AR terminology question

L

Lzwo

Inactive
This will be a really basic question, but I'm hoping someone can explain why ARs have "charging handles" and are "charged." I've never heard of this term used on any other rifle.

I know that bolt action rifles have bolt handles. I thought that semi-autos also used the term "bolt," and that the lever/handle/knob/thingy on the side was also called the "bolt handle." But, with ARs, I know they are "charged" by use of the "charging handle." Would anyone care to explain why that is the correct terminology?

I guess, if we have time, we might could also talk about why ARs are "charged." I don't think I've ever heard that term used with any other rife - I always understood rounds were "chambered." (And to be really fancy, the weapon is then "in battery" but I'm guessing that’s a military term.)

And, would you "charge" a semi-auto handgun? If not, why not?

Hope these questions aren't too basic, but its something I've read frequently, and always wondered about. As always, thanks to the community in advance.
 
The charging handle pulls the bolt carrier back. It is not attached to the bolt or carrier. It catches when the user pulls it back. The bolt and carrier cycles when firing independent of the handle.

I believe the term carried over from the military, that's how the handle is identified when I was in the army.
 
I think it goes back to the days of black powder and muzzle loaders, when they refered to there weapons as being charged or not charged.
 
It is a good question, I never really thought about it. They taught us in basic that it was a charging handle and that is just what I have always called it. I just looked in the owners manuals and my Winchester Model 190 calls it a "cocking handle" and the 10/22 calls it a bolt handle. Maybe it is just left up to the manufacturer and Armalite or Eugene Stoner (or was it Colt) wanted to use something different and came up with "charging handle".
 
LOL, I wouldnt have put my nose on a cocking handle.
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I don't know, I've been known to put a "cocktail" to my mouth on occasion!
Rickyrick, I just noticed your location as Mesquite Jungle Desert, that wouldn't be anywhere near Big Spring would it. I used to live there and it is a good description.
 
A bolt handle implies it's attached to the bolt - which most are. That means as you push it back and forth, the bolt is, too.

The M1/M14 has an operating rod, operating rod handle, and bolt. As you pull back the operating rod, it carries the bolt back, and then propels it forward because the operating rod spring is attached.

The AR15 has a charging handle, bolt carrier, and bolt. You pull the charging handle back against the pressure of the action spring pushing the buffer against the bolt carrier, but the charging handle won't push it forward. It can move forward separately and does lock independently. The bolt can be held back and then released separately - if the charging handle is still extended, it will carry it forward.

Different parts have different names and different characteristics in operation.
 
Where did the term originate? It's all over the TM for the M16, I just looked at the older US rifles to draw a timeline for its use. Was it named by armalite, colt or the army?

Cocking devices for other weapons such as AK are being loosely referred to as charging handles, but I think that's just bleed over from the AR.
 
Where did the term originate?
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From Gene Stoner, Bob Fremont and Jim Sullivan and the old Armalite/Fairchild Co. These are the guys that designed the rifle so they got to make up the names.;)

Some after market suppliers use 'charging handle' to describe the Ruger 10/22 'cocking handle'. Some times used for Glocks.

Other fire arms that use "charging handle"

Marlin Model 60
Hi Point
Ma deuce
 
I thought there were some World War I era machine guns that had a charging handle... meaning a handle to draw the bolt back into the locked open position...
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Amen to what he said! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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Here is another question; why is it the AR has "furniture" when most guns just have stocks, trigger guards and that sort of thing. I don't see how hand guards or pistol grips compare to a couch or a chair or chest of drawers. Where did this come from and better yet, why?
 
Here is another question; why is it the AR has "furniture" when most guns just have stocks, trigger guards and that sort of thing.
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FALs and AKs have furniture as well. My FAL has wooden furniture rather than plastic.
 
I guess the question is why is it called furniture. That isn't what the Army manual calls it or even the owners manual of my civilian guns. Just curious where the term came from and why people use it.
 
The term "furniture" has been used to describe the wood stock, hand guards, and attaching hardware on mil-surps for as long as I can remember. I've read it in books dating back to turn of the 20th century.
 
The term "furniture" has been used to describe the wood stock, hand guards, and attaching hardware on mil-surps for as long as I can remember. I've read it in books dating back to turn of the 20th century.
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That is strange. I put 11 years in the military and completed a gunsmith course under the GI bill and never heard that term till I came on this forum. I guess if I had taken a Military Armorers course It may have come up.
 
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