I never want to hear anyone say the forward assist is useless ever again!

[okie]

Who cares?

Some things I've heard over the years-

"I'd rather be lucky than good."

"You make your own luck."

"Solve the problem. Stay in the fight."

Kyle kept a clear head and cranked his situational awareness up to 11. He perceived a possible problem with his rifle and solved it without hesitation. He waited until the right moments and when they came, he took immediate action. He was lucky, but he was prepared to act on his luck when it broke his way.

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." George S. Patton

Yea I get that, and I'm not faulting him or criticizing him. But it doesn't change the fact that the forward assist is the wrong tool, and a tap rack would have solved his problem without running the 66% probability of just making everything way worse.

The premise of this thread was that this somehow changes the viability of the forward assist, but it doesn't. Tap rack is still better, and forward assists are still useless.

[flenna]

I look at the forward assist as just another tool in the toolbox, another option available to me if/when it is needed. Some of you guys get all wound around the axle over anything...

[bamashooter]

50 years of ARs being used in all kinds of wars all over the world and not one single documented case of the forward assist ever being put to good use. It would seem that that normally useless doodad has been kept there all this time by a miracle of fate for the singular purpose of saving his life.

This is definitely one of those too strange to be true kind of things.

That said, now that it's seemingly fulfilled its purpose in life, can we finally retire it already???

ETA: And just in case someone hasn't mentioned it already, Kyle got lucky. They did studies of the viability of the forward assist before it was even implemented, and Stoner rightfully concluded that the forward assist, statistically, would cause further problems in I think 2 out of 3 malfunctions. So tap and rack is still the best go to.

Hear, hear! Let it be known, I have personally witnessed the FA being successfully used in combat. I both visually and mentally "documented" the events.

[Disciple]

deleted

[okie]

Did you miss post #14 or are you calling Bill Alexander a liar?

"Partial extractions are required for all over the surf use and water drainage and arctic conditions require that the bolt is moved partially and the round is moved every 20 to 30 minutes. In all cases the forward assist is the check that the gun is in battery."

Classic internet. Focusing on the tongue in cheek part and not the part that actually matters.

I'll say it one more time and then I guess ban myself from this thread because apparently logic need not apply here.

If you're using the forward assist to fix malfunctions, you're doing it wrong. That's not a matter of opinion, either. It's just a simple fact. If you're using it for press checks or whatever then fine, but it's bad training to use it to clear a malfunction. Instead, tap the magazine and rack the bolt.

[Disciple]

Classic internet. Focusing on the tongue in cheek part and not the part that actually matters.

I am sorry. I usually have better reading comprehension than that. I deleted my foolish post. Keep your quote as a memorial to my stupidity if you wish.

[C-grunt]

Yea I get that, and I'm not faulting him or criticizing him. But it doesn't change the fact that the forward assist is the wrong tool, and a tap rack would have solved his problem without running the 66% probability of just making everything way worse.

The premise of this thread was that this somehow changes the viability of the forward assist, but it doesn't. Tap rack is still better, and forward assists are still useless.

What did you do when traveling in a vehicle over rough terrain and you got slammed around after big bumps and dips? The bolt can and will easily come out of battery in those situations. So did you just rack rounds out into the vehicle instead of just tapping the FA to make sure the bolt seated correctly?

[indianalex01]

What did you do when traveling in a vehicle over rough terrain and you got slammed around after big bumps and dips? The bolt can and will easily come out of battery in those situations. So did you just rack rounds out into the vehicle instead of just tapping the FA to make sure the bolt seated correctly?

Perfect analogy for FA usage. I have used it for press checks many times and for a quiet round chambering. The FA doesn’t hurt anything. If people choose not to want it then Get an upper without it. I like it.

[C-grunt]

Fair enough, but suffice it to say, it sure is an anomaly if it ever happens. And even more of an anomaly if it fixes the malfunction, since it's like 66.7% likely to either not solve the problem or make it worse (according to Stoner the likelihood of making it worse was high).

That number is completely BS as you would have to have actual numbers of malfunctions fixed vs unfixed to get a real number. Ive had friends or family in front line combat pretty much the entire time during GWOT. None of them have had any sort of documentation done for any of these statistics I always read about online.

Add in the fact that I have seen the FA successfully used in combat, you now have 2 first hand experiences in this thread alone. Not to mention veterans Ive seen post in other threads on te internet saying the same thing over the last few days.

[indianalex01]

That number is completely BS as you would have to have actual numbers of malfunctions fixed vs unfixed to get a real number. Ive had friends or family in front line combat pretty much the entire time during GWOT. None of them have had any sort of documentation done for any of these statistics I always read about online.

Add in the fact that I have seen the FA successfully used in combat, you now have 2 first hand experiences in this thread alone. Not to mention veterans Ive seen post in other threads on te internet saying the same thing over the last few days.

I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately we have Bullshitters on here that try to BS people who have done it for real. It’s like the guy you run into at a bar and says to you that he was in. Then after you ask a couple of questions you see he is a bullshitter.. that’s what we are dealing with here unfortunately