MickB Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 PRI has the gas buster, and DPMS,and Brownells have steel units. Any advantage of a steel charging handle on an AR15? Has anyone ever bent or otherwise damaged a regular aluminium charging handle? Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchang0 Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 IIRC, the PRI Gas Buster has an aluminum body. The latch itself might be steel. At any rate, yes, it is definitely a common enough occurrence of breaking the charging handle that it may be worthwhile to consider a steel one. Usually, the break occurs at the roll pin where the latch hinges; often, a new pin will solve the problem, but sometimes, the hole itself breaks open. The other most common failure is up at the front, where the handle fits over the gas key. It can crack under heat and stress. You might consider the BCM charging handle, which addresses the roll pin issue very effectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 (edited) PRI has the gas buster, and DPMS,and Brownells have steel units. Any advantage of a steel charging handle on an AR15? Has anyone ever bent or otherwise damaged a regular aluminium charging handle? Mick If you grab the charge handle on both sides, it's highly unlikely that you'll need it. If you grab on one side only, get one. I think Bruce Piatt mentioned bending an aluminum handle. Edited April 15, 2011 by Dan Sierpina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug H. Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 PRI has the gas buster, and DPMS,and Brownells have steel units. Any advantage of a steel charging handle on an AR15? Has anyone ever bent or otherwise damaged a regular aluminium charging handle? Mick Yes, not real bad, but it took more force than usual to rack and felt funny. After I straightened it out it was fine, but I got that feeling, it could be worse the next time. I got one of the DPMS steel ones and I probably would have to break the upper to bend it. Take out your handle and see easy it bends, some alot more than others. If you have a big latch and rack hard with your weak hand you could be in for a bent C.H. If you rack straight back with the strong hand probably would never bend one. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Get the steel. I've bent one. It's a real pain in the rear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Extended handles put a lot of bending momment on the spine It was designed to be pulled straight back with two fingers I have seen lots of them bent when ground racking to get a defective round cleared Its all in the way you use it, steel is not a bad idea, and can save the bacon in rough use Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Jerry broke one at the Nationals a few years back and cost him the match. I think it was right after that DPMS started making steel ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixxerjunky Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Get a BCM gunfighter. Make sure you get the medium because the large is too big IMO. I use one and it works great for charging with one hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 even though the BCM charging handle claims to cure the problem of extended latches pulling through the roll pin or spreading the handle, the DPMS Steel handle is still stronger in all respects. My favorite is the DPMS steel handle with the Badger Ordnance 2nd Gen latch. Big enough to allow for easier manipulation but small enough not to catch on gear or obstruct anything. Not to mention it is plenty strong and you could mortar clearance until the cows come home without worry about deforming the handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spd522 Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I have bent the one on my DPMS .308. No one made a steel one at the time. Maybe someone does now but I haven't looked for a few years. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.E. Kelley Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Nordic HD Charging Handle Picked up two of these and I am impressed. Nicely priced too! Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Nordic HD Charging Handle Picked up two of these and I am impressed. Nicely priced too! Patrick Nice find....don't know how I missed those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthyBlagga Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I had a regular GI charging handle break on me a few years back - now I run GasBusters, which feel much more robust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I like the BCM one, not only is the latch arrangement stronger, the whole thing is stronger. Hold on in your hand next to a standard one and you'll realize it is beefier and better built by quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 The BCM Mod4 (medium) is a good size latch and the charging handle is made from 7075 T6 Billet aluminum, which is a lot stronger than the standard charging handles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeltier Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Yay to the steel charge handle. I have been using one (sometimes abusing)for a few years, and it has survived things that would have pretzaled an aluminum one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 The BCM Mod4 (medium) is a good size latch and the charging handle is made from 7075 T6 Billet aluminum, which is a lot stronger than the standard charging handles. Graham...the same holds true when comparing the BCM to the DPMS Steel handle. The BCM is a very well designed unit but the DPMS Steel handle leaves no question as to its durability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionshooter Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Jerry broke one at the Nationals a few years back and cost him the match. I think it was right after that DPMS started making steel ones. I did at the 2003 nationals (pretty sure it was the same nationals). Started a stage with the chamber empty and I had one of those wild pretzel looking tac-latches, I slapped it hard and it bent that charging handle so bad the carrier wouldn't go into battery. Never got a shot off. My buddy and I swapped charging handles out of his gun into mine on each stage for the rest of the match. That handle is proudly hanging on the wall infront of the laoding bench as a reminder. I actually carry a spare now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionshooter Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 (edited) whoops Edited April 16, 2011 by actionshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickB Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Thanks for the feedback. Brownells has a new steel charging handle at a pretty good price that I might try... http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=42379/Product/AR_15_M16_TACTICAL_CHARGING_HANDLE Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRUBL Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Couple things about our heavy duty charge handle.... The cross section of the beam has much more mass than the military standard. The website says billet, but that is going to be changed shortly.....as they are made from the mil spec 7075 forgings. We machine them differently, not to remove as much mat'l so that they become a lot stiffer.....I'll run the numbers this next week, but off the top of my head I am thinking that they are about 50% to 60% Stronger than the mil spec version, meaning you can put a lot of side pressure on them and they won't bend. These things are very tough!!! I'll let Patrick and others be the judge of that.....I already know, but I work for Nordic. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickB Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Recieved the Brownells "steel" charging handle and it is actually a stripped DPMS aluminum charging handle with an oversized steel latch. They were incorrectly listed as steel. After I pointed that out to them, they sent me a steel DPMS unit and changed the description... Mick Thanks for the feedback. Brownells has a new steel charging handle at a pretty good price that I might try... http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=42379/Product/AR_15_M16_TACTICAL_CHARGING_HANDLE Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsydlooknin75 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 One other thing you may want to do is peen the end of the roll pin on each side just a little so it doesn't want to walk out over time. Make sure not to pinch the handle at that point and the latch still moves freely. Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I just got back from teaching an LEO patrol Rifle class, and had an officer bend his charging handle. So, get steel if you plan to abuse your rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickB Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Good idea. I peen the roll pins in by buffers after I had one walk out after a match. A little further and it would have bound up the recoil spring... Mick One other thing you may want to do is peen the end of the roll pin on each side just a little so it doesn't want to walk out over time. Make sure not to pinch the handle at that point and the latch still moves freely. Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now