AR15s; Do you prefer with bolt assist or without?

[MoJo]

Other than using the FA to make sure the bolt is fully closed by gently pressing the FA. I haven't used a FA to try to reduce a failure to go into battery even in Vietnam. If the round won't chamber pounding it into the chamber will, most of the time, result in a severely jammed rifle.

I will eject a round that won't chamber rather than try to pound it into battery.

[G.A. Heath]

Other than using the FA to make sure the bolt is fully closed by gently pressing the FA. I haven't used a FA to try to reduce a failure to go into battery even in Vietnam. If the round won't chamber pounding it into the chamber will, most of the time, result in a severely jammed rifle.

I will eject a round that won't chamber rather than try to pound it into battery.

We have a winner! Some instructors who teach a carbine course hate the forward assist for above reason. With that said all my ARs have one, but its never used. I have seen it used to force a round into the chamber, the gun then promptly ripped the head of the case off when it was fired.

[The Annoyed Man]

Other than using the FA to make sure the bolt is fully closed by gently pressing the FA. I haven't used a FA to try to reduce a failure to go into battery even in Vietnam. If the round won't chamber pounding it into the chamber will, most of the time, result in a severely jammed rifle.

I will eject a round that won't chamber rather than try to pound it into battery.

The once or twice I used mine, it was a case (no pun intended) of the rifle being hot and needing lubrication, and the bolt was maybe 1/2" from being fully into battery. Gently, as you pointed out, pressing on the FA allowed the bolt to fully close. I've never had to, or tried to for that matter, whack the bolt closed.

The first time it happened, it was my first time ever at the range with my old varmint rifle...which was the first AR I ever bought. I had been reading up on the run 'em wet/run 'em dry schools of thought, and I under-lubed the gun before going to the range. It was a hot day, and eventually the bolt slowed down enough going into battery that it finally hung up. After firing the round, I took the bolt out and lubed everything up properly, and it worked fine after that.

I think that it might have happened to me one other time with my carbine. Again, it was my fault. I hadn't cleaned the gun after the previous range trip and it was pretty dirty. My bad. But typically, I keep my ARs cleaned and lubed, and using the FA is never necessary.

[texanron]

I prefer with....just in case I need to chamber quietly.

[OldCannon]

They are 100% unnecessary but I don't think an AR looks right without one.

That statement is wrong.

A forward assist on an AR-15 style rifle is an absolute necessity, it isn't a cosmetic issue at all. I'm surprised, frankly, that anybody would think otherwise.

[JeepGuy79]

to me I could care less. If I need a 5.56 rifle I am grabbing the hk53, a 9mm I will take the mp5k, but I will prolly grab an AK. I don't see me ever trusting my life 100% to an AR platform it could have 3 masterkeys 12 lasers and fuzzy dice on it for all I care.

[olafpfj]

I prefer with....just in case I need to chamber quietly.

This was exactly the reason the Green Berets stated on the site I linked. You don't want to let the bolt slam home when you're trying to be quiet after exiting the water and draining your rifle....

[old farmer]

I was trained in 1971. With.

[The Annoyed Man]

to me I could care less. If I need a 5.56 rifle I am grabbing the hk53, a 9mm I will take the mp5k, but I will prolly grab an AK. I don't see me ever trusting my life 100% to an AR platform it could have 3 masterkeys 12 lasers and fuzzy dice on it for all I care.

I'm sorry...I'm not making fun of your HK53, I'm sure it's a fine weapon. But your post reminded me of a hugely funny blog post by Larry Correia on his website, titled "HK. Because You Suck, and We Hate You." http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2007/ ... -hate-you/

An open letter to the gun community from HK’s marketing department: In a world of compromises, some people put the bullets in the magazine backwards…But it doesn’t matter, because our gun is on the cover of the Rainbow Six video games. Look how cool that SEAL coming out of the water looks… If you buy a $2,000 SOCOM, you will be that cool of an operator too. And chicks will dig you.

At HK, we stuck a piston on an AR15, just like a bunch of other companies have done, dating back to about 1969. However ours is better, because we refuse to sell it to civilians. Because you suck, and we hate you.

Our XM8 is the greatest rifle ever developed. It may melt, and it doesn’t fit any accessories known to man, but that is your fault. If you were a real operator, you would love it. Once again, look at Rainbow Six, that G36 sure is cool isn’t it? Yeah, you know you want one. And by the way, check out our new HK45. We decided that humans don’t need to release the magazine with their thumbs. If you were a really manly teutonic operator, you would be able to reach the controls. Plus we’ve fired 100,000,000 rounds through one with zero malfunctions, and that was while it was buried in a lake of molten lava, on the moon. If you don’t believe us, it is because you aren’t a real operator.

By the way, our cheap, mass-produced, stamped sheet metal guns like the G3 and MP5 are the bestest things ever, and totally worth asinine scalpers prices, but note that cheap, mass-produced, stamped sheet metal guns from other countries are commie garbage. Not that it matters, because you’re civilians, so we won’t sell them to you anyway. Because you suck, and we hate you, but we know you’ll be back. We can beat you down like a trailer park wife, but you’ll come back, you always do.

