AR Charging Handle upgrade
- Thread starter GunnyUSMC
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Hokie_PhD
Member
Spare parts? What are those? Oh yea, you got it... beginnings of new builds.
Hokie_PhD
Member
Their shipping isn’t terrible, but it’s best to plan your purchases and get more than just a part or two from one supplier.
Sistema1927
Member
I just ordered three of them from Primary Arms as well. 1st Class postage was a little over $3.
Thanks Gunny.
Thanks Gunny.
herrwalther
Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2013
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- 8,124
Charging handle and 2 pistol grips. I don't even know how I got 2 pistol grips. I have a stripped lower and a LPK buried somewhere. Right now I am leaning toward and pricing an AR pistol build in 5.56.
great thread!
one caveat though... the latch is a lever held in place by a weak roll pin, but the original is so short, that it takes effort to really do any damage. that changes when you put a monster lever on it. in the early 2000s, there was a wave of extended "tactical" latches, and people found out pretty quick that the entire rear end of the CH needed to be redesigned so dudes don't rip the whole latch right off when they get excited. I don't have experience with all the new brands, but I imagine most of them deal with this problem. I know when BCM first released theirs, their marketing addressed it. maybe it still does. also at the time, most CH sold were not milspec, and were quite a bit weaker, and susceptible to bending
one caveat though... the latch is a lever held in place by a weak roll pin, but the original is so short, that it takes effort to really do any damage. that changes when you put a monster lever on it. in the early 2000s, there was a wave of extended "tactical" latches, and people found out pretty quick that the entire rear end of the CH needed to be redesigned so dudes don't rip the whole latch right off when they get excited. I don't have experience with all the new brands, but I imagine most of them deal with this problem. I know when BCM first released theirs, their marketing addressed it. maybe it still does. also at the time, most CH sold were not milspec, and were quite a bit weaker, and susceptible to bending
FL-NC
Member
The larger extended charging handles work well on rifles like the SR25 with the larger scopes for SHOOTING, but have been known to catch on gear and pull the BCG out of battery when being CARRIED, as the extended CH is bumping onto the individual equipment/body armor. The best fix we found was the gas-buster, which has a "medium size" rounded extension, as well as re-directing the gas on a suppressed weapon to the side.
rbernie
Contributing Member
I found this out the first time I went still hunting with my 762x39 AR homebuilt back in the 2004 - 2005 timeframe after installing a Badger paddle. The charging handle was the noisiest part of my kit, and that was no bueno.
doubleh
Member
Darn enablers anyway. Here I was coasting along and not spending any money on my AR and this thread shows up and gets me in gear. I ordered an extended latch and of course I couldn't stop there. I also ordered the new free float tube that I've also had on the back burner for awhile. It's all Gunny's fault. 
Corpral_Agarn
Member
I need this.
DustyGmt
Member
With all these upgrades and CH's that are available for pretty reasonable prices (some of them), why in all the sacred F are PSA's cruddy mil spec charging handles $25???
while the handle on the mil spec CH leaves a lot to be desired, the body is significantly stronger and more expensive to produce than the standard civilian version. Just because someone blinged up a CH with red anodizing and a fancy shape, doesn't mean the body is stronger. It could still be made out of cheaper material.
more to the point, when you set up a factory to make mil spec CH, and figure out the cost and then a competitive markup to price.... and someone else comes along and makes something non-mil spec cheaper, that doesn't suddenly mean it got cheaper to make your mil spec ones. if it were me, i wouldn't sell them at a loss. I'd just expect to sell fewer of them.
more to the point, when you set up a factory to make mil spec CH, and figure out the cost and then a competitive markup to price.... and someone else comes along and makes something non-mil spec cheaper, that doesn't suddenly mean it got cheaper to make your mil spec ones. if it were me, i wouldn't sell them at a loss. I'd just expect to sell fewer of them.
rbernie
Contributing Member
This is an OEM CH from a budget AR. When doing a standard pogo didn’t clear a stuck round, a rubber deadblow was used to smack the handle on the right while holding the latch on the left.
A milspec handle and a BCM handle will not deform like this.
