs to be said. I was a bit nervous when I pulled the trigger the first time. While there’s no real way to pull the trigger on the GLOCK inside the stock, you still have to get cozy, right on top of a loaded GLOCK. That can be a bit unnerving. As I’m here to tell the tale, you can assume everything went as planned.
So what do I think of the MULE? Well, as I said above it is heavy and rather bulky. It has to be to do what it does. The MULE is well made, there is no question about that. Mounted to a tactical rifle set up it adds a lot of weight and changes the balance of a typical AR. Also, having a pistol on your hip makes a lot more sense. Although, the MULE gives your backup piece a backup.
That being said, I’m a review writer. I can’t remember the last time I went prone. Even though I have law enforcement experience, I’ve never emptied my primary weapon and been pinned in a position that prevented me from getting to my sidearm. The MULE may appeal to those who want to prepare for every situation. If you are standing at the range, shooting at a static target that isn’t shooting back, the sidearm is much easier to access on your belt. But if you are crouched behind cover, and have just run until you are exhausted, and you rifle craps out…then what? Having a GLOCK in your stock might save your ass.
For the rest of us? The MULE could still be very useful. Consider the cliche Shit-Hits-The-Fan-Bug-Out scenario. I would have a belt and holster for the pistol, and keep the storage box that comes with the MULE. In that storage box there would be a small first aid kit. Once I got to where I am going to hole up, the GLOCK would not be in the stock but I would utilize the storage of the MULE. Unless I had two GLOCKs.
In the end, it comes down to this. The idea is so compelling. The practical additions of weight and size, though, will be a turn-off for some. Still–if you need a GLOCK in your stock, this is how to do it.
[one_half]
The MULE shoulders well but feels bulky and heavy.
[/one_half][one_half_last]
Check weld is good.
[/one_half_last][one_half]
Drawing the GLOCK is actually easy.
[/one_half][one_half_last]
Drawn.
[/one_half_last][one_half]
There is a GLOCK inside. I know because it is heavy.
[/one_half][one_half_last]
The MULE is made in the USA.
[/one_half_last][one_half]
The joint at the upper, and a QD mount.
[/one_half][one_half_last]
The butt. The round tubes on the side can store extra batteries.
[/one_half_last][one_half]
GLOCK out and ready to fire.
[/one_half][one_half_last]
Empty MULE.
[/one_half_last][one_half]
The GLOCK is pointed right at your shooting hand, but the recoil from the .223 isn’t enough to cause a major GLOCK malfunction. So don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.
[/one_half][one_half_last]
You’ll want to GLOCK in the stock to be ready to go if you need it.
[/one_half_last]
I would use it as a tool compartment like for the vr80 store your choke tubes buffer ring take down tool ect
Maybe if it was smaller to carry a .380 instead of a full size or compact would be better.
If you believe the old adage, use your pistol to fight your way to your rifle then… if anything, wouldn’t you rather have an extra rifle mag in the stock and not a pistol? I know, I know, crazy talk.
Absurd, completely. For themilitary jock sniffers who never saw actions
Bad idea for two reasons. One, speed and agility in combat is life. You just added weight, when everything about combat that I’ve learned suggests one should endeavor to shed weight. Two, if you manage to lose the long gun somehow (don’t laugh, it happens!), now your liability is doubled because you just gave the bad guy TWO guns for the price of one. And I guarantee most proficient shooters will still draw faster from a holster on their body than anybody will from that stock. Kudos for engineering, but the usefulness of this concept ended with having a compartment for tools and batteries, and/or a spare magazine.
Can you ride two cars at the same time?
What about sleep and eat?
This is for a assault or battle not a picking fight. I’m talking about when things don’t go as it should and your family need to protect themselves
I don’t think it is a bad idea. As we can see in the comments section, there are people that might like to utilize this system.
As for the article, you don’t go into depth about how the stock is activated to deploy the pistol. And you just brush over the other features like cheek weld, battery storage, attachment points for slings and durability. Is this thing a range toy or can I through it in the back of a truck?
I think that anyone who brings new ideas to the market should be commended. And I also want to thank the writer for making people aware of new products, no matter if you like them or not.
I noticed you are using a Glock 17. Do you think the MULE would be able to take a Glock 35? I’d hate to have to get a new handgun to try this out, or is it made to fit multi-Glocks?
The article says any 4″ semi auto should fit with the proper holster.
I has a toy gun back in the 1960’s as a child that was a pistol with a derringer in the pistol grip. Can’t remember the name.
