Dispensing with Forward Assist?

[blaster]

you might be headed for your doom if you hear a click instead of a boom!
a range toy is one thing but for a defensive/offensive or hunting weapon I want to have every little odd stacked in my favor. like I said before, visually checking that a round has been chambered and knowing the bolt is all the way closed gives me confidence.

[GunFunZS]

Your statement begs the question. The question was whether a forward assist is in your favor or whether it is a detriment in practice.

It adds weight, complexity, and many situations where it would make a stoppage into a problem that cannot be remedied in the field. What is can offer is a gamble that using it might save a bad cartridge, and a press check.

I would argue that if you want every last advantage, you want an oil bottle in your pistol grip and a carrier with a tactile index mark. That is something that could be achieved with a scored line on the carrier and a corresponding line on the ejection port.

[cjclemens]

I'm not a fan of the forward assist, either. There are a lot of instances where trying to force the bolt into battery can cause a lot more issues than it will solve. If it goes click when you pull the trigger, the surest way to clear a malfunction (without even stopping to diagnose) is still the tap & rack method. If you bang on the forward assist, you still might not get it all the way into battery and you may end up getting in a situation where you have to mortar your AR to get something unstuck from the chamber. That's not where you want to be in a stressful situation. That said, all my rifles still have forward assists on them, because standard upper receivers are cheaper and easier to find. I just make it a point to not use it.

[rlandry6]

My current AR build has a DPMS thick wall Low-Profile upper that has been machined to accept a bolt with a side charging handle. The FA has been machined off to cut the slot for the bolt.I bought the receiver years ago but I think the company is still in business because the phone gets answered, by a voice message today. I'm changing the barrel out from a 20Practical to a .223 and should have it put back together this evening. I'll post a pic if I have time this evening.
My next build will be a 300 Blackout and I'm hoping to get another receiver like this one.

Edit: I was mistaken. The FA and tabs for the dust cover were not machined off my receivers. The DPMS Low-Profile receivers that I used have smooth sides. On the .223 build that used a receiver from AR-X, only the slot was machined in the side to accommodate the side charging bolt handle. The rest of the receiver is as it was manufactured by DPMS. I've seen receivers from Aero that have the protrusion for the FA but is not machined. IMHO the DPMS receiver is a lot cleaner looking with smooth sides.

[plant.one]

one situation where ive found a very practical use for a forward assist - sneaking into your stand in the morning.

you ride the bolt down with the charging handle, and then when forward momentum stops, use the forward assist to move the last few clicks to achieve proper battery. done properly, you can charge an ar pretty dang stealthily.


just some food for thought.

[rebel]

you might be headed for your doom if you hear a click instead of a boom!
a range toy is one thing but for a defensive/offensive or hunting weapon I want to have every little odd stacked in my favor. like I said before, visually checking that a round has been chambered and knowing the bolt is all the way closed gives me confidence.

Like button clicked!

[392heminut]

I quit putting forward assists in my AR's several years ago and I don't miss them one bit! If I can get an upper without the forward assist boss then that's what I use for my build. If not, then one of these goes in;
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/19805 ... lrin-ar-15

I've found that if I want to soft chamber a round then a push on the BCG with my thumb in the concave depression of the BCG will finish closing the bolt. If it takes more effort than that then it's probably a bad round and I don't want to shoot it anyway.

As for dust covers, IMHO they don't accomplish much. I live in the desert southwest and my AR's have never had a problem with dust or sand. I've got a 308 AR, a 300 BLK AR, a couple of 5.56 ARs and a 9mm AR that are all slick side and I've never had any problem with them here in the sand. I shoot 3 gun here and when not actually shooting the gun we are required to keep a chamber flag in it so the dust cover is always open. I've been in some matches with quite a bit of wind blowing and had my guns literally covered in dust and debris when I got home and having the dust cover open was never a problem.

[rlandry6]

Brownells sells the DPMS Lo-Pro receiver. I just got one from them for my 300 build.

[RWA007]

All of mine have FA except for my AR9 and my M&P15-22. Neither of them have dust covers either...and it kind of bothers me a little. Even my two dedicated AR-22's have the FA as well as dust covers. Granted, the FA is NOT functional on the 9mm or the 22's...but I just like they way they look on an AR.

I think both the FA as well as the dust cover both add a little personality and mystique to the weapon (Well...at least what mystique they USED to have before we had AR saturation) Sort of like bells and whistles. They don't really add a whole lot of weight but I don't think they hurt anything. It's fun showing somebody an AR that has never seen one before and watch them look at every feature and figure out what everything does.

Someone mentioned above, Plant I think, that it would be useful when hunting to ride the bolt home with the CH then FA it into place to not scare the game. While I haven't actually done that, I've known about that option and plan on using it as such when the time comes. I've never HAD to use FA for anything yet. I have had rounds that stick before going into the chamber...but I didn't really want to stuff them in with it so I just pulled them out and noted to not use that brand or batch of ammo again!

The AR9 is kind of a weird duck anyway. I wish I could have used a standard lower but hadn't ever seen a reliable one going that route...so I bought the dedicated 9mm lower that used Glock mags. So when the upper arrived without the FA and dust cover...I didn't like it but figured since the lower was weird anyway it was ok that the upper was weird. Since then I've decided to replace the 9mm upper with a standard upper as soon as I get a chance and the only reason I haven't done it yet is because that AR9 has been 100% reliable for about 750 rounds so far and I don't want to screw it up by changing something on it! It has fed/fired/ejected and chambered every single round that has been throw into it!

I can't really do anything about the M&P15-22...but I recently built the 2 dedicated 22's (one rifle and one pistol) so that I could sell the 15-22. Turns out...I've decided to keep the 15-22 just because the darn thing is so reliable...but I've NEVER liked the plastic build nor the lack of FA and dust cover! I think I've had maybe a handful of failures in 3500 rounds thru it and I blame those on ammo. Anyway, below is a pic of the AR9, and my new AR22 rifle and some close ups showing the FA and dust cover and lack of. Sorry for rambling...this time of the evening I start typing and can't stop.

AR-9


AR-9 top and AR-22 bottom


Closeup of AR-9 showing the dedicated 9mm lower and the barren upper


Closeup of the AR-22 rifle. The only thing that gives this away that it's a 22 (when the dust cover is closed) is the lack of a gas tube. Going to add it for looks when I get a chance. Barrel is stepped in the right place and .750 so I can install a fake block and tube!

[2manyToys]

I"m an FA convert. After shooting suppressed subs, especially with a reduced power buffer spring, the chamber gets dirty and sometimes the bolt needs a little encouraging to close.

I also like the dust cover on my AR-9 as it (when closed) will keep the bolt from sliding out of the upper when separated from the upper since blowback bolts don't have locking lugs. Also, by the way, some AR-9 bolts do have FA serations.