(And yes - the round was cleared in the process. Unfortunately, the shooters’ day was done because the charging handle would no longer fit into its milled raceway on the top of the receiver.)
Sistema1927
Member
I finally got around to installing the three Strike Industries latches today. It took me about 15 minutes from beginning to end to do all three, but I was certainly glad that I had the proper roll pin punches/starters.
They went into my "go to" carbine, my 300 AAC pistol, and my 9mm pistol.
I am going to have to order three more, for my target rifle, the wife's carbine, and my 5.56 pistol; maybe a total of four if I also upgrade my Bushmaster Dissipator.
They went into my "go to" carbine, my 300 AAC pistol, and my 9mm pistol.
I am going to have to order three more, for my target rifle, the wife's carbine, and my 5.56 pistol; maybe a total of four if I also upgrade my Bushmaster Dissipator.
I tried to install one of the new handles today, but quickly gave up as I don't have a punch small enough to drive out the pin. Gee, that is the smallest pin I have ever seen. Sistema what is the diameter of your pin punch that does the job???
Sistema1927
Member
I have put them away now, but it was the proper roll pin punch for that size pin, the one with the little nipple on the end. I also used the proper roll pin starter. Normal punches, even if they are the right size, make the job much, much harder.
I did figure out rather quickly that I needed to hold the latch and spring in place using a slightly undersized punch inserted from the opposite side, allowing the new pin to dislodge it as it went home.
I also ordered the additional three (the Dissipator will stay stock), and Primary Arms shipped them out today.
I did figure out rather quickly that I needed to hold the latch and spring in place using a slightly undersized punch inserted from the opposite side, allowing the new pin to dislodge it as it went home.
I also ordered the additional three (the Dissipator will stay stock), and Primary Arms shipped them out today.
The right size punch for the roll pin is 1/16"
I fitted my Strike's extended latch yesterday and it makes it lot easier to operate CH with a scope. Took about 5 minutes including removing old latch. Don't drive the pin all the way out and use punch partially inserted to keep the holes aligned on assembly.
I fitted my Strike's extended latch yesterday and it makes it lot easier to operate CH with a scope. Took about 5 minutes including removing old latch. Don't drive the pin all the way out and use punch partially inserted to keep the holes aligned on assembly.
Sistema1927
Member
I did my other 3 yesterday. That makes a total of 6. Including getting the 3 guns out of the safe, clearing them, checking them, rechecking them, popping out the charging handles, installing the new latches, reassembly, reloading, and putting them back in the safe, took all of 15 minutes. A great upgrade for very little money and effort.
herrwalther
Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2013
- Messages
- 8,124
1/16" fits just perfectly for that charging handle pin. 1.6mm if you find it in metric.
Back in January I got two of the kits. I tried to install one and found that my 1/16" punch would not enter the knock out hole at the bottom of the handle pin opening. The project was shelved till today when the weather restricted my range time and I had to do something.. I found 3 different 1/16" punches in my collection and none would enter the hole. Now comes the "Lock Down Virus Engineering" cure!.
I took a common bulletin board push pin and ground the point and taper off the end. It worked perfectly on two different make charging handles. It pushed out the pin and became a slave pin. Holding on to the old handle I pulled the slave pin and captured the old handle.
Re assembly was a snap! The push pin was used as a slave pin to start reassembly of the new handle. Less than 5 minutes and no parts were lost or went into orbit.
The only bad news is I need two more kits. Hopefully there are more different companies offering charge handle extensions for a lesser price.
PS If you know of a reasonable substitute at a lower price, speak up please. I need 2 more!
I took a common bulletin board push pin and ground the point and taper off the end. It worked perfectly on two different make charging handles. It pushed out the pin and became a slave pin. Holding on to the old handle I pulled the slave pin and captured the old handle.
Re assembly was a snap! The push pin was used as a slave pin to start reassembly of the new handle. Less than 5 minutes and no parts were lost or went into orbit.
The only bad news is I need two more kits. Hopefully there are more different companies offering charge handle extensions for a lesser price.
PS If you know of a reasonable substitute at a lower price, speak up please. I need 2 more!
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