My review of the Juvicator B.A.D. lever.

Hello my fellow forum members! It has been my privilege to try out and review the B.A.D. lever made exclusively for the S&W M&P 15-22 by one of our own, Juvicator. He recently gave me the go ahead to post my findings and opinions, so here we go...

First let me start out by saying what an awesome addition to the 1522 this is. I know a lot of you are chomping at the bit to get a hold of one of these and I can honestly say, without hesitation, that while the waiting may be killing you one slap on the ping pong paddle at a time, this lever is well and truly worth the wait!

Juvicator has been extremely busy trying to get this up and running with production. I can tell you, as someone who also makes an accessory for this gun, that it does take time and a whole lot of effort to do this. I know the waiting can sometime be more frustration than one cares to deal with, but I can honestly tell you that he is just as anxious and excited as you all if not more. He is very excited to bring you this product and like any person who cares about the quality of what he is selling and his customers alike, he wants to make sure everything is in place. That being said, I while you wait I want to bring you a little preview of this great product.

Design and style wise I like the looks a lot! I’ve seen a few of Juvicator’s threads on various gadgets he’s made for the 1522 and one thing that stands out is his sense of style. It might not be for everyone, but he isn’t afraid to take an accessory and make it his own. In the lever’s case I really feel his design and sense of style come together and make a truly unique B.A.D. lever. It has enough style to be interesting and aesthetically pleasing upon close examination, yet it is subtle enough to still blend in and look like part of the gun. *NOTE: The surface of the lever Juvicator sent me had not yet been finished. Ones that will be for sale will obviously be finished. I think Juvicator had commented on this in his thread. I think he also mentioned looking into color options.

My first time out trying the lever, I put 200 rounds through my 6 magazines, with the last 24 rounds being lone rounds in each mag to see if there was any difference in performance, between going through a full mag (10rds) or just having one round. In other words I loaded just one round into each of my mags so as to simulate the last round and just kept cycling my mags that way for the last 24 rounds. With both, the lever performed flawlessly. The ammo I used was a mix of Federal AutoMatch, CCI Stingers and Aguila Super Max. I know that isn’t really scratching the surface when it comes to types of ammo, but those are the types I’ve been using since buying the gun. I also know that some of you may be concerned that I didn’t put thousands of rounds through and my answer to that is simple stats. With this lever on the gun, the bolt catch caught 100% of the time.

The second time out I fired another 200 of just the Aguila Super Max and again the lever performed flawlessly. On top of live fire I also tested the functionality of the lever by simply inserting my mags one by one and each time pulling back on the charging handle to see if the bolt catch functioned. Again each time I did this the bolt catch caught and when pushed the lever released the bolt.

This is what I have found so far. I will continue to test as I am able to get out to the range. At this point I have no issues with the functionality of the lever. I think it is very well machined and styled and it works as intended. I think the lever is light enough that it doesn’t interfere with the bolt catch. I know Juvicator had had an issue a while back with one of his mags not catching and that was one of the reasons he wanted others to test it out. All I can say is It functioned properly in my 6 mags and after my experience with it I do believe it is safe to say that his issue had more to do with the spring in that one magazine then it did the lever.

I have every confidence in this lever and I think it will be a hit with people once it goes on the market. Feel free to contact me or post here with any questions you may have and I will do my best to answer them.

Some more pics...

PSG,

Great review! Juvicator, Great looking piece! You have put a lot of time and labor into developing this lever and it shows, it's by far one of the nicest looking levers out there right now!

This will be a godsend to all those on the forums who have tried going with the BAD Lever and had to fanangle it to work on the 15-22!

Thats is very good to hear and i'm glad the device performs flawlessly. Especially knowing it is made for our 15-22's is quite comforting. Good review, good job juvicator. I can't wait to get one.

My one question us how is it installed? Is it fastened with a screw or just a snug fit?

dogg1er said:

Thats is very good to hear and i'm glad the device performs flawlessly. Especially knowing it is made for our 15-22's is quite comforting. Good review, good job juvicator. I can't wait to get one.