Buy our stuff.

Sincerely

HK Marketing Department. HK. Because you suck. And we hate you.

I actually have nothing against HK. I used to own a USP Compact .40, which I only sold because I was trying to get out of .40 Caliber. If I had a brain in my head, I would have bought it in .45 ACP and I'd still own it today. It carried very well and was dead nuts reliable. But I can't think about HK long guns without having a little chuckle when I remember Correia's article. Again, I meant no disrespect.

[gigag04]

to me I could care less. If I need a 5.56 rifle I am grabbing the hk53, a 9mm I will take the mp5k, but I will prolly grab an AK. I don't see me ever trusting my life 100% to an AR platform it could have 3 masterkeys 12 lasers and fuzzy dice on it for all I care.

I'm sorry...I'm not making fun of your HK53, I'm sure it's a fine weapon. But your post reminded me of a hugely funny blog post by Larry Correia on his website, titled "HK. Because You Suck, and We Hate You." http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2007/ ... -hate-you/

An open letter to the gun community from HK’s marketing department: In a world of compromises, some people put the bullets in the magazine backwards…But it doesn’t matter, because our gun is on the cover of the Rainbow Six video games. Look how cool that SEAL coming out of the water looks… If you buy a $2,000 SOCOM, you will be that cool of an operator too. And chicks will dig you.

At HK, we stuck a piston on an AR15, just like a bunch of other companies have done, dating back to about 1969. However ours is better, because we refuse to sell it to civilians. Because you suck, and we hate you.

Our XM8 is the greatest rifle ever developed. It may melt, and it doesn’t fit any accessories known to man, but that is your fault. If you were a real operator, you would love it. Once again, look at Rainbow Six, that G36 sure is cool isn’t it? Yeah, you know you want one. And by the way, check out our new HK45. We decided that humans don’t need to release the magazine with their thumbs. If you were a really manly teutonic operator, you would be able to reach the controls. Plus we’ve fired 100,000,000 rounds through one with zero malfunctions, and that was while it was buried in a lake of molten lava, on the moon. If you don’t believe us, it is because you aren’t a real operator.

By the way, our cheap, mass-produced, stamped sheet metal guns like the G3 and MP5 are the bestest things ever, and totally worth asinine scalpers prices, but note that cheap, mass-produced, stamped sheet metal guns from other countries are commie garbage. Not that it matters, because you’re civilians, so we won’t sell them to you anyway. Because you suck, and we hate you, but we know you’ll be back. We can beat you down like a trailer park wife, but you’ll come back, you always do.

Buy our stuff.

Sincerely

HK Marketing Department. HK. Because you suck. And we hate you.

I actually have nothing against HK. I used to own a USP Compact .40, which I only sold because I was trying to get out of .40 Caliber. If I had a brain in my head, I would have bought it in .45 ACP and I'd still own it today. It carried very well and was dead nuts reliable. But I can't think about HK long guns without having a little chuckle when I remember Correia's article. Again, I meant no disrespect.

The P7 is the only platform from them that I just love. I'm not a SA/DA guy so my USP and USPc pistols were less than stellar for me. I love that spoof everytime I read it.

[JeepGuy79]

I just like the roller platform, not the company. The size and controls are what I trained on with a MP5 and the 53 is 5.56. Good size, works reliably and I have 40rd mags for it. I have 3 AR's and have worked on piston AR's and IMHO they are not as reliable as other platforms. Much more accurate than a AK47, but a hk33 or 53 works better for me and is very accurate.

Like I said, if I have real issues where I need a rifle I am taking a AK. That post is funny. I saw it a while back ago. They do not cater at all to the civilian community.

[The Annoyed Man]

They do not cater at all to the civilian community.

Tell me about it. I tried buying an ambidextrous safety lever for my USPc from them and gave up after over a year, and they really didn't seem to care about how inconvenienced I was when I didn't go anywhere because they said they'd call me right back and never did.....and did it several times. I finally got the part I needed from a member of the HK forum after being steered in that direction by another member of this forum here.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

They are 100% unnecessary but I don't think an AR looks right without one.

That statement is wrong.

A forward assist on an AR-15 style rifle is an absolute necessity, it isn't a cosmetic issue at all. I'm surprised, frankly, that anybody would think otherwise.

If I can't send a round home using the thumb groove in the bolt, the FA is only gonna put me in a deeper whole. But, like I said, slick sided ARs look odd to me.

[rcasady]

i would say WITH just because i cant see a pro to NOT having one ...but in the same breath the only time ive every touched mine was when a tiny piece of a (broken) spent shell remained in the chamber and i could not see it , only after i slammed it home a few times with the FA did i realize what was going on and needed a large bolt extractor to pull it out at home . i could have used the cleaning rod i had on me ....if i hadnt smashed it with my FA
lesson learned but i would still like the option to have ...just not sure why yet ,,,

[atxtj]

I used mine a few times on my m16A2 back when I was in the infantry, always because it was dirty. It works ok when you TAP the forward assist. You can feel if something is wrong, just by tapping it. I don't think it was designed to be slammed home, plus, you can't have SPORTS, without a forward assist!