As you are customizing your AR-15, you've likely found a nearly endless variety of parts and accessories, all designed to improve your shooting experience. But for every great part, there's an equally dumb one out on the market. Superfluous, tacky, or downright weird, we sometimes wonder who came up with these ideas and how they ever made it to market in the first place. Don't believe us? Then read through some of the most useless AR-15 accessories we found on the market today.

We didn’t want to encourage any bad-decision impulse buys, so we’ll leave you to look these up on your own. Hopefully just knowing they’re out there scares you as much as it scared us, though, and that won’t be necessary.

A Rail Mounted, Tactical Battle Axe

This is one we figured that you would have to see to believe.

Maybe a weapons designer somewhere just really has a thing for Gimli from Lord of the Rings, or perhaps they really got into that show Vikings. Whatever it is, it inspired them enough to make a battle axe that can be mounted to your AR rail system. There's no denying that an ax is kind of cool, but mounting one to your rifle seems totally unnecessary. After all, most civilian model AR-15s do not even give you the option to mount a bayonet. We struggle to imagine any kind of scenario where you might find a two-pound chunk of metal strapped to the bottom of your rifle to be useful in any capacity. Heavy, unwieldy, and frankly unsightly, a rail-mounted a battle axe serves to hinder not help your day at the range. That being said… It made us laugh. Maybe something like this would make a great gag gift for a special someone in your life, but we can’t imagine a real-life situation this would be useful in.

While we tried to link to the original manufacturer, Melee Mods, but the website has since been shut down. According to a Facebook notification, the mastermind behind the idea sold off the idea and moved on, which is probably for the best.

Rail Mounted Tactical Bottle Opener

Thanks in part to the craft beer revolution, it seems like nearly everything has a beer bottle opener on it these days. We’ll be the first to admit that we appreciate having easy access to a beer at the end of the day. However, we know that beer and firearms are two great things that don't go great together. In fact, they should be enjoyed separately and far, far away from each other. A rail-mounted beer bottle opener is simply a recipe for disaster as it encourages drinking in an unsafe environment. Remember, enjoy your rifle and your beer responsibly — and separately.

A Knife for Your Magazine Base Plate

We understand the appeal of having a knife that's ready at a moment’s notice. Even beyond self-defense situations, a knife can be handy for a variety of tasks throughout the day. However, mounting one to the bottom of your magazine not only seems awkward but also dangerous. Visions of dropping a magazine and having the knife land pointy side down into our feet fill our heads when we look at these accessories.

A Rifle Stock That Can House Another Gun

Like something from a bad Inception meme, there are now several varieties of product that serve not only as a stock for your rifle but also as a holster for another firearm. Many of these designs feature a system on the back of the stock which flips open and allows you to store a handgun of your choice in the back. However, the design is rather limited too, as it cannot hold a full-sized firearm and is limited to pistols with barrels shorter than 4 inches. We can’t imagine that this is any faster than drawing the handgun from the holster on your hip, so we’re not sure why you would want to store a handgun in your rifle, making your AR-15 heavier and more unwieldy in the process.

Order Your Useful AR-15 Parts Today!

If you’re looking to add functional accessories to your AR 15 rifle, then Rail Scales is for you. Made from durable and lasting materials like machined metal, HTP, and G 10, our rail covers, foregrips, and front iron sights are exactly what you’re looking for. Order your parts and accessories from RailScales today.