Forward Assist - Do you "need" it. Why?

[Kirk Freeman]

Don't stuff crap in your gun:

INGO rated T for profanity, NSFW:

https://youtu.be/4IzMHqkGc38

 

[ChrisK1977]

I have used mine while hunting. I don't like letting the bolt just fly. They can be pretty loud in the woods at first light.

 

[abeguzmanmarine]

I carried an m16a2 in several countries for 6 years. One combat ToD and fired multiple times in pressured situations in a sandy environment. I never once used it. only one time did my rifle malfunction which was solved with a simple "tap, rack, bang". We cleaned regularly which imo is all that is needed for these rifles.

 

[ChrisK1977]

I carried an m16a2 in several countries for 6 years. One combat ToD and fired multiple times in pressured situations in a sandy environment. I never once used it. only one time did my rifle malfunction which was solved with a simple "tap, rack, bang". We cleaned regularly which imo is all that is needed for these rifles.

Thanks for your service

 

[Steel and wood]

Well Kirk thanks great video. Simple and proven

 

[rhino]

Don't stuff crap in your gun:

INGO rated T for profanity, NSFW:

https://youtu.be/4IzMHqkGc38

I have never met Clint Smith, but everything I've read that he has written and every video I have seen have been excellent sources of knowledge, experience, and perhaps most important: wisdom.

I need to get my knees fixed so I can go to wherever he is and train with him at least once.

 

[craigkim]

I want one on my hunting rifles, because I tend to rack more timidly when chambering a round in the woods and 458 hangs up ever so slightly in that case, especially when it is cold. If my FA breaks on my hunting rifle, well, I will just call it a day, in contrast to a defensive rifle.

I was taught that the FA is a fallible part of the rifle and that failure of the FA will likely make the rifle inoperable. If you use it routinely, then you are just reducing the cycles until it does fail, which could occur at an inopportune time. Tap/Rack/Bang was proposed as an easier alternative that avoids the potential to cause a catastrophic failure.

I tried a few builds without the FA and all I could really find was the VLTOR MUR without FA. Saves about 1.5 oz too. What I didn't like was that they still have a plate that just attaches over the FA opening. I'd rather have an upper that didn't even have the opening in the design.

 

[ru44mag]

More on the Exploder:

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/12/14/rifleman-qa-why-have-a-forward-assist/

I started reading this thread for educational purposes. This post is the most confusing as far as picking sides, because Kirk says no, but after reading the article, the author indicates he had used his FA, and would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. I have 2 AR's. One as a FA and one does not. It does seem more convenient to gently push the FA with the thumb than push the indentation in the bcg.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I started reading this thread for educational purposes. This post is the most confusing as far as picking sides, because Kirk says no, but after reading the article, the author indicates he had used his FA, and would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. I have 2 AR's. One as a FA and one does not. It does seem more convenient to gently push the FA with the thumb than push the indentation in the bcg.

Psst, Kirk likes to present relevant material on a discussion even if the author of the material is not in complete concurrence.

Education? Thought? Discussion? Training? Is any of that even legal in the gun culture?

 

[ru44mag]

Psst, Kirk likes to present relevant material on a discussion even if the author of the material is not in complete concurrence.

Education? Thought? Discussion? Training? Is any of that even legal in the gun culture?

In that article you posted, the one thing that stood out to me was, when he pulled the trigger and nothing happened. He tried to seat another round into the chamber, only to find he still had a round in the chamber. Then he had an even bigger mess. This was all due to the bolt not being fully seated the first time around. That was when he discovered lightly tapping the FA fixed the problem. I can see both sides of the argument. Of course cleaning the gun is the best solution. On another note I do hunt and have considered using an AR. It never occurred to me how loud the bolt would be slamming shut early in the morning. Using the FA to quiet that down is something to consider as well.

 

[Trigger Time]

Psst, Kirk likes to present relevant material on a discussion even if the author of the material is not in complete concurrence.

Education? Thought? Discussion? Training? Is any of that even legal in the gun culture?

He has an opinion just like everyone else. Doesn't make it fact

 

[HoughMade]

So if we're not pushing the bolt forward....what's the cut-out on the bolt for again?

...but I'm with him on the tactical reload goofiness.

 

[rvb]

So if we're not pushing the bolt forward....what's the cut-out on the bolt for again?

dust cover

I don't know that the indentation in the bolt was designed as a place to press the bolt closed, vs a way for the bolt to open the dust cover...

 

[HoughMade]

dust cover

I was responding to the video where the position that the bolt shouldn't be pushed closed was backed up with the statement that you can push the bolt closed with something other than the FA, to which I say....um....yeah, but weren't you just saying....

 

[rvb]

I was responding to the video where the position that the bolt shouldn't be pushed closed was backed up with the statement that you can push the bolt closed with something other than the FA, to which I say....um....yeah, but weren't you just saying....

ah, gotcha. [didn't watch vid, sorry]
...examples of that particular piece of irony right in this thread.....

-rvb

 

[rhino]

I don't think it's irony at all. He wasn't explicit, but he was referring to the situations where the bolt is slightly out of battery for situations other than when you're trying to fix round that won't feed all the way. Think chamber checking as an example. You know you don't have an obstruction because you just had that round in the chamber.

 

[rvb]

situations where the bolt is slightly out of battery for situations other than when you're trying to fix round that won't feed all the way. Think chamber checking as an example. You know you don't have an obstruction because you just had that round in the chamber.

those are the exact situations I think of when using the FA.... Sounds like a training issue - when and when not to use it, and how hard. Perfectly reasonable to use the FA to "bump" it to get a dry bolt closed and cam'd over or verify closed fully. Not reasonable to beat the living S* out of it to cram a square peg into a round hole....

-rvb

 

[HoughMade]

Maybe people are confused and think the "T" in SPORTS stands for "Thwack" instead of "Tap".

 

[rhino]

Maybe people are confused and think the "T" in SPORTS stands for "Thwack" instead of "Tap".

Well, the bigger problem is that they're still thinking SPORTS at all. But who am I to say? I still cling to my flip phone.

 

[bcd007]

I watched a hilarious (intentionally) video on YouTube about "silently charging your AR". He used the FA to seat the bolt quietly after slowly letting the go bolt into battery. Then there was some zombie slaying and more humor. Garand Thumb is the guys name... hilarious...

what was was the question again?