Secret Sam was another toy back then that was a brief case with a buzz gun built into it.
Fond memories.
Anyone that buys this accident waiting to happen is a full grown Mail Ninja! 😉
I´m a gun collector, and I will buy one of this just for fun…
It seems the Mule is functional and has it good and bad points. What it really comes down to is what is needed and what is not. I could do without a Glock in my stock, but some extra storage may be nice.
Sam, what I really want to know is what forend are you using on your review rifle? It looks very nice and I am interested in getting one. Thanks.
Mike, that is an AB Arms forend. It is a nice one that David reviewed awhile back and was passed over to me. You can check out his review here : http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/ab-arms-forend/
Do you get the impression that the writer has to come up with some good points (even if there aren’t any)
Agreed. I think he did a very good job of not trashing it but conveying it isn’t a combat level accessory. I personally would never permit that monstrosity on any of my ARs. Who in the hell wants a loaded pistol aimed at your chin? Not I.
No, just No
I’m a gonna wait fer the one that has a throwing knife inside the glock stock.
A solution in search of a problem. Grab/drop my rifle and my handgun at the same time. Thant said. I could see it used as a bug out system, but would want to holster that Glock ASAP.
one last point. you even sit on the fence as far as what we are saying to you, got to wait for you to okay the comments!!!
My Mom always taught me that ” If you can’t say something Nice, then Don’t say anything at all.”
No one needs your opinion either.
This should be renamed “The Fool Tool”…named after the idiot that designed it and the fool that bought it.
i regularly read stuff you write on this site. as far as having a glock in the stock goes, i think someone out there plays with themselves too much, mentally, ….now, what i really think is this. you are one lousey writer. i cant imagine anybody paying for your services. you have no true opinions about anything. you sit on the fence in all situations. if i was a fireman, i wouldnt want you behind me on a hose entering a burning building!!! you may take off to gather donuts for the rest of the men so they dont hate you!!! AWFUL ARTICLE….go get a job!!!
Dang ‘Charlie’, that was kind of harsh…
OK, I will take the bait here. I am not sure how I sit on the fence on this review? The pros and cons of the MULE are clearly stated and it is not hard to see that there are more cons than pros. But there are pros, even if they are obviously in the minority, so I tried to be fair and make sure that the pros were represented. Hell, most of this article is not even opinion. Sorry I pissed in your Wheaties.
If you’re looking for a valuable opinion on an internet article, then you should probably leave the guns to people who look at pros and cons and garner a decision as to whether the item may or may not work for them based on common sense.
These should come with a loaded Glock already inside them that automatically shoots anyone that buys this abomination.
Ha ha, THAT was funny! Good one…
I guess this might appeal to some otherwise they wouldn’t be selling them however being it’s primary function is for a pistol, I don’t cherish the thought of becoming separated somehow from my rifle and at the same time a sidearm at the same time, backup or not! To me it’s about as useful as a flask full of whiskey while your at the gun range! Not to mention anything weight wise is going to make a light weight rifle no longer a light weight rifle. I mean after all isn’t that one of the reasons for having a Ar platform carbine in the first place? Just a thought but to each their own!
Yup, Jay’s right. That’s the serious negative tactical aspect that makes an otherwise innovative knock off of the ‘spare mag’ in the stock trick not attractive. The Separation of primary and ancillary weapons. And despite what is implied, the function does not seem conductive to a fast. ‘New York Reload’ move?
What I’m waiting for, (and i don’t think it’s been ‘invented’ yet so all you tinker wizards power up the ‘light bulbs’) is a ‘legal’
pistol ‘Brace’ like the Sig Brace for the AR pistols, but for a full size Glock?
Yes I know there are some attachment wire stocks and the drop in Israeli stock that makes pistols SBR’s , and require the Registration Stamp but since they have ‘Braces’ for AR pistols, why can’t the have one for a large frame Glock They get pretty heavy with a fifty round drum mag? Maybe it could even be the actual carry holster for it that can be quickly converted to a ‘Brace’ if needed? But still not be considered an SBR or a stock mounted pistol???
That buttstock/pistol sheath can cause an accident. Pistol must be the sidearm weapon. Bad idea!
Most people assume that it’s for the secondary, why is that?
2 major advantages of this :
-Fully isolated from elements
-You have access to an extra secondary should your holstered secondary for some reason also fail or be lost. You never know what can happen.
Considering you could lose your primary in a lot of scenarios, this feels more like an ace in the hole rather than a viable alternative.
I agree! If you don’t want one, don’t buy one.
But its soooooooo cool!!!!!