Did you ever actually use your forward assist? - How'd that go?

[Glockamoli]

#### DOES happen.
Press checks have saved people from shouldering the rifle and hearing click and racking in a new round
Not a lot. Say less then 5%, but when it saves you time on the clock it saves you time.
Ive seen it with rifles and pistols. (Original M&P was notorious for it)

As an RO I have seen countless shooter click on an empty chamber.

Not you? GREAT.
But it does happen.

Confirming a loaded chamber can be done without touching the charge handle which means you won't run the risk of an OOB malfunction. That's if you feel the need to play with the magazine to confirm. If your rifle is in spec and your magazines are in spec and you tapped and tugged the mag to ensure it was secured, then running the charge handle will chamber a round.

I posted this earlier. Why the need to press check only the first round and not every round? Why do you trust the rifle to run as designed for round number 2 and on but don't trust it for the first round??

 

[dogsteve343]

Hi,
Yes, I have used it. I thought everybody used it.
I have mostly used it in dusty situations. Sometimes dust turned to mud/sludge with mist, condensation, humidity or once "mudstorm".
Mudstorm is not a technical term, just an explanation of light precip in a dust-storm.
Dirty or corroded ammo should normally be avoided, but sometimes you use what you can find.

 

[Travis Bickle]

Confirming a loaded chamber can be done without touching the charge handle which means you won't run the risk of an OOB malfunction. That's if you feel the need to play with the magazine to confirm. If your rifle is in spec and your magazines are in spec and you tapped and tugged the mag to ensure it was secured, then running the charge handle will chamber a round.

I posted this earlier. Why the need to press check only the first round and not every round? Why do you trust the rifle to run as designed for round number 2 and on but don't trust it for the first round??

You cannot have an out of battery initiation with the ar15 if that's what you're referring to. The bolt must be cammed fully ie locked in the barrel extension in order for the pin to be able to contact the primer.
It's a very good design.

 

[Jon.]

I recall using it a few times while on the carbine course. We were shooting in miserable rain/snow and in a big sand pit, probably worst case scenario conditions for the gun.

 

[trimeal1]

TL;DR

>OP: Is the FA useful or Useless?
>Vet: Useful
>Current Member: Useful
>3 Gun shooters: Useful
>Guy who has had his AR dirty one time: Useful
>Guy who shoots twice a year after church: haha u guys are all so stupid my safe queen never needs a FA to function. L2maintain ur rifles

People who think the FA is useless are Brainlets.

 

[R711]

The only time I’ve used the FA was when using thousands of blank rounds with little time to clean. Never had to use with live ammo.

 

[GuiltySpark]

If your rifle is in spec and your magazines are in spec and you tapped and tugged the mag to ensure it was secured, then running the charge handle will chamber a round.

Except when it doesn't.

 

[cancer]

Not trying to be a jerk, but who cares what happens with blanks, it's neither relevant for MIL folks or civilians.

The point of my post was to say that there is a point when enough carbon will accumulate that use of the FA is required.

 

[jory]

User the forward assist on my issued rifle several times during both tours in Afghanistan...

That poo dust will get everywhere and cause all sorts of #### that will make the best maintained rifles jam in some weird way. Fall into a dirty wadi or freshly irrigated grape/poppy/pot field and you will need to use that forward assist at some point during the day if you find yourself on a two way range.

Press checks is what is being tought at all levels in the CAF, including the "pointy tip of the spear" guys

Just for fun... How many the "FA is useless" crowd does stuff like scanning&breathing after shooting at paper targets on a sunday morning and going back home to clean their AR for a longer amount of time than they spent shooting it ?

I'll keep my FA, because it has proved its utility in very rough time and I will also keep doing presschecks

Those pointy spear tip guys must not have checked CGN before they developed their training program!

Press checks are free, and you don't have to not trust your gun to be ok with doing them. There's nothing wrong with a little extra piece of mind for the guys on a 2 way range, or the guys looking to save a few seconds on a COF. Everyone knows the whole "the two loudest sounds in the world" saying when it comes to shooting, and a press check/FA tap helps mitigate one of them. I don't see how anyone could have an issue with a FA for that reason alone. Aside from that, you know if you guys have one that you're not obligated to use it, right?

Personally I use my FA before every course of fire. Magazine in, pull/tug to make sure it's seated, rack one/close bolt, press check, FA tap, close ejection port.

 

[greentips]

Press check came out during GWOT because people finally figure out typical aluminum GI mags have finite lives, and there is no way to tell if they are good or no good by just looking at them. And the followers design had gone through multiple changes over these years, from anti-titling"Green" to whatever now.....and then Pmags / Lancers to address these issues.

In a perfect world, press check is not needed. The suspicion has already set in, so now it is institutionalized.

Personally, I think opening up the chamber and resetting it with the FA are just extra steps to introduce troubles. The reason we have gone down this road because we are using magazines designed in the 60's, and treating consumables as forever.

 

[Samperfudge]

Used it during defensive ops, where blanks would gunk up the internals.

 

[1newgunnut]

You never use it until you need to and then some of you don't have it lol

 

[Coffice]

Yeah I may never have used it for it's intended purpose after the one time on my C7 but now that I think about it I do instinctively still smack it...and I for sure do press checks.

