Story Time: The AR15 forward assist is a necessary and important feature and I shall tolerate no further disinformation on this matter

[BigRed]

This looks like it would be an AWESOME event!

 

[Mongo59]

AK rifles do not have them.

The new Sig Spears do...

 

[Ark]

This looks like it would be an AWESOME event!

InRangeTV and SinistralRifleman will have their videos up at some point, but as of now you can search Woodland Brutality 2022 on Youtube and see pretty much every stage.

The culture at these is freaking insane. There was a dude in overalls with Simpsons yellow makeup all over him shooting an M249 with a suppressor that probably cost more than I made last year. A guy in my squad was decked out in some kind of NVA uniform with an SKS. There was a John McLane who shot the whole match barefoot in a wife beater with an MP5. At least one full WWII uniform guy with a Garand. I ran a Pattern 83 chest rig for a discount South African mercenary look. Lots and lots of M81 and Alice gear and carry handles, super 90s vibe at this match. There was a DPM machine gun as a stage gun that we all got to shoot.

It was a blast.

 

[churchmouse]

Haha yeah. It was an act of hubris taking that to a brutality match, but you know I had it on hand and the rifle was zeroed with it and blah blah. I am cheap and lazy. Anyone on the board who has ever seen me shoot has seen a steady diet of the cheapest steel case bull**** ammo puking out the side of my guns.

The rifle sat and fried in the sun for a little while, and the stuck case occurred on the first or second shot of that first run. It was very mildly stuck and didn't require any force at all to push out with the cleaning rod. I doused it in oil for the second run, then field cleaned the chamber and upper and lubed again for the Kasarda Drill at the end of the day. Ran fine for that.

Use of the forward assist was only necessary because I short-stroked the charging handle. The charging handle on that gun came out of a Wolf A1 upper, it rides kind of tight even when clean. Maybe it's oversized, maybe it's tolerance stacking. But when it got hot and dirty and I was trying to run it in an awkward position with my left hand, it picked up the round but didn't make it all the way into battery.

And my point is.......I have never needed one even though all my rifles save for 1 had them.
Because I do not shoot cheap ammo.

And I will step away giggling to myself and watch the thread morph into pineapple on pizza blah blah blah...

No knock intended but that's why I don't (or did not) run crap ass cheap ammo.

Smoke-em if you got-em.....

 

[Ark]

And my point is.......I have never needed one even though all my rifles save for 1 had them.
Because I do not shoot cheap ammo.

And I will step away giggling to myself and watch the thread morph into pineapple on pizza blah blah blah...

No knock intended but that's why I don't (or did not) run crap ass cheap ammo.

Smoke-em if you got-em.....

 

[Squid556]

Thank you for this write up. Gave me some good laughs.

I had a steel Tula case stick in my chamber while I was on the clock. Rifle went down hard and nothing was gonna fix it besides having a clearing rod. Super handy to keep in the range bag! After that I just swore the stuff off. Both my barrels are not cheap and I'm not wanting to shorten the life on them any more than I have to.

Funny how polarizing of a subject forward assists are. Gonna have to throw my hat in the not necessary ring. But that being said both my have it and id rather have it and not need it than otherwise.

Seems to be nice for hunting and loading the rifle quietly tho.

 

[BigRed]

There is not a single thing that is necessary...until it is.

And then you get down to what is necessary.

 

[churchmouse]

Thank you for this write up. Gave me some good laughs.

I had a steel Tula case stick in my chamber while I was on the clock. Rifle went down hard and nothing was gonna fix it besides having a clearing rod. Super handy to keep in the range bag! After that I just swore the stuff off. Both my barrels are not cheap and I'm not wanting to shorten the life on them any more than I have to.

Funny how polarizing of a subject forward assists are. Gonna have to throw my hat in the not necessary ring. But that being said both my have it and id rather have it and not need it than otherwise.

Seems to be nice for hunting and loading the rifle quietly tho.

And I rest my case.

I love the AKs don’t have them.
Good reason for that. But not gonna whack that hornets nest with a stick here

Yeah there are a lot of folks that torture their hot rods. Lots of them.
Cheap crap gas in the cars bikes boats that need good fuel.
Cheap crap ammo in their nice guns that deserve better. And they do deserve better.
I could go on. But I get it.
It’s still just being a cheap ass.

 

[DadSmith]

As long as you are not in a harsh environment you probably won't need one such as range use only with quality ammunition.
Book of Eli or combat situation you'll probably wish you had it.

 

[TheJoker]

An M1 doesn't need a forward assist. THAT'S what the heal of your palm is for!
Sorry! I'll let myself out.

 

[dung]

Son that looked like a fun stage. Why didn’t I know about this? I want a wwsd still, but the fact they look silly with that thing machined off of them.

 

[Trevelayan]

IIRC the FAssist was what saved Kyle Rittenhouse when facing the guy he de-armed, he talks about it in one of his interviews.

 

[two70]

People actually debate the need of a forward assist on AR rifles?

I personally would not own one without one. Unless it's side charge with reciprocating handle.

Yes, yes, they do. And I'm officially jealous of your fortune to remain unaware of this tedious argument for a significant amount of time.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Isn't that what the cutout in the side of the bolt for? Stick your thumb through the ejection port and push forward on the cutout.

 

[breakingcontact]

False.

I had one break and completely lock up the BCG.

 

[DDadams]

Ask Kyle Rittenhouse if he thinks it's necessary

Or watch the footage.

 

[Gabriel]

I wouldn't even consider an AR without a forward assist.

 

[ACC]

My $0.02. Spend the (slightly) extra money and get a lower with FA and dust cover. Same as a gun....I want to have it even if I don't need it.

 

[DadSmith]

My $0.02. Spend the (slightly) extra money and get a lower with FA and dust cover. Same as a gun....I want to have it even if I don't need it.

 

[Tombs]

I think the hate of the forward assist is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it's for, and lack of experience to encounter the situations where it's useful. It isn't for forcing a bad round into the chamber, it's to deal with a sluggish action failing to go into battery reliably.

A dry gun and some carbon fouling can make it a life saver.