Is there anyone who uses or did use a vertical charging handle on an akm? I mean, you know, the galil-style add-on that helps to rack the bolt carrier with left hand.
I saw that "ultimate gear" sold one like that, I could not find it and I don't know if there are other brands on the market.


Please note:

I read some time ago that it was prone to fly away when firing... Is that true? Maybe just an allen screw is not enough to ensure it to the original handle.
Some may weld it, but the akm BCG itself is slightly off center, and this would increase that. Nothing that really affects firing, but surely it's not good for accuracy to add some weight on the right of the BCG.

I know it's simple to rack the BCG with left hand on the akm, but sometimes you are on the line, maybe aiming, and you don't want to lean the rifle just enough to let you grab the handle...

I think it could be a good improvement, but here in Italy it's hard to find, and even if I found it maybe in the U.S. they probably won't simply let me buy it because there are a lot of restrictions to sell abroad something related to a gun. Even if it's just a little piece of blued steel.

Some could say, why don't you buy a Galil? True, but I own this feg akm I really improved along the years, when .223 Galils were still not available in Italy.

https://imageshack.com/i/pn3CLN23j

really, the easiest option is to buy a Galil bolt carrier if you want the 90 degree charging handle. They are made to AKM standards even though they are in 223/556. Of course you should still check head space (even though technically the carrier shouldn't affect head space).

From my experience owning AKs and Galils, I've never charged a Galil over the top. I've tried, and it didn't work as well as a standard AKM for me. I did swap an AKM bolt carrier into my 1st Galil because of this.

Hope that helps.

Accuracy changes should be negligable. There are too many other things going on for that to be a practical issue IMO

FWIW I've never cared for any type of extended charging handle on an AK and if you have a side rail optic many of them will get in the way of the optic. I've always thought they were an overrated addition to the AK, but that's just like my opinion man


Also, welcome to the forum

I put an AK gas piston on my Galil bolt carrier. Worked perfectly, but that puts the rear site dangerously close to the vertical charging handle. Blood flowed profusely from my finger, so the AK carrier went back. The site on the Galil is in a different spot, so it’s not an issue on the Galil. Too bad. GARY

Ditto. Solution in search of a problem that doesn't exist IMO.

You could of went with a dog leg rail or rear tech sight to make it more galil-ish

Thanks for all your interesting suggestions. It's always useful to confront with different points of view. I have already put a "galil style" peep sight on my akm (hope you can see the pic): I think the techsight ak200 is the most important improvement I put on it... The line of sight is longer and accuracy is great. Archaengel collapsible stock and American technologies foregrip are minor changes, but it all fixes what I think are the flaws of the akm design (short stock, short line of sight, and some few others). I thought vertical charging handle was a good improvement because it could be easy to rack the BCG with the weak hand when you are aiming, but the only mean I had was to find something to attach or weld to the original one. I could not shift a galil BCG because here it's a "main part" of a weapon: Italy has different laws, and the possession of a BCG could be dangerous, not to mention the fact that it's impossible to find. All legal weapons here are registered and owners are subjected to an authorization that must be renewed every five years, it's a very different world.
Anyway I appreciate all your suggestions. I think I will stick to my akm as it is.

Spetsnaz disagrees.