AR Pistol Side Charge Handle vs. Rear Charge Handle

[Bucky623]

[FONT=&amp]I have an AR pistol lower that needs an upper. This will be a range toy and may double as a defense forearm at some point. What are the positives and negatives of a side charge handle vs. the traditional rear charge handle? [/FONT]

 

[Sniper 79]

For me its training and parts compatibility.

 

[DadSmith]

Personally I'm looking for a left side or ambidextrous charging pistol upper. If complete at least a 10" barrel in 5.56. What I like about them is the same hand that operates the mag also operates the bolt if necessary. You can give it a good forward assist push or clearing a jam faster without losing sight picture or removing hand from the grip. In theory it makes sense. I don't own one yet just my theory.

 

[Areoflyer09]

I love my side chargers, enough so that having one is a requirement for me. All of mine are left side chargers: 2 Gibbz, 1 Foxtrot Mike and 1 Savage. The Foxtrot Mike and Savage are both proprietary, but the Gibbz will work with any hand guard or bolt (once you swap the cam pin).

I’ve found Dadsmith’s theory to be true. I can typically run the side charger without needing to drop the pistol/rifle from my shoulder. I’ve used to clear a munfction once or twice, hard primers on some x39. The biggest use is recharging the AR9s as neither of them have a LRBHO.

I can’t say the pro/con list for either design makes one better than the other and it will come down to which you prefer.

I will say that I like the side chargers a lot more than rear chargers, but that is really just because it feels more natural to me.

 

[AllenM]

I have a couple side charge AR's, one is a pistol. I really like them

 

[bcannon]

I really like my side charging 9mm. FM upper on a Spikes lrbho lower. I still like my traditional uppers too though. The only upside to a side charger that I've found is you can keep it closer when charging it. Other than that the cool factor is a little higher.

 

[gmcttr]

...What I like about them is the same hand that operates the mag also operates the bolt if necessary. You can give it a good forward assist push or clearing a jam faster without losing sight picture or removing hand from the grip. In theory it makes sense. I don't own one yet just my theory.

While I don't have a side charging AR15, I do have two non-reciprocating side charging AR9's. Unless the AR15's are designed differently you cannot use the charging handle of a non-reciprocating side charger to apply a forward assist.

 

[Areoflyer09]

While I don't have a side charging AR15, I do have two non-reciprocating side charging AR9's. Unless the AR15's are designed differently you cannot use the charging handle of a non-reciprocating side charger to apply a forward assist.

Good point! I missed that in his post. Non-reciprocating side charger will not function as a forward assist.

 

[DadSmith]

While I don't have a side charging AR15, I do have two non-reciprocating side charging AR9's. Unless the AR15's are designed differently you cannot use the charging handle of a non-reciprocating side charger to apply a forward assist.

I watched a video of a left side charging upper it was reciprocating.

https://youtu.be/td7avVkqmUU

 

[Pin]

What/where can someone pick up a stripped side charging upper?

 

[Areoflyer09]

What/where can someone pick up a stripped side charging upper?

Gibbz is my preferred choice.

https://gibbzarms.com/

 

[dbg326]

To echo a lot of the above, it comes down to manual of arms and user preference.

I'm interested in trying a sidecharging upper with the charging handle on the left side, as in theory it makes a lot of sense. Big bore sidecharger on a SCR lower would be intriguing...

I can run a rifle with a right hand charging handle ok at speed (AK, 10/22), however find myself overthinking at times.

With that being said, if I had to fall back on muscle memory in a self defense scenario, a standard AR upper is my personal preference, particularly with a nice ambi charging handle, or at the very least an extended latch.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[DadSmith]

To echo a lot of the above, it comes down to manual of arms and user preference.

I'm interested in trying a sidecharging upper with the charging handle on the left side, as in theory it makes a lot of sense. Big bore sidecharger on a SCR lower would be intriguing...

I can run a rifle with a right hand charging handle ok at speed (AK, 10/22), however find myself overthinking at times.

With that being said, if I had to fall back on muscle memory in a self defense scenario, a standard AR upper is my personal preference, particularly with a nice ambi charging handle, or at the very least an extended latch.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

If I can't find a left side charger that is reciprocating I'll go with a rear charging ambidextrous handle with extended latch on left side.