I installed a Badger Ordnance Gen II Tactical Latch on the Mega Maten’s charging handle today. It took about 40 seconds using a bench block, roll pin punch, roll pin starter punch and a ball peen hammer. $19 and 40 seconds later, the Mega Maten charging handle is optic-friendly.
Ever since I used a BCM Gunfighter, I’ve quietly shunned stock charging handles. I like being able to karate chop the handle without slamming or scraping the back of my hand on an optic mount.
Although I wanted to put a BCM Gunfighter charging handle on my Maten, I couldn’t bring myself to waste the money replacing the perfectly serviceable Mega billet charging handle it came with. It seemed wasteful, and I figured I could deal with the small contact surface of the stock handle for a while.
It wasn’t all that long before I realized that on a platform as configurable as the AR someone had to make a replacement latch that would make use of the original handle. Mega’s .308 handle head is patterned perfectly to it’s smaller 5.56 brother, so finding a replacement on the internet was easy. I found a few options and decided to buy the Badger because it’s about half the size of most “oversize” charging handles and seemed to offer a good balance between easy operation and snaginess/pokiness.
Installation was a breeze with the proper tools. Function is flawless and I expect a long life from anything made by Badger Ordnance.
Aside from investing in quality firearms and parts, I advocate investing in quality tools for working on your guns. Nothing is more frustrating than screwing up a part trying to install it with the wrong tool.
