Forward Assist - Why Everyone NEEDS Them...

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Skans

Active member
"YES" to Forward Assist. Anyone who builds an AR without a forward assist should be shunned from the AR World, and here's why:
- Forward assists looks cool
- Gun haters hate the forward assist - it looks way too "evil".
- Who doesn't want a fidget spinner thingy on their gun for when they get board?
- More buttons = better gun.
- My reloads are rarely sized correctly, the forward assist is an invaluable tool for crappy re-loaders to get the cartridge fully (almost fully) seated in the chamber (handloaders :rolleyes: )
- Non-forward assist AR's look "naked".
- Someone needs to make an AR with a dummy forward assist on the left side of the receiver that actually acts as a BCG charging pull.

Blast away! I haven't posted here in some time, so I am eager to hear everyone's thoughts.
 
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ballardw

New member
I'll disagree with the "looks cool". I've always thought they looked like what they are: a kludge to fix a problem that should never have existed in the first place.
 
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44caliberkid

New member
I can’t say I haven’t used the forward assist a few times in my M16/AR15 experience. I also like color anodized buttons and controls on my ARs, so it gives me another custom part to dress up my builds. I do favor clean side receivers for blow back, pistol caliber ARs, as the super heavy bolt and spring generally drives every thing home. But no doubt there are forward assist haters out there. As I recall (maybe in error) it was a pencil pusher, bean counter addition to start with.
 
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rickyrick

New member
Sorry about that…

Actually only one rifle does not have the FA, but as a guy that doesn’t roll in the mud anymore, I don’t care if they have them or not.
Some people want them and use them and I’m ok with that too…



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zukiphile

New member
I recall a story about a truck driver in Iraq who was stopped by some bad locals on a way to his delivery. His rifle had enough of the dusty sand in it that it wasn't cycling properly. He had to pound each round into the chamber, waiting for his single shot at each of nine opponents. It clearly served a purpose for him.

I don't prefer them. An ambidextrous CH is easier to access from the right if the FA is absent.
 
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ballardw

New member
stuckinthe60s said:
if I remember correctly, the first ones didn't have them.
then this thing called monsoon mud came about.
Click to expand...
and a supposed "don't need to clean the M16" idea plus a change in powder that was dirtier than the original.
Ever seen a Vietnam era training file where LSA (Lubricant Small Arms, the white stuff) was used on the ammo?
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
I can live without the FA.
But it has also come in handy a few times, to get the extractor to snap over a cartridge that managed to get stuck in the chamber for some reason.

I don't use it to chamber a round and fire it. If I am using the FA, it is to get the extractor over the rim and get that bad case/cartridge out of there. (Which usually then requires mortaring.)
 
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bamaranger

New member
jam fixer

I can live without it and am not a fan. Many folks see it as the "jam fixer" and the first thing they do is mess with it when they have a failure of some sort. While I can somewhat rationalize the military use of one for a silent chambering and to verify a bolt fully in battery, I have never used the FA on any of my AR's afield. My rifles are clean enough and ammo consistent enough that cycling the bolt and chambering a round works just fine without it.

I've worked with several vets who were trained that the chambering of a round involved tapping the FA to insure the rifle was in battery. You will not convince them that this is an unnecessary step. My MP-15 is sans FA and is fully functional and practical without the "jam fixer".
 
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zukiphile

New member
ballardw said:
and a supposed "don't need to clean the M16" idea plus a change in powder that was dirtier than the original.
Click to expand...

I remember hearing about the 1960s idea that the M16 was "self cleaning" and wondering how anyone could utter such nonsense.

Then I began using and cleaning one. The degree to which it does scrape clean a lot of the surfaces that need to be clean is impressive. I clean mine regularly, but a lot of that is just wanting it to be clean well before there is any need for it.
 
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tangolima

New member
I want to keep that feature, either in form of FA button or as side charger. The lamest argument against FA is that garand doesn't have one, so it is not needed. Yeah!

-TL

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rickyrick

New member
As a civilian shooter and not in a life and death battle, a person needs to stop and investigate why the rifle didn’t go into battery before proceeding.
I’m not a fan of the practice of easing a round into the chamber then finishing with the forward assist. I firmly believe that any semiautomatic should be chambered with the full force of the action. It’s just my opinion.
That being said, I am a veteran and I catch myself tapping the FA at times out of old habit. I also sometimes do a press check, but only sometimes.
I’ve also seen videos of exploding ARs where the user had to use the FA repeatedly up until the failure.
Again, as a recreational shooter, if your AR is trying to tell you something, you need to listen.
 
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labnoti

New member
I'm trying to get one for my Mini 14 but I haven't been able to find one so far. That must be why they're not as popular.
 
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stagpanther

New member
I've left them off on some builds; have 'em on most but really don't care. The "makes things worse to make things better ratio" is pretty high in my experience when I've actually used them. It's up there on my so-what list along with 9mm vs 45 acp.;)
 
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Txhillbilly

New member
I use mine almost every time I go hunting with an AR. It's a lot quieter than letting the bcg slam home with the first round in the chamber.
 
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