The all NEW HC-10; Side Charging Handle for your AR-10/AR308 Rifle.

By Camaron Hillman; Pres./CEO Devil Dog Concepts

Finally, after years of demand and different design after different design, we were finally able to come out with the Side Charging Handle System for the AR-10 rifle! 

Shortly after coming out with the Hard Charger for the AR-15, the demand starting coming in for the AR-10.  It seemed people really don’t like the charging handles on the AR-10 platforms!  After years of development and many different designs, we still couldn’t develop the system needed to accommodate as many AR-10/AR308 platforms as possible while still having the same durability and benefits as the Hard Charger for the AR-15.  Then one day the design finally hit.  Well, part of the design at least.  But it was a solid initial concept and after a handful of testing, samples, adjustments, slight redesigns and a year or so later… finally!! The HC-10 was complete. 

The main hurdle to address in the design is how non-standard the AR-10s & AR308s are between the different options and the concept of the Hard Charger is its interchangeable functionality.   Different heights of picatinny rails: We found many of the AR-10s out there all had some sleight differences in the height of the picatinny rail in relation to the charging handle.  This complication caused the development of a two-piece mounting systems for the HC-10 with the adjustable slots and receiver bolts. 

Different location of rails slots: The required a unique design of an adjustable mounting bolt that can slide forward and backward while at the same time keeping the mount of the HC-10 in the same spot.  This design was the most unique to come up with.  After much trial and error, the guided locking block that inserts in to the mount and has a slot for a nut to slide back and forth was the solution.  Retained simply with a roll pin keeps everything in place and makes disassembly a breeze if the slider nut needs to be replaced.

Different widths of receivers: The HC-10 needed to be adjustable for the varying thicknesses of the rifle receivers because they are all designed different and not mil-spec.   With some brainstorming with a friend, the concept of a locking block that doubles as locking washer was developed.  We also found the bolt for this adjustable tip needed to be made in reverse threading.  We found that standard threading, when tightening the tip, caused the tip to turn into the upper receiver and push the HC-10 receiver out of alignment. 

Also, we decided to add in some customer requests over the years about the charging handle itself.  We added some material to the top to assist with deflecting gas blowback.   Then we redesigned the handle giving it a curve and adding in some grooves to increase grip-ability when charging in the original fashion.  Plus, it looks so much cooler!

Finally, we came up with a solid easy fix to account for the slight variances that occur in manufacturing.  See the tube can be a few thousandths one direction and if the mount is a few thousandths the other, the variance becomes doubles very quickly and can cause the HC-10 to pull out of alignment after mounting, making it bind greatly.  Alignment shims.  We thought about it like an old classic car needing an alignment and they work amazing!  

Stayed tuned for new options and models of the HC-10 coming out soon.  The HC-716 is currently in production to function on the Sig Sauer 716 and 716i rifles.  A rear mount version is also in production.  We are working on other models of the HCT and HCR for the AR-15 as well.  These new variants are designed to work on Billet rifles now and will both work wonderfully on the PSA KS-47.

Stay Safe and God Bless!
Semper Fi

Camaron Hillman; Pres / CEO Devil Dog Concepts 

Devil Dog Concepts
www.devildogconcepts.com

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