Tac latch for us Lefties?

W

Woodcogger

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
6   0   0
Location
Alberta, East Central
Maybe I'm not entering my search parameters correctly, but I can't seem to find any info on a Tac Latch or charging handle for us lefties (you know, the incredibly gifted and charismatic 10% of the general population :)
I find it awkward to reach across to pull the charging handle, and was wondering what other fellow lefties do, or if there is some wonderful Magpul addon to make my life easier? Thanks.

Woody
 
hey Woodcogger,
I shoot left and I just use my left hand to rack my ar.
Why reach across with your right hand?
or are you shooting right eye and trying to rack with your left hand?
 
I use a few ways:

1. Use left hand, index finger on the right side, middle finger on the left side

2. Use left hand, index finger on the left side, thumb on the back side pinching together (no finger on the right side)

Unsurprisingly difficult to take a picture without a 3rd hand :)

3. I'm in an awkward position, is I use my right hand, index finger on left side, middle on right side. Have to pay slightly more attention to muzzle control when doing this.

If I'm prone I usually just roll my body to the right and #### with left hand.

The more awkward part I find is hitting the forward assist, and I usually just end up 'thumbing' it with my left thumb. Never had an issue in the CF doing it this way.
 
Oh my god. You said you use the forward assist. Duck and cover. Run man run. You are going to get your ass chewed on this board. :D

Okay seriously there was a recent thread here on the forward assist and it got a bit heated. You may get some unsolicited posts telling you that you are borderline retarded for touching it. Do a search on "upper - no forward assist". Plan to have some time if you want to read it all. 50 pages I think.:eek:

Now back to your question. One thing you might try is just getting an extended latch. I shoot righty, and only use the index finger on my left hand to cycle the charging handle. I don't grab the entire charging handle. Both of my AR's wear scopes and they are set back enough to make grabbing the full charging handle a pain. You do need to lube the charging handle more though as it puts an off set load on it and forces it to rub more against the right side of the receiver.

I am sure there are problems with this method but it is working for me so far. I would think that if you had a latch sticking out the right side of the receiver, to be actuated by your right hand (assuming you shoot left) you would have interference with forward assist.
 
Woody, go to the Brownells web site and type in "ambi charging handle" into their search feature. You'll find what you need and they ship to Canada.

ht tp://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=0/k=ambi+charging+handle/t=P/ksubmit=y/Products/All/search=ambi_charging_handle
 
what's the diff?- i've just always used the standard t handle that came on my ar15a2 and never found a problem- i was told it was designed as an ambi- the only concession that i found was needed was the "bump" on the right side just aft of the ejection port
 
Generally, current training doctrine for the AR advocates operating the charging handle with your support hand while keeping your dominate hand on fire control. If this is the way the OP wants to run his rifle then an Ambi charging handle will suit him best. He'll be able to pinch the charging handle on the right hand side with the thumb and index finger of his support hand to complete the movement. It would make for a much smoother manipulation.

Other methods work of course, it all depends on the user.
 
ok, i get it now- we were taught to charge in the dismounted pattern ie port arms or with the aft hand
 
As I have no training in using an AR15, I just did what came naturally to me (which may be the hard way, I guess). I just thought that instead of having to grab the charging handle with my right index finger on the left and my midlde finger on the right side of the charging handle to pull, that there would be some do-ma-hickey that would allow me to pull with only my right index finger on the right side of the charging handle. Maybe I'm being too anal, as I only shoot targets and coyotes, and am not in the armed forces :) (I mean, it's not like that damned 'yote has me in it's sights and there's a pressing time factor!) Anyway, the ambi charging handle from Brownell's is kind of what I was looking for, so thank you all for your responses. I don't think the $85.00 price tag is worth my laziness, anyway. And on an added note, I did do the search on a 36 month search and came up with nothing, so thanks for your responses. They are much appreciated from a relative noob to this part of the sport.
 
OP how can you hunt coyotes with an AR..? They show up on your range a lot? Just a word of caution that restricted firearms can't be discharged unless on a range. It *may* not be worth losing your license and guns over.

Bolivar said:
Oh my god. You said you use the forward assist. Duck and cover. Run man run. You are going to get your ass chewed on this board. :D

Okay seriously there was a recent thread here on the forward assist and it got a bit heated. You may get some unsolicited posts telling you that you are borderline retarded for touching it. Do a search on "upper - no forward assist". Plan to have some time if you want to read it all. 50 pages I think.:eek:
Click to expand...

lol, I think I'll pass on the 50 page post and keep doing something that doesn't cause any problems ;)
 
Badger Ordnance makes a lefty version of their tac latch. DPMS makes a latch similar to the C7A2 latch that's lefty friendly.
 
Gentlemen:

If I may offer my thoughts.

I shoot left handed and I have tried many of the different options and latches out there.

The one that works best for me on an AR platform is the Badger Ord. Ambi charge handel. At the time I purchased it, it was the only truly abmi option out there, all the rest were, in my opinion, poor adaptations.

I was so impressed I bought the last three in Canada from Wolverine Supplies. In a fit of stupidity I went an sold one.

With all that being said, no one (at this time) makes a truly ambi charge handle for AR's in 308. In this case I bought a DMPS LAR 308 and as a result, I am able to use a tac-latch very similar to the CF C7A1 AR-15 latch. It may not work for all, but for my purposes, it seems to work very well for me.

Unlike some on this board, I pay to play on this platform, instead of getting paid to work on this palatform. As such, I am in control, and will make whatever adaptation I see fit to my personal platform to make it work better for me, and do so unapologetically. To the horror of some I have also added a BFG redi mod, and a Tactical solutions BAL lever.

These are my thoughts, and will do my best to field any question you may have.

regards and all the best

AbH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom