AR charging handle phobia

T

tangolima

New member
There is recent thread on bent charging handle. That reactivated a small phobia that I have had since I got to know the AR platform.

The location of the CH on AR is quite unique. What would happen if CH somehow gets attached / stuck to the bcg due to malfunction of some sort? The end of the CH would jam into the shooter's face, or the nostrils if he practices nose on CH. Has that ever happened?

-TL

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I can't see that would ever happen unless someone attempted to deliberately effect the scenario. With the track the CH rides in keeping it straight, there's just not much of a way to develop such a kink in a way that would grab the contact point of the BCG.
 
You would have to modify the CH in a very stupid way for that to happen. Since the AR-15 has been around longer than I have, first offered for sale to civilians in 1963, if this was a possibility we'd have heard about it by now.
 
It did happen. Just not serious enough to be on the news.

https://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/dxao6g/ar_charging_handle_hits_me_in_the_face_why/

https://www.1911forum.com/threads/a...last-round-from-magazine-help-needed.1044341/

https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/C...-firing-How-common-is-this-issue-/118-746974/

I'm quite certain it happens very rarely. It is not really a phobia, but rather a caution always in my mind. I take a point to check on the CH's functioning, especially the latch. Should it ever happen the latch will hopefully take out enough energy. In the meantime, half my ARs are side chargers. This is one of the factors.

Aren't there latchless CHs? Hmm.. I don't know about that.

-TL

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It shouldn't be inconvenient, nor rude, in the first place.

My unfounded phobia / caution is based on a freak accident our gunsmithing instructor told us during a class. Man came to his shop with a broken Remington 1100 auto shotgun, upset scared. The gun's action is connected to recoil spring in the stock through a part, called the link. The link has a split tail made of spring steel. The tail has 2 rather sharp ends to be captured by a round follower on end of the spring. When the man fired the gun, the link tail somehow detached from the follower. On the recoil force of the 00 buck, the sharp ends of tail pierced through the wall of the spring tube and the wood of butt stock in 2 different directions, one of which stuck out within an inch from his cheek weld.

Didn't mean to spread my psychological weakness. It is quite obvious of such possibility on AR when I first saw the design. A bit surprised people simply don't think it is possible.

-TL

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Didn't mean to spread my psychological weakness. It is quite obvious of such possibility on AR when I first saw the design. A bit surprised people simply don't think it is possible.
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What's not mentioned is proper maintenance and use of of the charging handles. How many people use them to bang loose a stuck case (I know I have) potentially bending the handle or breaking the latch? How many people clean and inspect it and ensure that the the latch assembly is properly in-line and under required spring tension (I've found ones that have come loose)? MSRs are dynamic mechanisms and like other parts in the system the CHs require maintenance and surveillance for continued proper operation. Do that and they should be trouble-free. Another issue--sometimes there is a mismatch in the gas tube length and handle length.
 
First, if the charging handle somehow became "welded" to the bolt carrier, I suspect it would pop open or break that "leetle latch".

Next, a Rem 1100 is vastly different from an AR 15. And one freak accident out of how many millions of Rem 1100s isn't something I'd lose sleep over.

Yes there is some element of risk any time you fire a design that has moving parts right in front of your face, or in the stock. Its possible, though highly unlikely.

That being said, I don't use bullpup design rifles, and in particular won't use bullpup semi autos. Even though it is extremely unlikely anything will go wrong, I just don't want 50K+ psi right next to my cheek!

But, that's just me....:rolleyes:
 
Yeah it is pretty much just me. If it happens when I'm behind the CH, the close to zero probability is a solid 100%. We all have our weakness.

-TL

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