Removing the Forward Assist?

[EzGoingKev]

OK so in this thread here -

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...at-out-useless

People are complaining about the forward assist being useless. I disagree.

[Duffy]

I have used numerous times to close the bolt quietly. Like any tool, the FA can be abused, I haven't tried to shove a round in when it didn't want to go in. The ability to be abused and misused shouldn't be a reason to not have it.

It's an often ignored control, many shooters haven't needed to use it. It's true the concave area of the carrier (where the two gas vents reside) can be used to push the bolt close, a forward assist is a lever that is intuitively placed and can exert more force than a finger pushing on a smooth part of the carrier, which usually gets fouled with carbon and lube, making that area even slicker. The concave / recessed area exists to accommodate the dust cover's spring loaded ball bearing housing, this was confirmed in my email exchange with Chris Bartocci.

Military rifles see harsher environments than in civilian (including LE) hands. M16's forward assist was copied and implemented on other systems, which either feature a purpose built push lever like the M16 forward assist, or have bolts that can act like one.

I vote to keep it.

[SteveL]

I asked Pat Mac his opinion of the FA in a class a couple of years ago. He thought it was a good enough question that he stopped the entire class and had everyone gather around to explain the question that had been asked and to answer it. Long story short, he feels it absolutely needs to be there and routinely uses it as a means of ensuring his rifle is fully back in battery after doing a press check. Also here's a video of KD4 doing the exact same thing.



I'm not an expert but I take their word for it.

[RHINOWSO]

Absolutely required on a serious use weapon - for gamer / bubba home builds / bros who only shoot off a bench, who cares.

[Arik]

Irrelevant if you don't want one

[C-grunt]

Absolutely useful. I chamber check anytime I can during a serious situation. A couple whack on the forward assist ensures it's fully chambered and locked.

[Firefly]

On a 5.56, absolutely useful.

No reason not to have it

[Clint]

The forward assist should be retained, but moved forward and streamlined to keep it free of the charging handle.

[bad aim]

The forward assist should be retained, but moved forward and streamlined to keep it free of the charging handle.

I like Duffy's LPFA for this very reason-- keeps the FA to a minimal profile and it's a blessing to rack those ambi charging handles without it getting in the way.

[MegademiC]

I couldn’t care either way.
My current guns have one.

I don’t press check, I mag check after loading.
If a round fails to seat letting the bolt fly, a new round would get chambered, or the situation gets investigated.
Closing the bolt with the FA does not seem much quieter than letting the bolt fly. If hunting I load up first and put on the safety.

So for me, it’s been useless, but I don’t mind it being there. I don’t have delusions that the way I do things are the best for everyone or the only way to do it.

During military service.

We shot old and worn out weapons. To my knowledge nothing was tracked and there was no maintenance schedule. Magazines were old with metal or black followers. Combine that with being out in the wood in the rain all day, being out in the freezing cold with snow, or being blasted by sand getting on or off a helicopter in the field. It is a little different than taking your one owner, low round count Colt 6920 out of the safe and going to the range to shoot brand new Magpul mags.


I started a poll here -

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...Forward-Assist

We can see how people vote.

From the other thread- it sounds like your experience is using the FA as a bandaid for out of spec parts (worn springs) or proper maintenance. You still haven’t detailed a situation that it was beneficial, nor has anyone(unless I missed it). I’m not being argumentative, genuinely curious as people I respect are saying it’s a “must have”, but I’m not grasping the “why” and really would like to understand. Sure it’s a tool in the toolbox,but seems easy enough to work around... or is it just that simple that they’d rather it be there?