An acquaintance of mine was telling me about this side charging handle system, and I was curious if anyone had any experience with them.

Side Charging Handle System | Devil Dog Concepts

Interesting. I don't suppose they make a right side version for us left-handed people?

I am sort of liking it - will have to look more into it.
Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Interesting. I don't suppose they make a right side version for us left-handed people?

According to their FAQ page, they are looking into that but do not have an ETA.

I'm not sure I see the benefit.

150$ to move the charging handle 4" forward (assuming one could use an ambi Charging handle)

Just like oversized charging handle levers, I don't much see the point in making a mountain out of a what is actually a mole hill that I only manipulate when initially readying the gun, or fixing a malfunction. A malfunction shouldn't happen much, and you'll be just fine when it does, so long as you've practiced. This product would be nothing but an annoying snag hazard; not to mention it's occupation of valuable top-rail real estate, depending on what kind of sighting components you use. But, my opinion is my own, and may not apply to your unique use-case.

I would consider this for my varmint/range rifles with larger scopes. Otherwise its not worth the extra weight.

Interesting concept. Kudos to Devil Dog for thinking outside the box.

I took a couple of my ARs out of the safe in order to guess how the system might work. The scope mounts I use eliminate the models that attach to the forward end of the picatinny rail. The clearance between the scope's ocular and the rail is likely too small for the Devil Dog rear-based system.

IMO the Devil Dog charger is better for those using iron sights, and maybe a RDS.

What is the point/purpose of this?

Isn’t the rear charging handle on the AR platform a 50+ year proven design?

To me this looks like a solution in search of a problem.

I put this in the huh? category. If you want a side charger just build one, while not mainstream its a readily available set of parts. Its not like this is for some unique gun where internal changes are impossible. This looks likes a really silly way to convert to side charging. I can't imagine more crap hanging around in that area of the gun.

Yes, this is why I was asking. My initial thought was "interesting idea, is it really practical?"

I've seen a few other slight mods to charging handles, but nothing quite this extensive.

I bought one from a guy on another forum, he never even installed it.
I did and liked it, but a buddy and I where out shooting and he wanted it, so I sold it to him for my cost.
Being left-handed and shooting righty charging was easy and fast for me and my buddy plus when doing clearing/jam drills it meant that rotating the rifle to inspect the chamber when clearing allowed better control and no slingshotting the charging handle. He still uses the one he got from me and yesterday rubbed it in my nose. He's LEO Firearms Instructor and I get to train with them , so what the hey.
I have one on an AR, just haven't told him !