Upper Side Charger AR-15

[Ah Pook]

Title Says It All.

What advantages does the side charger offer? I like the right side charging for a leftie.

What says y'all.

[Eric P]

No need to reposition to charge the gun with the awkward charging handle.. the single worst design choice for this platform.

[whitewalrus]

You are directly manipulating the bolt, in case of jam you won?t have to bang on the forward assist 10x to get it in battery.

It does make it easier to manipulate the bolt without having to move your position or gun as much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tim K]

I have a JP. Left side charge handle, I’m right handed. Love, love, love it. If I weren’t so cheap every AR I own would be a side charger. Gun goes down I can rack without breaking sight picture too badly. Love it.

That’s for precision rifle applications. For up close kinda cqb-ish use it’s of no extra value. If the gun goes down in an unsupported position I’m gonna hold it in my strong hand and rip the charging handle with my weak hand.

To me it’s a bonus. I’d rather have the option than not.

I’ve never run a side charger that’s on the bolt side, one that reciprocates with the bolt. If that’s the point of the question, ignore what I said. I have nothing to add.

[Ah Pook]

I like the right side charging handle for function. The down side, as a lefty, is the brass hits my right cheek.

[JethroBodine]

Most of mine are side chargers. The only down side I see with them, other than price, is they add a little more weight to your build.

[Hoser]

I have one upper that is a side charger. It is a JP. Its ok. If all of my uppers were side chargers it would be better.

For now, it is just more weight and one more thing to break. But the CDI factor on side chargers is high.