Skip to content

Mecharmor Defense Systems TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review

As I discussed in the review of my Windham .308 AR, I am someone who likes to be able to get as much meat on a charging handle as possible. I want to be able to grip and rip when I am running my rifle and the mil-spec charging handle is just too small in my opinion. When I have to pull back a .308 bolt carrier group, I want to be able to do that without losing grip.

The old saying of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” came to mind a lot during my research phase of changing the charging handle on Windham .308 AR. My AR-15 (AWS ZA-15) came with a Mecharmor TacOps-1 charging handle.  I fell in love with it the first time I racked the bolt back. I have used the Mecharmor charging handle in my training and I have committed the feel to memory. As I said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It was obvious that I wanted to get the same charging handle for the Windham .308 AR as I have on my AWS ZA-15.

Gears Of Guns | Mecharmor TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review


(Left to Right: Mecharmor TacOps-1 .308, Milspec Windham .308, Mecharmor TacOps-1 5.56)

There is no doubt that the Mecharmor TacOps-1 charging handle beats the Milspec handle by a mile when it comes to size.

Gears Of Guns | Mecharmor TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review

You can see even with one hand I have a lot of real estate to grip the charging handle and pull back on the bolt

Gears Of Guns | Mecharmor TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review

Having the Leupold scope mounted where it is normally, you would have to use two fingers to rack the bolt with the mil-spec.

Gears Of Guns | Mecharmor TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review
Gears Of Guns | Mecharmor TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review
Gears Of Guns | Mecharmor TacOps-1 Charging Handle Review

The Mecharmor TacOps-1 is an Ambi charging handle.

If you like the compact size that a mil-spec charging handle has to offer then the  Mecharmor TacOpst might not be for you.  It could create more snag points for when you are using the sling, but I have never had a problem with snagging, so that is just a theory.

Both of the Mecharmor TacOps-1, the .308 and the 5.56  are just under $70  which is on par with most Ambi charging handles.

I am interested in doing some comparison testing with other brands of charging handles which might be something I will try to work on this year. Keep watching for any follow-up.