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This article would be much more useful if you explained precisely WHY a forward assist might be necessary. You didn’t,…
What does a forward assist do?
Updated
Put simply, a forward assist manually forces the bolt forward if the cartridge doesn’t go into battery. It is a physical option for resolving situations in which the return spring is unable to drive the BCG and bolt home. Read on to learn more.
The forward assist is a push-button assembly on many AR15/M16/M4 type rifles intended to help push the bolt carrier forward in situations where the return spring has failed to do so. This might be the result of more than one factor, though it mostly happens to a dirty weapon (or one with some other obstruction).
FIND IT: Need a replacement or upgraded forward assist?
Forward Assisting: the Argument
The entire notion of a forward assist (and the concept of forward assisting) is contentious. Many people believe it unnecessary. Detractors correctly note that Eugene Stoner, the weapon’s original designer, disapproved of the feature. Proponents will occasionally reference the use of a forward assist by Kyle Rittenhouse to put his weapon back into battery during his defensive shooting in Kenosha, WI in August 2020. They will also assert that it’s “better to have it and not need it” than the reverse.
The argument has been around as long or longer than that of 9mm vs .45 and any other three gun debates you might dredge up. The debate becomes more significant when discussing a defensive rifle than one intended for hunting, but even then there are strong, salient points pro and con.
Do you need a forward assist on your AR15?
What is a forward assist?
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Great article, deserving of a wide audience.
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Curry/Mike, I will always remember Terry’s stories about the shoot. Thanks for the memories. Kevin L.12/24
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One response to “What does a forward assist do?”
This article would be much more useful
if you explained precisely WHY a forward assist might be necessary. You didn’t, so please allow me:First, the original reason for a forward assist on an M16 (AR15’s dad) was to allow a round to be chambered, and the bolt to go into battery, so the weapon will fire, if, for instance, a grain of sand wedged between the round and the chamber wall. The average internet expert/mall ninja/armchair warrior will say, “ You should have kept your weapon clean, and this situation would not have happened!”
True. But take it from someone who has experienced intense infantry combat (VietNam, Charlie Co. 1st Btn, 5th Marines, Feb. 1968* thru March 1969)—when you are fighting for your life, you WILL be running through rough terrain or rubble-filled streets, diving into ditches or shell craters, burying your face in the dirt, and your weapon hitting the dirt along with your face, as you dodge incoming rounds. But hey, the referee will blow his whistle, right? and call a timeout so you can render your weapon pristine and spotless before combat resumes! (I feel I must explain that this is sarcasm. I KNOW there are a few sarcasm-impaired persons reading this, probably those who immediately became offended when I indirectly referred to them as mall ninjas etc).
The forward assist allows that next shot to be fired, which could save your life, and it’s likely the grain of sand would be ejected along with the empty cartridge, allowing the next round to be chambered. No guarantee, but a better chance than a weapon that did not chamber a round, with no forward assist, aka Plan B.
A side note: those who know a little history will recognize, from the dates I was in Nam, that the rifle I carried could not have been any later M16 version than the M16A1, and many of us actually carried earlier versions without the A1’s improvements. So YES, our M16’s DID JAM, and usually at the worst possible time. When the fecal matter is hitting the fan, there’s really nothing like adding to the stench by defecating in your cammies.
Now let me cover the secondary reason for a forward assist, if you are carrying an AR rifle on a hunt: Scenario—you have just parked your truck on the edge of a large wooded tract, where last week you positioned a stand about 200 yards away. You’ve only taken 5 steps from your truck, in the early morning light you spot a 10-point whitetail buck, and so far he is unaware of your presence! You already inserted a loaded magazine in your AR’s magwell, but you have not yet chambered a round. Normally with an AR, how do you chamber a round? You pull back the charging handle and let ‘er fly, right? Noisy, right? Deer gone, right?
But with a forward assist you have a quieter option. You pull back the charging handle as quietly as possible, ride the charging handle home as the recoil spring pushes the bolt forward S-L-O-W-L-Y, then when the recoil spring has probably not pushed the cartridge completely into the chamber/the bolt fully into battery, you quietly nudge the bolt the rest of the way with your thumb on the forward assist. No guarantees, but a slim chance the buck won’t hear you is better than NO CHANCE the buck won’t hear you!
*Yep, Huê City. We lost a lot of men AND a lot of weapons before that one was over. The M16 I was handed after we were back on PhuBai combat base was a hybrid—no doubt an armorer combined an M16 A1 upper with an earlier “no fence” model lower from a damaged rifle. Back then I didn’t know the difference, and all I cared about was that it worked. For those interested in history, I highly recommend a book about the Huê battle, named Phase Line Green by Nic Warr, who was one of Charlie Company’s platoon commanders, and who lost almost his entire platoon, killed or wounded. Nic pulls no punches in his account of the battle. Stupid “rules of engagement”, poor intelligence about whether the communists were still in the city, and just plain USMC bullheadedness. Nic is a friend, a great guy, and no, he does not pay me to recommend his book!
So here we are!! 😂
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