My one question us how is it installed? Is it fastened with a screw or just a snug fit?

Click to expand...

Hey Dogg1er,
The lever comes in two pieces and is affixed to the gun by sandwiching the bolt catch between them. Both parts of the lever (the lever itself and the mounting bracket) have a recess machined into them so that the bolt catch paddle will fit snug and straight. The two pieces are held together by two cap head screws.

that is awsome, ill take it.

Don't have a 15-22 and have no idea why a Magpul bad lever doesn't fit, don't own one of those either, but will this fit on a standard AR? If so and if you can get this properly hard coat anodized I would run it on my AR...were you the one that used the bio-hazard symbol on your first one? I want that symbol and for this to fit my AR!

markush said:

Don't have a 15-22 and have no idea why a Magpul bad lever doesn't fit, don't own one of those either, but will this fit on a standard AR? If so and if you can get this properly hard coat anodized I would run it on my AR...were you the one that used the bio-hazard symbol on your first one? I want that symbol and for this to fit my AR!

Click to expand...

a standard BAD doesnt fit the 15-22 because the lower is wider then a standard .223 AR.

markush said:

Don't have a 15-22 and have no idea why a Magpul bad lever doesn't fit, don't own one of those either, but will this fit on a standard AR? If so and if you can get this properly hard coat anodized I would run it on my AR...were you the one that used the bio-hazard symbol on your first one? I want that symbol and for this to fit my AR!

Click to expand...

I believe the Magpul lever has a slightly different shape to it and so has to be bent in order to fit the 1522. The 1522 is also slightly thicker than an AR15 and I believe that has something to do with it as well.

This lever will fit on a standard AR, however the part of the lever that goes through the trigger guard ends up being too close to the trigger, where on the 1522 it is right where it should be. I think that is where the levers differ. Because the 1522 isn't the same spec as a standard AR the Magpul ends up being too far forward and has to be bent back. If I'm wrong someone please correct me.

I do Believe Juvicator is working on a lever for a standard AR, but I can't speak for him there, I would ask him directly.

so where to order

The distance between the bolt catch and trigger well are different between the 15-22 and a standard AR. When you put the lever I made on a AR the lever is too close to the trigger and sticks out the opposite side a bunch. The 15-22 lower is much wider than a standard AR.

I am working on a lever with adjustable arm to work for both platforms as well...comming soon.

As far as how many rounds the testers put through so far, before I sent them out I put 4 boxes of federal bulk 550 thru each lever.

I will try my hardest to always put out something that I feel is a quality product. I will test the fit and function of everything before it goes out the door.

so how ? where ? do I order - also do they come in Black, blue (color of gun)

Thats the bad part guys, still looking like a September-ish date for me to get my place set up and running. But rest assured the levers will be the first things i start making, and i will do a discount for forum members. As far as colors, i will be able to get all the basic colors done, and because i will be making custom parts, if a custom color is needed i can get that done as well.

i posted in the other thread that i cant take "orders" yet, and im not going to take any money until i can provide a decent turn-around time.

just hang in there, i want it to happen just as bad as yall do,

^^^Ill wait as long as it takes

The engraving will also be a custom option. Not everyone likes the skull, so it will be an add on feature that you can have made to your liking, bio hazard, military logo, police whatever you want on there I can put on there...so long as its not copyrighted, or as long as its different enough to pass.

BioHazzard FTW

Juvicator, that is some fine fabrication work, and I will wait patiently for mine. I hope that you can reach a big enough audience to sell a decent amount of these to make yourself a decent profit. I can always appreciate some good R+D and fabrication work, and you have a good amount of both here. Strong work!

awesome man cant wait. been lookin forward to it since i read the first post.

Is there any reason the lever isn't sitting more flush to the lower? I can't tell if the bolt is being held open in the photos.

It has to sit a little away from the lower to allow for movement when the bolt locks back. It has to do with the fulcrum point of the bolt release, if it was lower to the trigger well then you could have the arm closer to the lower, but beings it is higer up the arm has to be a bit farther away.