I shot a 4 stage carbine match yesterday, and used the FA 4 times. "Load and make ready" = insert mag, drop bolt, pull back charging handle to see brass, release charging handle and hit FA twice. Needed? Nope, but that is what I do.
How long would you be ogling that bolt? You take your thumb, a key, and empty shell casing, whatever blunt object you may have in your pocket. Those are things you can't break, or won't fail. Does it happen often that an FA breaks? Don't know.I don't know about you but I prefer not to always wear gloves, especially gloves that are thick enough to provide any kind of insulation from heat. And I assure you that it would be a problem after firing a magazine or two, unless you wanted to be branded by your rifle. The forward assist is a cheap, easy way to make sure your bolt is locked after brass checks or chamfering a round with a dirty chamber. It's one of those 'why not?' things like the dust cover, why bother going out of your way to not have one?
Turns mild stoppages into huge jams.1. what the heck does it do?
No.2. is it really a necessary item?
You don't need it. It's fluff.3. Finally, as I will likely be building an AR, do I really need a FA for a rifle that I plan to rely upon should, ahem, things get a little nutty in terms of a large scale, longer term, riot-type situation? Is it just fluff? I don't need fluff. Never liked fluff.
Another thing to break. Here's an anecdote for ya: "all things that can happen usually do".
Ever been to the range and watched "tac savvy" mall ninjas beating the crap outta that thing, doing the absolute best they can to not silently load a round? I have, and seen ONE break, and only one. Ones more than enough. Substitute beating it or dropping it at the range for a serious situation. Then what are you going to do? Manually operating, as in by the hands of Man? Oh, it'll find a way to break!And how is it gonna break? The forward assist isn't one of those things that functions with every cycle of the rifle. You have to manually activate it.
Necessary this side of a rice paddy or a red dust storm? Probably not. Maybe even never, but if that one time that it is necessary comes up...like the pistol that you carry on your belt...you'll be glad it's there...or sorry that it's not in any event.
It's not in the way, and unless you operate it, it doesn't do anything except sit there. It can't break unless it's used, and one or two functions isn't very likely to break it. It's also pretty durable in the event that the rifle is dropped, and if the rifle is dropped hard enough to damage it that badly, it'll probably get broken in other places, too.
It don't eat. It ain't in the way. It probably won't be needed, but if it ever is, it'll suddenly become very important.
Yup. Well, that and a dust cover. Totally worth the moneyNow they break, AND cost several hundred dollars!
Well, I'm not shopping on the moon. I think some get to thinking that "wants" equal needs. You can have and use what you like, but I don't agree that it's needed.I think you are shopping in the wrong places.
Springfield did you check the ejected round to see if it had a projectile still. If not then you are looking for a kaboom. If you pull the trigger and it goes click then when you eject that round you had best look and see that it has a projectile still in the end. Squibs can happen and without verifing that it was not one you are putting yourself and others in danger. Just think if the first round you tried to fire was a squib and you just ejected it racking a new round in and pushed the FA to close the bolt you could now have a potential kaboom waiting.
2. is it really a necessary item? It appears that the S&W Sport doesn't have one, but everyone seems to think that the Sport is a top-notch platform "for the money". If that's the case, do we really need a FA? Typically, no. I like to use mine for a brass check to ensure the bolt is fully seated. For immediate action, you will want to get rid of the offending cartridge.
It eats money on an otherwise cost effective platform, where as I've seen, rifles are coming in several hundred dollars more than a slick side. It gets in MY way, just like that goofy flap that can't keep 100% of dirt or dust out of the system anyway. So, why bother?
So what ended up being the problem with your rifle or ammo that you needed to use it?I was in such a hurrry to get out into stand before dark,I had forgot to bump the FA
Indeed.Fortunately we have a choice to keep everybody happy.
I had three different ARs issued to me when I was in the army, and they all worked flawlessly, from the brand new M4 I got just before I ETS'd, to the clapped out old M16-A2 I used in basic training. The only malfunctions I ever had with any of them were directly attributable to damaged magazines. The AR's I've shot on the police department, and the ones I own work perfectly as well. It's also interesting that units like the British SAS and Australian SAS, whose operators can pretty much get whatever they want, and whose own militaries don't issue the AR, choose the AR. They seem to think it "actually works" just fine.I find the forward assist interesting in that it was the added as an afterthought. Apparently, the darned M16 wouldn't always chamber a round properly as originally designed, so they had to modify it, again and again and again. So now it's about 50 years later and they have sorta finally gotten things right.
It seems to me that if a weapons system has as many issues as the M16 it would have been better to replace it with something that actually works. But what the heck, some fool at the pentagon wouldn't have been able to buy that caddie if they did.
By the way, the best modification ever made to the POS I used is called the 1911A1, at least it worked when I needed it to.
My dislike of a FA has nothing to do with this.Just give the vets the respect they are due.