Devil Dog Concepts: Hard Charger. A Side Charging Conversion For AR’s

In the world of aftermarket firearms parts, there are, in my mind, generally two categories. Parts that add to what your gun can do, or parts that change how you do it.

There’s been a steady stream of improvements and alternatives to the standard AR-15 charging handle design, and today’s featured product aims to reshape how the handle operates entirely.

Enter the Devil Dog Concepts Hard Charger, a left-handed charging handle conversion that relocates the essential interface between operator and machine.

Let’s check the tech specs, then get into installation and use.

Tech Specs:

• Mil-Spec Anodized 7075 Aluminum and Stainless Steel
• Weighs under 5 ounces.
• 5 year manufacturer warranty
• Multiple handle options
• Non-reciprocating
• Removes stress on roll pin

Breakdown:

Ok, so the Devil Dog Concepts Hard Charger is a fancy charging handle with a mounting point on the upper receiver, designed to relocate the charging handle’s “grab” point to a front-left position.

Do you like the Mp5’s charging handle location? That’s pretty close to where the Hard Charger puts you. While we still don’t get the “HK slap”, there’s no denying this is a more ergonomic location for right-handed shooters than the standard charging handle spot.

Installation:

This is about a 1-minute job, which has an exchange rate of 1.5 beers, or 1/5 on my 1-5 difficulty scale.

Clear your rifle. Pop the rear takedown pin. Remove the bolt carrier group and charging handle. You’re halfway there!

Clamp the external Hard Charger body to the 13th (forwardmost) Picatinny rail slot. That step will change with different versions of the Hard Charger.

Slide the charging handle stem into the external body.

Line up the (mostly) internal changing handle body, then slide it into both the receiver and the external body’s tube.

Reinstall the bolt carrier group, and you’re done.

Running some dry fire and malfunction drills shows that once the Hard Charger is installed, it’s an extremely solid unit. There’s no slop or play in this assembly, and the whole kit and kaboodle slides back and forth with ease.

I was worried about binding, but this charging handle ran the bolt as smoothly as ever.

Concept:

I was a proponent of the Magpul BAD lever before it became popular, and long before it lost popularity with the oft-online crowd. The reason? Simplifying the number of steps it takes to perform basic actions on your rifle is efficient, and efficiency is like a free speed boost.

The Devil Dog Concepts Hard Charger is much the same. It places the charging handle in a much more ergonomic location and keeps the left hand in a good spot to hit the bolt stop when you need the carrier locked to the rear. That’s it, that’s the main benefit, and it’s not insignificant.

A lesser benefit is reducing the likelihood of shearing off the roll pin on the charging handle latch. This isn’t a super common failure point (and one I’ve never seen in person) but avoiding what is definitely a show stopper is always a plus.

The Devil Dog Concepts Hard Charger should indeed be even more efficient when paired with an aforementioned BAD lever, or a natively ambi lower receiver. While the Mp5 charging handle remains firmly in the “gross motor” category, ripping back the charging handle then finding the bolt stop can be a touch trickier, especially in cold weather or with gloves. Going ambi means locking the bolt back faster with your right hand.

Range Time:

Kinesthetic theory, discussions about efficiency, and all other table talk have their place, but take a backseat to real-world range time. So, after a few months with the Hard Charger, does it deliver the Hard Charging experience?

Well, yeah, mostly. By “yeah,” I mean that the Hard Charger achieves its goals of relocating the charging handle to a more ergonomic spot. Once you overcome any build-up AR-15 muscle memory, racking the bolt from the front/left definitely feels better.

Slamming the bolt to the rear from the “HK” position is just a much more natural motion, despite decades of muscle memory for me bought by the kind of personal round count you won’t often find outside of a Special Operations unit with an unlimited wartime ammo budget.

But by “mostly,” I mean that an aftermarket conversion will never be quite as efficient as a ground-up design. This has some pros/cons. While a true left hand charging upper has the advantage of being a much more internal mechanical assembly, they are also entirely proprietary. The Hard Charger has the advantage of using (and being used in) otherwise standardized AR-15 components. If something did break, going back to a standard charging handle would get you back up and running while repairs were underway.

The other plus to an aftermarket conversion is utilizing the component your already have. Given the lengthy debates on which left hand charging dedicated upper is better (or, less bad) I’m much happier giving this a go on one of my many uppers hanging around the shop here at Hobbit Ranch.

The reduced tension on the rear of the charging handle is apparent as well, in case you’re concerned about that being a mechanical weak link.

One further note, the Hard Charger has interchangeable handles. I took some time picking which one I wanted (tactical) and am happy with the choice. Being able to switch between five solid handles and one folding handle means you can tailor the Hard Charger to your liking.

Bottom Line:

Many retrofit kits that aim to improve a central function of a firearm end up being clunky additions with as many drawbacks as bonuses. The Devil Dog Concepts Hard Charger however, hits the mark.

By moving the charging handle location to a more ergonomic location, manipulating the bolt carrier becomes more efficient to a significant degree. The way Devil Dog Concepts went about this led to a product that is as robust as it is effectual.

Paired with an ambi lower receiver like the Griffin Armament MKII has, and the Hard Charger becomes and integral part of a system even more refined. Starting at $97.30, there’s a variety of Hard Charger models to fit a variety of rifles. Check em out!

–Jens “Rex Nanorum” Hammer

@Rexnanorum