O.K. AR fans, are these features necessary?

[Lavid2002]

None

I do like the dust cover because it keeps my rifle clear of junk. Do I NEED it....nope. Ive never used nor never will use the forward assist. Sure ive tapped it for shnits and giggle when I got the gun...but Remedial and immediate action are more effective than a fwd assist to me. I mean...why waste time right? I can immediate as fast as I can tap.
Dust cover, I like it : D

 

[zippy13]

I'm an old fart, and I have vague recollections of the original versions. I knocked the dust off some old pubs and confirmed of the
1. Forward assist;
2. Shell deflector; and
3. Dust cover.
Only the dustcover was original on early AR-15/M16s. The deflector and and forward assist came later. Here's a partial scan of an old NRA drawing. I don't see a FA nor deflector.

As I recall, the original M16, w/out forward assist, was an Air Force weapon and the Army's M16A1 had the FA. Supposedly, the Air Force wanted nothing to do with it the FA. The deflector came later, after the Vietnam era, with the M16A2. Since my Sporter leads a pampered life, I don't really need any of the three. The only time the dust cover is closed is when it's cased.

 

[kozak6]

If it's for cost, how much do you think it saves them, and are the savings passed on to the customer?

How much would it have to save to make you consider one?

 

[WeedWacker]

It all depends on what you do.

If you do scenario shoots and you shoot weak side as well as strong and are right hand/eye dominant then you may need that brass deflector.

If you are going to be in the big sandbox and go on long patrols of course you need that dust cover

As far as the FA goes, not too sure on how useful it really is but, oh well.

And last but not least:
if it ticks off the anti's then you definitely need them

 

[JAYBIRD78]

Kind of like buying a car without windshield wipers. You don't need them to drive, BUT when "it rains on your parade" it sure helps to have those wipers. Save up your greenbacks and get the standard upper. Shoot safe and shoot strait.

 

[George Hill]

I've had to use my bolt forward assist many times.
Deflector? You might not be left handed, but what if you have to negotiate a right corner? What if you are riding shotgun in a vehicle and have to shoot out the window? Much easier to just shoot left handed. Your normal Rifle Range Pogues might not ever need these features... but serious shooters do.
A Dust Cover? If you lived out here in the deserts of Utah, not even question about dust covers.

And don't tell me shooting rifles weak handed is such a handicap. At LRI were were rolling round 50,000 acres in a Silverado or an assault jeep, and I was smoking prairie dogs well past 450 shooting left handed, with a bolt action. It can be done, and it can be done quite well.

 

[Fremmer]

I can't remember from the last time I shot an AR-15, and everybody is entitled to ask a really stupid question every once in a while, so here's my really stupid question....

If you have the dust cover shut, and you fire the weapon, the dust cover will automatically open to allow for ejection of the shell, right?

Goodness, that sounds like a really stupid question, but for the life of me I can't remember, so go easy, folks.....

 

[crashm1]

I can't remember from the last time I shot an AR-15, and everybody is entitled to ask a really stupid question every once in a while, so here's my really stupid question....

If you have the dust cover shut, and you fire the weapon, the dust cover will automatically open to allow for ejection of the shell, right?

Goodness, that sounds like a really stupid question, but for the life of me I can't remember, so go easy, folks.....

Yup
Yup
K

 

[Dog Confetti]

The forward assist is relevant and very useful. I use it every time I do a press check because the bolt isn't able to go through its full cycle. I have also had to use it more than a few times when firing. It was added to the weapon because it was found to be necessary. I would not buy an AR without one.

The dust cover is also good...if you can get one why not have one.

I'm not a lefty so I can't comment on the brass deflector, but it does no harm.

 

[BusGunner007]

The forward assist is relevant and very useful. I use it every time I do a press check because the bolt isn't able to go through its full cycle. I have also had to use it more than a few times when firing. It was added to the weapon because it was found to be necessary. I would not buy an AR without one.

The dust cover is also good...if you can get one why not have one.

I'm not a lefty so I can't comment on the brass deflector, but it does no harm.

Logical.
I'd go with this answer...

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

I like the FA for quietly chambering rounds.

I like the brass deflector for shooting weakside (keeping brass out of my face).

I like the dustcover... for keeping dust out...

 

[IZinterrogator]

I also use the forward assist for the press check. If the charging handle was attached to the bolt carrier instead of floating, it would be unnecessary, but it's not. Dust cover is kind of useless for a rifle used only on a nicely manicured range, but I've scouted out a new place to shoot near me that is a desert canyon where the dust cover may come in handy (and I definitely needed it when I was in Iraq). The brass deflector is a pain since it sends brass at the guy next to you on the firing line, but as a righty who never fired an M16A1, I'm not one to judge if it's necessary or not.

 

[dgludwig]

Unless you are in a combat zone with the attendant harsh terrain/climate issues, none of the three missing features are really needed -but I like them anyhow, well, just because.

I have heard the argument that a forward assist only serves to drive an already recalcitrant round even deeper into the chamber but without actually "seating" it, making an already bad situation even worse.