Norgon Ambi-Catch

The Norgon Ambi-Catch is the part that defined the category. Before Strike, CMMG, Battle Arms, and Forward Controls built their own ambi catches, the Norgon was the original ambidextrous magazine release for the AR-15 and M16, and it is still the reference others are measured against. The right-side button works normally; a left-side release lets a support hand or a left-handed shooter drop the magazine without breaking grip.

It is steel, made in the USA, and backed by a lifetime guarantee, and it works with all AR-15 and M16 magazines, which is not true of every budget ambi catch (the Strike unit, for example, is incompatible with a few specific magazine bodies). It drops into any lower cut for a mil-spec magazine catch with no receiver modification.

The tradeoff is price. At a $90 MSRP it is the most expensive option in this guide, and street pricing around $72 still sits above the Strike and CMMG ambi catches. Buy it when proven track record and universal magazine compatibility matter more than saving twenty dollars. For the cheapest ambi path, the Strike Industries AMBI is the value pick; for a low-profile duty lever, the Forward Controls EMR-A; the Norgon is the established, no-surprises standard.