Gear Head Works

Oct 03, 2013

• Paul Reavis is the inventor
• Oct 3, 2016 – Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 2
  – polymer / rubber
• Jan 12, 2017 – Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 1
  –  aluminum

About Gear Head Works

Gear Head Works is an American accessory maker led by founder and inventor Paul Reavis, best known for the Tailhook family of pistol braces. Unlike strap-on or cuff-style braces, the Tailhook uses a hook-shaped arm that folds down and rests under the shooter’s forearm, shifting the weight of a heavy AR-style pistol back toward the arm so the shooter can concentrate on trigger control. Announced for 2017 in three versions, the fixed Mod 1 clamps onto most pistol buffer tubes, the Mod 2 adds five-position length adjustment through a proprietary tube that the company said ATF specifically approved, and the Mod 3 was planned as a machined aluminum PDW-style brace.

The Tailhook earned a reputation as one of the most compact braces on the market, and the company also showed the ONE, a .300 Blackout bolt-action pistol built on a Remington action with a side-folding Tailhook Mod 1, at TriggrCon 2018. For gun owners, the Tailhook is part of the larger pistol brace story: ATF’s 2023 pistol brace rule was vacated by a federal court in June 2024, and the Justice Department dropped its appeal in 2025.

Key Facts

• January 1, 2017: The Tailhook Mod 1, Mod 2 and Mod 3 are announced, with the Mod 1 at about $100 MSRP.
• May 2018: At the NRA Annual Meeting, Reavis presents the Tailhook as the company’s most popular product.
• July 28, 2018: Gear Head Works shows the ONE .300 Blackout bolt-action pistol at TriggrCon 2018 in the Seattle area.
• June 2024: A federal court in Texas vacates ATF’s pistol brace rule in Mock v. Garland.

Learn More

• Pistol Braces on Minuteman University.com

Sources

• Tailhook Pistol Brace: Adjustable LOP, Folding Hook (The Firearm Blog, 2017)
• Gear Head Works Tailhook Pistol Brace (Guns & Ammo, 2018)
• Gear Head Works ONE Bolt-Action Pistol (RECOIL, 2018)

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