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Please educate me about forward assist mechanism. Is this necessary or even recommended? (Page 1 of 2)
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Posted: 8/22/2025 11:46:20 AM EDT
| Thanks in advance for anything you can tell me. |
| Not necessary and I always swap it out for one of these since I run everything suppressed: https://www.weaponoutfitters.com/simplistic-shooting-solutions-ar-gas-vent.html |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: It's a nice feature when hunting and want to do a chamber check or chamber a round without slamming the bolt. When riding the charging handle home, the bolt might stop before the lugs engage the barrel extension. A tap on the FA will remedy this. This is the primary use case for me. But forward assist is one of the key divisive issues on arfcom. If I press check my truck gun I push the forward assist to be sure the thing is in battery. There is little to no downside to having it. There is little to no downside to not having it, one of my big game rifles is a slick side AR10 and I run that rifle just fine without. So pick your preferred method and enjoy! |
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Kyle Rittenhouse is alive today because S&W put a forward assist on his M&P, and he practiced using it to the point that he automatically gave it a shove with his thumb when pulling the trigger didn't do anything and he saw that he was OOB. Before that, I thought the FA was pointless, just use the charging handle. |
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Originally Posted By PepePewPew: Kyle Rittenhouse is alive today because S&W put a forward assist on his M&P, and he practiced using it to the point that he automatically gave it a shove with his thumb when pulling the trigger didn't do anything and he saw that he was OOB. Before that, I thought the FA was pointless, just use the charging handle. |
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Originally Posted By killingmachine123: Indeed. That incident completely changed my opinion on them. Originally Posted By PepePewPew: Kyle Rittenhouse is alive today because S&W put a forward assist on his M&P, and he practiced using it to the point that he automatically gave it a shove with his thumb when pulling the trigger didn't do anything and he saw that he was OOB. Before that, I thought the FA was pointless, just use the charging handle. Originally Posted By killingmachine123: Indeed. That incident completely changed my opinion on them. Agreed as well. Like most people on here I always thought of it being something that you use when your rifle got "dirty" but I think how can you get your rifle that dirty where it doesn't close? But then I never thought of it going out of battery and you have to put it back into battery due to a fall or striking a person with the rifle. |
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| Thanks for all of your great responses. I must admit that I hadn't heard about the Kyle Rittenhouse incident. Something to think about, for sure. I do appreciate your helpful responses to someone who has a few things to learn about this great platform. God Bless You all!! |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: It's a nice feature when hunting and want to do a chamber check or chamber a round without slamming the bolt. When riding the charging handle home, the bolt might stop before the lugs engage the barrel extension. A tap on the FA will remedy this. This |
| I think it's one of those "better to have it and never need it" type of things. I may have needed one once or twice in the 30+ years I have been messing with ARs. I know better than to try and force a bolt closed that doesn't want to go, but if the BCG is just slightly out of battery, it works. Or, as somebody else said, just use your thumb on the depression on the bolt. |
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Originally Posted By arfn: I think it's one of those "better to have it and never need it" type of things. I may have needed one once or twice in the 30+ years I have been messing with ARs. I know better than to try and force a bolt closed that doesn't want to go, but if the BCG is just slightly out of battery, it works. Or, as somebody else said, just use your thumb on the depression on the bolt. Years ago i had this discussion with a buddy who was prepping for TEOTWAWKI scenarios. His argument was he might encounter sketchy out of spec ammo which requires using the FA to force it into battery. If a round doesn't fit, would you want to risk it blowing up your rifle? I've seen pics of questionable reloads kabooming rifles. |
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I was taught to load an AR in the following manner if not for immediate use: Lock the bolt to the rear Place the rifle on safe if not already Insert a loaded magazine Give a tug on the magazine to ensure it is fully secured Release the bolt Slightly retract the bolt using the charging handle and visually confirm that a round is in the chamber Allow the bolt to move forward and give a press on the forward assist to ensure that the bolt is fully closed Close the dust cover Using this method, lets me know that a rifle with an inserted magazine, closed dust cover, and on safe has been loaded properly and is ready for use. The closed dust cover also serves as a tactile reference when in a dark environment. Because of this procedure, I use my forward assist every time I load my rifle and am not going to immediately shoot it. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: It's a nice feature when hunting and want to do a chamber check or chamber a round without slamming the bolt. When riding the charging handle home, the bolt might stop before the lugs engage the barrel extension. A tap on the FA will remedy this. This. Have them on all my hunting AR’s, but mostly unnecessary any other time. Stoner never liked them. |
