In
order to perform an immediate action or charge the carbine, current CQB
techniques have the operator racking the charging handle to the rear
using their support side hand only. This is done in one swift and strong movement. With
the operator’s firing grip maintained, the weapon again has a loaded
chamber, and the shooter can immediately bring a hot weapon back into
the fight.

The current use of extended tactical latches has made this movement much more efficient. The
only drawback to this type of manipulation is all the force used to
rack the charging handle rearward goes into the extended tactical latch
and is then transferred into the roll pin. With
this scenario, the entire operation becomes contingent on the sheer
strength of this tiny 1/16” roll pin, and its’ ability to take
continuing blows. Repeated
and forceful support hand only racking of the charging handle
eventually can lead to breaking the roll pin and loosing the latch
completely. With
the latch blown out, the charging handle will not stay secured to the
receiver as the bolt is moving back and forth during each cycle of the
weapon’s action. Not a good situation on a two way range.

We
have been very fortunate to receive continuing feedback from trainers
and operators alike for several years now regarding these issues. Internally we have seen this many times while in the course of continually test firing weapons before sale. Initially
we matched up a couple prototype solutions, but in conversations with
Eric at VLTOR, he was able to develop a better design at a better price
for the consumer. (VLTOR patent pending)
Introducing the BCMGUNFIGHTER™
(VLTOR Patent Pending)
The
BCMGUNFIGHTER™ Charging Handle and extended latches feature internal
redesigns to direct the force off of the roll pin and into the body of
the charging handle during support hand only manipulations. This new design has a built in backstop engineered into the extended latch and into the charging handle. As the latch is opened up, its’ travel is limited by these flat surface backstops. With
this travel limiting feature, the stress is taken off the roll pin, and
is now redirected into the entire body of the charging handle.
The BCMGUNFIGHTER™ Charging Handle offers two significant advantages.
1.
Since the tiny roll pin is no longer the weak point - it is a much
stronger system and tactical latch will stay intact even under repeated
support side only manipulation.
2. With
the force kept inside the body of the handle, when the handle is pulled
directly to the rear, it moves directly to the rear and does not angle
off to the outboard side. A much smoother operation.
On
the cutaway computer drawings you can see the inside machining of the
latch. It shows the 3 inside contact surfaces. (The 2 semi circular
cuts are to aid in the removal of dirt and debris that can get inside
the handle.)
On
the bottom view you can see the outside of the latch itself. It is
actually as thick as the handle. This provides 2 additional contact
surfaces to insure the force is maintained inside the handle and offers
the operator more contact surface to manipulate the handle.