 

[Tachead]

A FA is a great feature imo as it allows you to somewhat quietly lock the bolt into battery after slowly riding the charging handle closed which can be very useful in combat or when hunting. It also gives you a way to force it into battery in a pinch(lack of cleaning or not this can save your life when seconds count). It allows you to easily do a press check too. I really have never understood the FA hate. Personally I would never buy an upper without one.

 

[Glockamoli]

TL;DR

>OP: Is the FA useful or Useless?
>Vet: Useful
>Current Member: Useful
>3 Gun shooters: Useful
>Guy who has had his AR dirty one time: Useful
>Guy who shoots twice a year after church: haha u guys are all so stupid my safe queen never needs a FA to function. L2maintain ur rifles

People who think the FA is useless are Brainlets.

This might sting, but soldiers by and large aren't gun guys. They retain what they have been trained and rarely do they think for themselves. I know plenty of serving members and not very many are what I would call savvy with firearms. What the gov teaches doesn't mean it's right, it just means it's what they teach.

I shoot 3 gun, I dirty my rifles and I've never used it, nor have I ever done a press check and I've never had a type 1 stoppage because of it.

Except when it doesn't.

Can you explain how your rifle randomly decides to stop feeding rounds from a function magazine when properly inserted into a functional(in spec) rifle?? I'm still waiting for someone to answer the question as to why you don't trust the rifle to load the first round properly, but under use you do??

The point of my post was to say that there is a point when enough carbon will accumulate that use of the FA is required.

Have you read about filthy 14?? Pat Rogers does not teach or preach the use of the FA. 60,000 plus rounds without a cleaning..

Those pointy spear tip guys must not have checked CGN before they developed their training program!

Press checks are free, and you don't have to not trust your gun to be ok with doing them. There's nothing wrong with a little extra piece of mind for the guys on a 2 way range, or the guys looking to save a few seconds on a COF. Everyone knows the whole "the two loudest sounds in the world" saying when it comes to shooting, and a press check/FA tap helps mitigate one of them. I don't see how anyone could have an issue with a FA for that reason alone. Aside from that, you know if you guys have one that you're not obligated to use it, right?

Personally I use my FA before every course of fire. Magazine in, pull/tug to make sure it's seated, rack one/close bolt, press check, FA tap, close ejection port.

That piece of mind is pointless and could induce a stoppage. Press checks don't work in the dark. I'll ask you what I've asked all in the thread. Why do you not feel confident in the rifle loading the first round, but feel confident with it after each press of the trigger??

If you're still paranoid and want to ensure a round chambered, then check the top round of the magazine prior to insertion. Chamber a round, remove magazine and check that the top round has shifted sides. I guarantee you the round that is missing is in the chamber. This works in the dark, with any semi auto regardless of whether or not it has an FA, and doesn't involve playing with the bolt. Possibly leading to an OOB failure.

Press check came out during GWOT because people finally figure out typical aluminum GI mags have finite lives, and there is no way to tell if they are good or no good by just looking at them. And the followers design had gone through multiple changes over these years, from anti-titling"Green" to whatever now.....and then Pmags / Lancers to address these issues.

In a perfect world, press check is not needed. The suspicion has already set in, so now it is institutionalized.

Personally, I think opening up the chamber and resetting it with the FA are just extra steps to introduce troubles. The reason we have gone down this road because we are using magazines designed in the 60's, and treating consumables as forever.

Absoutely agree greentips.

 

[Glockamoli]

**missed a couple**

What's the argument for not having one on a rifle?

Even if you seldom/never use it; Does it hinder the gun in any way?

The only argument for not having one is a cleaner profile and a minuscule weight savings.

You cannot have an out of battery initiation with the ar15 if that's what you're referring to. The bolt must be cammed fully ie locked in the barrel extension in order for the pin to be able to contact the primer.
It's a very good design.

I wasn't talking about an OOB detonation, I was talking about an OOB stoppage/failure, a type 1 stoppage.

 

[derrob7]

**missed a couple**



The only argument for not having one is a cleaner profile and a minuscule weight savings.



I wasn't talking about an OOB detonation, I was talking about an OOB stoppage/failure, a type 1 stoppage.

Glockamoli I want to live in the world you live in where the law of averages, statistics or mechanical, human, engineering error doesn't apply. I'm sure glad you don't manage anything to do with health and safety or anything else for that matter. I can see it now......"It's never going to happen, you are all stupid, it's impossible, inconceivable!!!" oh and then it does.
You should come back down to where the rest of us reside in the real world before you sacrifice yourself upon your holier they thou mountain.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

" Can you explain how your rifle randomly decides to stop feeding rounds from a function magazine when properly inserted into a functional(in spec) rifle?? "

All semi-auto firearms will fail to feed, or fail to go into battery sometimes.

That's just a fact of life.

 

[Murray 3-D]

Yah Glockamoli probably never looks both ways at railway crossings with lights.

He probably never checks smoke detectors.

He probably never checks his emergency brake.

And hes starting to sound like the result of someone who didnt check his condom before using it lol

 

[mileageman]

I'm not mil or le.

But I've used a FA to chamber a round quietly while hunting
In the cold (-15C) with a rifle that hadn't been cleaned in ~400rounds, but sat in the gun cabinet for 6 months, then wouldn't chamber a round. I tried extra lube first, that didn't help. FA to the rescue.