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| I used to be in the "have it/not need it" camp, but much more often I would rather not catch my middle finger nail on it when mortaring (after the FA would fail to complete battery). |
"Technique isn't something that can be taught. It's something you find on your own." - Bunta Fujiwara
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Originally Posted By Oldgold: This. Have them on all my hunting AR’s, but mostly unnecessary any other time. Stoner never liked them. An FA wasn't necessary with the .308 cartridge. It's case walls are thicker than the .223 case walls and wouldn't swell out of spec. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: An FA wasn't necessary with the .308 cartridge. It's case walls are thicker than the .223 case walls and wouldn't swell out of spec. Well, the reason the M16A1, and all subsequent models, has a forward assist is because the U.S. Army had, since the beginnings of semiautomatic rifles, stated that all closed bolt designs shall have a means to fully close the bolt manually in the event the bolt does not full lock closed. The M1, M1917, M1919, M14, T25, T48 FAL, etc. So, the M16 also had to meet that requirement. The only exception were the M2, and M3 Browning Caliber .50 machine guns. |
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Originally Posted By lysanderxiii: Well, the reason the M16A1, and all subsequent models, has a forward assist is because the U.S. Army had, since the beginnings of semiautomatic rifles, stated that all closed bolt designs shall have a means to fully close the bolt manually in the event the bolt does not full lock closed. The M1, M1917, M1919, M14, T25, T48 FAL, etc. So, the M16 also had to meet that requirement. The only exception were the M2, and M3 Browning Caliber .50 machine guns. Why didn't the base M16 (pre-A1) models have FA when it was supposedly a requirement? |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: Why didn't the base M16 (pre-A1) models have FA when it was supposedly a requirement? Because it was not made to meet U.S. Army requirements. Armalite made to the AR-15 to its own (Stoner's) idea of what a military weapon should be. When it was evaluated by the Army in 1958, they requested a number of changes, one of which was a forward assist. Since no orders were made at this time Armalite only made a few changes and ignored others. Once the Army expressed a desire to order the AR-15 as the M16, Colt and Springfield each produced ideas for an FA. Oh, and by the way, there is no "pre-A1", the M16 and the XM16E1 were ordered in the same contract, they are contemporaries. The XM16E1 had all of the major changes the Army requested, as did the M16, other than the FA. The M16 did not have an FA because the USAF did not have a requirements for it and requested that theirs not incorporated one. |
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I see the forward assist as a feature. Some will find it useful and some, not so much. Personally, I've never been out with a rifle that had it and wished it wasn't there because it got in the way. I have, however, been out with a rifle that didnt have it and wished it was there. Yes, just using your thumb can work, but becomes increasingly more difficult to do as your rifle gets more and more dirty. It also sucks to use your thumb when the rifle is dirty. You use your thumb and now your thumb is covered with action puke. You don't realize it and then use your fingers to wipe the sweat from your eyes and now you have muck in your eye. Lol. Yes that has happened to me. Anytime you know your rifle has come out of battery or may have come out of battery, you should tap the FA. How easily can your rifle come out of battery? Think about all of the times you had the bolt locked back and hit the butt hard enough to cause the action to close. It doesn't take much. With a clean rig, the bolt will likely just reseat itself. On a less clean rig, it may or may not reseat itself. When ever I'm out humping around I find myself giving the FA a push out of habit, just to be sure. |
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I tend to use BCGs without the serrations so I go without the FA. Helps smooth out the right side of the gun a bit more, and I've been able to remedy any and all issues by hand cycling the rifle or bumping the cutout on the BCG. Think the only time I've used a proper FA was on my AUG when the ejector was gumming up and preventing it from closing up. Only used it once as the issues persisted and I hated trying to force the gun. |
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As a left handed shooter, the FA is often in the way when using the charging handle, leading me to build a few uppers without a FA completely. Later I discovered the Forward Controls FA plunger that has no ridge around the plunger that would often take skin off of my finger...the Forward Controls plunger solves this problem, so I've been using this (among other ambi/left hand friendly parts) to make my mil-spec receivers more usable for me. I like having the FA available if possible, its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. |
Left-handed and right-minded!
