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Thread: Do charging handles break?

  1. #1
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    Do charging handles break?

    If so, what causes them to break? At what point in the rifle's life? etc, etc, etc?

  2. #2
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    Yes, I have heard of them breaking.

    No, I haven't broken mine, but I have broken the latch pin. I recently replaced my broken latch pin with a stainless steel pin, in an effort to make it last a bit longer.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by kal View Post
    If so, what causes them to break? At what point in the rifle's life? etc, etc, etc?
    A CH from a known-good manufacturer should last the life of the rifle, barring exceptional use. I would not consider a worn latch or spring a problem, as long as it was later in the life of the part.

    A CH from a lesser manufacturer may be more easily bent, have a pin that walks, or latch that fails in some way. Adding an extended/tactical CH latch may exacerbate problems due to the additional stresses such things can put on the CH.

    If you're CH is latching, disengaging, your pin isn't walking, and it's moving freely in the upper, it's GTG. When it does otherwise, replace it. If you have a suspect/bottomfeeder part, it's cheap insurance to replace it preemptively.

  4. #4
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    the only charging handles i've seen break were being used as things other than charging handles..

    i've operated weapons with seriously beat up charging handles- like, completely worn smooth and shiny at the top, side lugs worn down to little nubs, etc- and still had the weapon function fine.

    the only thing the charging handle does is manually charge the weapon- it will actually fire and cycle rounds without it.. so it's not a high-wear part, though it seems like it would be.

  5. #5
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    I haven't seen any broken charging handles, but have seen some bent ones. Most of these were either cheap and/or had large latches installed.

  6. #6
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    seen several bent ones, never one that actually broke (like, in half)

  7. #7
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    Had an unknown brand/quality charging handle crack right below the handle on one side, the metal kind of looked like when you tear cardboard, kind of crumbly. Not too much wear/use on the CH for that to happen. I weighed both the broken CH and two known CH's (RRA Forged and CMT CH) and the broken CH weighed less than both quality CH's. Also, the broken CH was smaller in key areas (handle area and near gas tube area), as if to save on materials.

    Also use a 90's production Bushmaster with a CH whose finish is well worn and it feels like it flexes when I have to clear for malfunctions, etc., but it still works.

    I'll gladly pay extra for forged CH's.

  8. #8
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    I had the roll pin on my PRI Gas Buster CH (the newer version with the largest latch available) work its way out at a carbine class this past weekend while I was emptying a mag. I saw something black fly to my left out of the corner of my eye, but kept on firing. I then noticed that the charging handle was then reciprocating back and forth just half way of the length of the charging handle, and was popping me in the right cheek every time I fired.

    This was a factory new PRI GB CH, with ZERO modifications done to it. I think it was just a fluke, s I have 3 other Gas buster's and they work just fine... although the other 3 all have the standard big latch on them, not the newer even larger "military big latch." (I think that's what it's called?)

    I stopped firing when I noticed it moving and popping me in the cheek b/c I had never seen a CH reciprocate on an AR like that. Then I immediately noticed that the latch had separated itself from the CH. I decided to go ahead and finish the course of fire just to see how it would hold up and what would happen, since I've never seen it happen before.

    My SR-15 functioned just fine without the latch, and the CH barely "tapped" my cheek each time I fired, it wasn't painful at all, although it had more blowback almost like I was firing suppressed or something. It ran just fine for the last 35-50 rounds I fired until the course of fire was complete and we all needed to reload our mags.

    Afterwards I simply took my other Gas Buster charging handle out of my backup carbine and everything was good to go and like new again.

  9. #9
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    Bent is probably worse than broken, at least if it breaks it can be removed easily, where a bent one might be a pain.

    At a Caputo class, he showed us a PRI charging handle that had been bent.

    Any charging handle out there can be bent.
    It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemy. -Ethan Allen

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by RetreatHell View Post
    This was a factory new PRI GB CH, with ZERO modifications done to it. I think it was just a fluke, s I have 3 other Gas buster's and they work just fine... although the other 3 all have the standard big latch on them, not the newer even larger "military big latch." (I think that's what it's called?
    not a fluke- that's a known problem, but i think they've fixed it with a revised edition or something.

    i've actually operated a weapon without a latch as well- it didn't effect my shooting at all, as i shoot with my nose literally mashed up against the charging handle anyway.

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