A local machine shop has come up with a phenomenal new design for charging handles... They are 2 piece construction. The plunger is 4140 heat treated steel that is milled and then titanium nitride coated. It is then attached to the handle and latch with two allen bolts. The handle portion is 6061 aluminum that is anodized and has a extended tactical latch. The steel plunger is milled at a 90 degree angle to the plunger so that there is no stress or strain on the screws whatsoever.

The beauty of this is that the plunger can be replaced without having to replace the handle and latch mechanism. The steel should not bend but if it ever would it could be replace.

These are high end units designed for high end competition shooting where it is not uncommon for competitors to bend a plunger from time to time...

The entire piece is machined at a top quality machine shop here in the USA.

Want to get some feedback from guys as to what they think of these units...

Prices are $110 each.







Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.

They will be going into full production in the next few weeks. In the meantime I have a few available from the first (small) run...

Thanks,

Nathan

This post has been edited by LancoTactical: September 21st 2009 2:36 AM

How are they at gas blocking?

I think that looks like a great Charging Handle, if I had any say, I would probably have the steel section coated in Chrome or Micro-Slic.

If I was a competition shooter, I may invest in one. They do look solid. Does he have any tested or in the field?

Sorry, but it looks like an over-priced ACLM knock off with a Badger Gen I latch.

The ACLM, but more-so the PRI, already have their following. The PRI blocks gas very well while the ACLM utilizes an innovative ambi design w/o the traditional latch.

How does it do with gas blocking? From the photos, it doesn't look like it'll be any different than a std handle.

Is $110 an introductory price or normal expected selling price? Is the main selling point on this unit its use of stronger steel and ability to change the plunger rather than the entire handle?

This post has been edited by Jerz_subbie: September 21st 2009 12:16 AM

any way to have the handle coated in the same stuff as the plunger is?

It has been and continues to be tested and will likely undergo some more revisions along the way. I personally would like to see some gas blocking incorporated into the design. But, there may be some issues there with current patents etc.

The main benefit in my opinion at this time is the steel plunger integrated with the aluminum handle/latch. Along with the ability to replace the plunger if need be... The current latches were some that they picked up from Brownells I believe and really are irrelevant to the unit as a whole as they could easily be sold without the latch allowing the buyer to put in whatever they wanted (as a dealer I think this would possibly be the better way to go as it could drop the price $20 - $30 per unit).

The price at this time is not an introductory price but the planned price with a tactical latch... The latch may very well change over time and since they are milling all the parts from billet the sky is the limit as far as design etc. It is tough to tell from the photos but it has two recessed oval areas on the top and 3 milled lines around the handle as well...

I like the ambidextrous idea as well with the release...

I would have to check about getting the titanium nitride coating on aluminum... not sure if that would work or not...

Basically I am trying to get feedback for the machine shop to try and improve the product...

It will never be a inexpensive unit due to the cost of US labor and precision milling and other machinery but it will be top quality...

Thanks to everyone so far for the constructive feedback. I will pass it along to the shop and likely even just get them to come here and check out the discussion.


-Nathan

This post has been edited by LancoTactical: September 21st 2009 2:36 AM

They look cool, that's for sure. But at $110.00 I can buy a whole handful of the cheap ones. What kind of warranty will come with it?

I'll admit I'm not a competition shooter nor do I abuse my equipment. While this charging handle looks great and apparently has a lot of though and machining put into it, I couldn't justify buying one stronger $110 charging handle as apposed to 6 standard ones that I rarely hear of breaking.

Would using a different finish on the steel bring cost down significantly? Or is there a critical reason for the titanium coating?

I think that if you were able to divert gasses away from the shooter, similar to the PRI gas buster, you'd have a home run!

I think they look nice but I'm just the kind of Gadget retard that would try something like this.

Except its NOT ambidextrous. Its just a 2 piece charge handle.

Correct, I was referring more to the handle design. 2 depressions on the top, milling on the edges.

This post has been edited by Jerz_subbie: September 21st 2009 9:39 PM

Though it is a nice peice of equipment, it costs the same as some quality uppers. I see no cost benefit to this part. It would be great for those that have more money than sense.

I communicated with the machine shop owner today and sent him a link to this thread... and even before I talked to him they were already heading down the path of looking into adding some gas blocking aspects to the unit...

They realize this is not a piece that is going to be bought by the average AR-15 shooter... it is designed primarily for the competition shooter dropping $2k + into their rifles... or for the guys that have more money than they know what to do with and, or want something no one else at the range has or even has ever seen, or they want the absolute best charging handle money can buy...

Long story short the photos I posted are now likely of a "prototype" and revisions are coming thanks to your guys help.

I will try and post some more photos of the current one to show more detail of the aluminum handle portion...

Also someone asked about not coating them with the titanium nitride and that would definitely reduce the cost as that is over $15 per unit right now alone...

I still feel that the best thing may be to make them without the latch at all and allow the buyer to install whatever latch they want. It would keep the cost down and allow for personalization. Just my 2 cents...

So far only 6 of these units were made so they are really just at the starting point... basically the current ones are almost "one off" type pieces...

Thanks again for all the constructive feedback and keep it coming.

-Nathan

It was JC(jchtrh) that mentioned changing the coating. Changing the coating and dropping the price because of it would bring more attention... and sales.




TS

Below are some more close up photos of the handle/latch and the attachment point of the plunger into the handle...









-Nathan

If you guys need a tester, feel free to send me one.

X2.

If I had the money I would drop it on one of these, but I just don't right now and don't see it in the near future.

I agree with TigerStripe on the coating. TiN has proven brittle and flaky when used on other AR components. Chrome bonds a lot better. Also look into Cerakote, Microslick, or NP3. Those may work even better.

My comment about the gas busting capabilities is that for that high price point only the gas reduction models are there. Those with simply better pull options go for half that.

True, the steel plunger reduces breakage issues, but that honestly is a very rare occurrence. Keeping this purely as a small niche item for competition shooters is risking not enough business to keep the product afloat. If you broaden the number features then you broaden your customer base. Make it interesting enough for those willing to spend extra for gas reduction and/or ambidextrous operation will significantly increase your customer base. Lots of shooters hate the gas and there are plenty of lefties out there.

As for patent issues, I doubt a company can claim right to the concept of gas reduction. Sure, the actual design can be protected, but if you find another design that diverts or blocks gas a different way you should be golden.

from a machining standpoint, polish the plunger better before coating, go with NP3 it will hold up alot better, and widen the handle it looks kinda smallish for the finger grooves and the L-section on the plunger sits slightly lower than the handle, get the tolerance on that tighter

Sorry Nate, but just because it's very expensive and shiny doesn't mean it's the best, not by a long shot. There are several manufacturers out there charging an arm and a leg for stuff that is no better than other reputable companies merch.

The only way you could make your charging handle better than any other is by lowering the price or by making it out of some exotic material that will never wear, bend or break.

To be honest, the best handle would probably be a Microslicked gas buster. That's just my opinion.

Good luck with it though.

This post has been edited by SepsiS: October 6th 2009 6:35 AM