Forward assist, needed or not?

Charlie said:
Sounds as if you answered your own question. You needed it if you had to use it.

(I know there are other options such as ejecting the balky round and tryi
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indeed
kcult said:
I couldn't watch the video, so I made I huge assumption and joke about it.

You're good.
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It was actually pretty good
 
Like @Beef15 said earlier, sometimes a forward assist can make crap worse. I do recall firing full auto with an A1 that I can guarantee was dirty. Dirty wasn’t the problem though. A handful of rounds out of a 30 round mag then nothing, I slapped that forward assist with the heel of my hand like I shoulda done to my ex-wife. Nothing. I’m outta the game at this point so I take a glance at the chamber. I had, not 2, but 3 rounds try to feed and I drove ‘em deep. Took a few seconds with a Leatherman tool to work them out. Anybody remember Sanchez magazines?
 
I doub't i'll ever build an upper without one. I've used one a couple of times for the quiet charging like pink vapor mentioned on p1. especially useful for hunting.
 
Clean the AR15 and it will serve you well with OUT a forward assist.
During my time in the Air Force, 17 years was as a weapons instructor. Our AR15s didn't have forward assists. In all that time I don't recall a time when a forward assist would have made any difference. Each student shot 100 rounds each time they qualified. Over time Millions of rounds.
Failure to feed/chamber: Cause: Dirty Gun, or broken part. Inspect and repair.
Forcing the round in the chamber was not a option or necessary.

Opinion: The forward assist was and is not necessary.
 
Those saying it's not 'necessary'. Are you running your AR's outside of a square range environment?

Yes Tim, I have used a AR15 with out the forward assist, Hunting, in harsh environments, (cold, monsoons, heat, sand storms, and SC swamps). Never found a use for a forward assist that cleaning wouldn't fix. On the off chance cleaning didn't work it had a broken part.


I think this issue can be summed up this way.
If you were taught and trained with a forward assist, you want one and NO one will change your mind.
If you were taught and trained with out a forward assist, you don't see the need and No one will change your mind.

I see it this way; Coffee or tea, Grits or cream of wheat. It's all opinion.
 
I don't not think I have ever used the FA. When I was assembling my Fightlite build, I looked into getting an upper receiver without FA but all of them were more expensive.
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88Mustang said:
I don't not think I have ever used the FA. When I was assembling my Fightlite build, I looked into getting an upper receiver without FA but all of them were more expensive.
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I like that!
 
FA is NOT “needed” because of the design of the BCG, the indent you see on the BCG through the ejection port is there so you can push the bolt forward if needed, if the bolt needs more than finger pressure get it into battery, ramming it forward with the FA could cause worse issues.

With all that said, I prefer a FA on my ARs because they are “normal” to me, the non FA uppers were before my time and the FA has been there as long as I can remember, BUT I also understand the negative issues the FA can cause and I have attempted to train myself to use it properly.

Funny side note, when I explained what the FA was and how to properly use it properly to my wife, she literally looked me in the eye and said “then why is it even there if it causes more problems than it fixes?”, my answer was “because people who would never need to use it thought the gun needed it”, she says “well that’s stupid....”, yeah, indeed it is lmao
 
Have gun-will travel said:
It's better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it
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Depends on the 'need'. Yes, my SHTF has one. No, nothing I normally haul around and shoot has one. That kind 'need it' thinking is why there are still some people alive who think the only 'need it and not have it' are revolvers.
 
As originally designed, the dished area of the bolt carrier was the forward assist, finger pressure did the forward assist thing.
The forward assist as we know it sprung from the issues of the switching from the original 5.56mm powder to ball powder, and was exacerbated by the troops being told that the rifle didn't need cleaning.
The FA was added to force a round into a dirty chamber.

That being said, I've used it to seat a bolt after the "load and make ready" command before starting a CQB match stage after brass checking to ensure my weapon was indeed HOT.

I see it as six one, half dozen the other.....
 
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Only recently have I periodically used it to nudge the bolt closed after charging a round while using the charging handle, instead of releasing the bolt catch. But, in all the years, up to and including now, the FA has only gotten me into more trouble, trying force a round that won't chamber. It's usually followed by cursing as I then try to extract a stuck round, by tugging on the charging handle, beating the stock down on a hard surface or resorting to a cleaning rod down the barrel. It's more of a "SUCKER!" button for me.
 
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I think there are necessary; a lot of things can induce the bolt being slightly out of battery. Charging handle caught on kit (esp all these new style CHs), short stroking the CH when clearing a malfunction, dirty mags etc. it seems to happen more when it’s hot/humid/dusty. I think it’s useful. Not a deal breaker but if I have the choice I would opt for a forward assist.
 
I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. I have a couple with and a couple without. I do sorta feel like if I'm having to jam a cartridge in the chamber, it's probably gonna be a pain to get back out.
 
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