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Originally Posted By ScottsBad: Nice to have, I always insist having one on my uppers. But if you open the dust cover you can push the bolt forward with your thumb. To me there is very very little downside to having one. This ^ is true, but I don't see any reason NOT to have a forward assist. The only rifle/pistol I have that doesn't have a forward assist is my Sig Rattler LT. It just didn't come with one. All the arguments about weight, dust entering, or failure, is just BS to me. |
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Originally Posted By ArGyLe64: Not necessary and I always swap it out for one of these since I run everything suppressed: https://www.weaponoutfitters.com/simplistic-shooting-solutions-ar-gas-vent.html LOL, what so the gas vents an inch and a half further from your face...maybe? |
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Originally Posted By ScottsBad: > I don't see any reason NOT to have a forward assist. > All the arguments about weight, dust entering, or failure, is just BS to me. Originally Posted By ScottsBad: Originally Posted By ScottsBad: Nice to have, I always insist having one on my uppers. But if you open the dust cover you can push the bolt forward with your thumb. > There is very very little downside to having one. > I don't see any reason NOT to have a forward assist. > All the arguments about weight, dust entering, or failure, is just BS to me. Sums it up perfectly. 
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Originally Posted By Moondog: It's a nice feature when hunting and want to do a chamber check or chamber a round without slamming the bolt. When riding the charging handle home, the bolt might stop before the lugs engage the barrel extension. A tap on the FA will remedy this. That's my opinion as well. |
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| I don't think they're pointless. I will give you a tip though that some budget BCG's don't have the cuts in them for the forward assist to bite into (excuse my poor nomenclature). So if you don't have the forward assist reliefs in the BCG the forward assist isn't going to do anything for you. |
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To me this is worlds better than anything else offered on the market, it is so low profile while retaining the capability that I don’t mind the FA anymore at all. Umbrella Corporation |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: Years ago i had this discussion with a buddy who was prepping for TEOTWAWKI scenarios. His argument was he might encounter sketchy out of spec ammo which requires using the FA to force it into battery. If a round doesn't fit, would you want to risk it blowing up your rifle? I've seen pics of questionable reloads kabooming rifles. Originally Posted By Moondog: Originally Posted By arfn: I think it's one of those "better to have it and never need it" type of things. I may have needed one once or twice in the 30+ years I have been messing with ARs. I know better than to try and force a bolt closed that doesn't want to go, but if the BCG is just slightly out of battery, it works. Or, as somebody else said, just use your thumb on the depression on the bolt. Years ago i had this discussion with a buddy who was prepping for TEOTWAWKI scenarios. His argument was he might encounter sketchy out of spec ammo which requires using the FA to force it into battery. If a round doesn't fit, would you want to risk it blowing up your rifle? I've seen pics of questionable reloads kabooming rifles. That's the classic response, yes. But an out of spec, sketchy round of ammo is not the only use case for a forward assist. Sometimes there's just a little bit of extra friction, for one of any number of reasons, and all the BCG needs is a little bump to keep rocking and rolling. I'm struggling to imagine the out of spec round of ammunition that won't fit into an AR chamber on its own, but it will with a tap from the forward assist, and then can blow up the gun. |
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Originally Posted By ELittlefield: That's the classic response, yes. But an out of spec, sketchy round of ammo is not the only use case for a forward assist. Sometimes there's just a little bit of extra friction, for one of any number of reasons, and all the BCG needs is a little bump to keep rocking and rolling. I'm struggling to imagine the out of spec round of ammunition that won't fit into an AR chamber on its own, but it will with a tap from the forward assist, and then can blow up the gun. Exactly! FFS, the forward assist was never EVER supposed to be a tool for pounding a deformed cartridge into a chamber. Let's review the much maligned "SPORTS" acronym. Last I heard, T was for tap. Anybody who has the inclination to pound on the fucking thing clearly has a training problem. |
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Originally Posted By RED_5: can't SPORTS without one. |
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Please educate me about forward assist mechanism. Is this necessary or even recommended? (Page 1 of 2)
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