The short answer to this much debated subject is; no. However, there is much value to having one.

The forward assist (FA) was developed due to problems with the initial design. Some said the bolt not fully closing was more due to improper or lack of cleaning than anything else. I submit that in a battle rifle, it should work even when dirty. Of course everything mechanical has limits. So, I'm talking about dirt from normal use. Design flaw or not, the FA made the rifle much more reliable.

There is an overlooked value to the FA though; chamber check. The only way to be 100% sure the gun is loaded is with a chamber check. When performing a chamber check, the bolt is pulled back about 1/2" to see if there is brass in the chamber. Then it is allowed to slam home. Because it's only been moved a little, the buffer spring doesn't always have enough oomph to close the bolt all the way. Thus, a quick bump on the FA ensures the bolt is closed.

You can press on the scallop where the gas ports are on the BCG. This will usually work to close a partially open bolt. However, the FA is easier and does give a larger mechanical advantage.

I have a gun that doesn't have the FA, but I think I'd rather have it than not. It's one of those 'rather have it and not need it' kind of things.

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Freedom isn't free.

The thing about the scallops is that with a recently fired rifle there could be a heat problem with trying to push the bolt with the scallop. It is possible to add one to an original Sport but I'm not sweating it. I got my Sport as a Christmas present so who's going to complain about that? I actually picked out the rifle but I could barely find a Sport and there were no Sport II's around at all. If I need a rifle that works in super dirty conditions I'll switch off to my SKS which will shoot with rocks in the chamber.

Personally - if the round isn't going into the chamber on its own for some reason (dented case, bullet not seated correctly, whatever), I want it out of there. So for me - I prefer to eject it and not force it into the chamber.

I've found that chamber checking and using the forward assist like Rastoff suggests may cause that round to be well out of the group shot with the rest of the rounds in that mag. However, YMMV

Although I don't use the forward assist I still insist on having it simply because I like the way it looks.

I was a combat soldier in the 4th ID in Vietnam and a Platoon Sgt. and I carried a M-16 for 6 months. We saw a lot of combat in all kinds of weather and the forward assist was a last resort on a round that didn't chamber all the way. I instructed my people to use it as a last resort but not to use heavy force. I told them to extract the round if they could before using the forward assist as that eliminated potential lockup problems that could be much worst than the original problem.

Are you saying that it shoots to a different POI? Like a flier?

Not only have I never seen this, but I've never heard of this. If your forward assist is causing this, I say you have a broken gun. Mine doesn't do that.

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Freedom isn't free.

I like the forward assist. It's not mandatory to use as some seem to think. It's there if you need it, if not then don't use it....what's the big deal.

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It's not the forward assist that's causing it. It's chambering a round differently than the normal "hit the bolt release and let the bolt slam forward" which similar to what happens when the gun is fired.

It depends on what is considered a flier. One inch out at 10 o'clock is noticeable, but the whole platform has to be accurate enough to see it. Does it matter at normal ranges? Not if you are hunting deer, but it will cause a miss at a 400 yard prairie dog.

The phenomenon is common to some semi-auto pistols; the 1911 comes immediately to mind, and not all of them will do it either.

I know a broken gun when I shoot one. I assure you that all of mine function exactly the way the were designed. Not all of my AR's exhibit this characteristic either. My RRA 6.8 SPC is the worst and one of my M&P-15's also does this. The rest do not.

It's just an extra tool in the toolbox

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Isaiah 43:1-3

Just jams the weapon at the most inopportune time. Best to do an immediate action drill to clear the weapon! Ask me how I know!

Well .... yeah, because after all, it is a cool looking doohickey thingy. I've never needed to use one in thousands of rounds but I like that it's there.

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

Forward... backward... left or right... I need all the assistance I can get!

I've thought that myself. Unless I was in a fire zone with a bunch of bad guys shooting my way I'd rather do the standard tricks for clearing a jam instead of creating a super jam. And trying to force a bent round could do just that. i can see a trip to the gunsmith to fix it in fact. I get nervous trying to pry out a jammed round as it is. Ramming it in as hard as a FA would allow could make the rifle useless for quite some time. So unless I have a human wave headed my way I'd rather Tap, Rack, Reassess and if that fails pull the mag and rack the bolt a few times to see if that can clear it. To be honest even in a combat situation that seems like the more logical thing to do. But I'm not putting my guesswork ahead of bonafide training from professionals on the subject. I could well be wrong on this.

I have been issued or owned an AR type rifle continuously since 1984 and carried one on both sides of the pond in harms way. I have fired untold number of rounds, and never needed to use the forward assist to get the bolt carrier group into battery. As for it's use in a "chamber check", I simply note which side the top round in the mag is on, insert mag, load rifle, drop mag and confirm the top round in the mag is now on the opposite side. This method works as well in the dark as it does in daylight, and doesn't require a loaded rifle to be taken out of battery.

I was an Air Force Small Arms Tech. in the mid 60s when we first got the AR-15 (Green -made by Matel). They did not have a forward assist and frankly, in all the training we did with them, I cannot think of one time we needed one. It was the Army that insisted on the modification when they had the rifles for a while. We also did extensive testing, getting them wet, muddy and etc. and they still functioned. Covered in mud they did not fire as fast, but they did fire! I still say they're not necessary and have the S&W Sport which does not SPORT one.

It's just something to Jack up the price of an AR. I just us my AR for plinking so really no need for it anyway.

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But the price on the Sport II didn't go up, did it? Isn't it the same price they were selling the original Sport for?

I would never use it to seat a cartridge that failed to seat in operation unless it was an absolute emergency. I do want it there and I use it when I do not want the BCG to slam shut. There are a small handful of reasons why one would not want the forceful slam and may want to finalize the bolt lock without touching an oily carrier.

Given the choice, I want it.

So far that's the only time I've used the FA. There are times when I want to be more "stealthy" chambering a round so slowly pull the charging handle back and let it down slowly and quietly, then use the forward assist to make sure the BCG is fully into battery. Otherwise it never gets used.

If I had the option to wait until the Sport II came out I probably would have just for this reason. It's better to have it on the odd chance you will need it. But I really don't expect that to happen and if it does I'll likely have more to worry about than a jammed round.

I am talking in general terms. Before I bought my AR I did lots of research and it seemed for the most part ARs with a FA and dust cover were about $100 dollars more than models without.

Someone needs to come up with a fake, cheap plastic, thingie, that looks like a FA and could be attached to Sport's, Sport II's. Along with Ruger and Colt copies thereof. Something that could be attached with double sided tape and sold on eBay for less than ten bucks. You could make a fortune off it by it selling to zombie hunters.

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642-1, M&P15 TS

No.

I don't want a forward bolt assist. Dislike it's appearance on the rifle and would not use it.

The only AR 15 that lives around here is a Colt SP 1 kept on hand since the late 1980s. It has the "proper look" and has done fine, never once wishing for extra baggage hanging off the right side of the rifle.

If it really is all that important a person could buy a lower then a FA assembly for it and use the parts from his Sport in that lower so that a complete redesign that adds both FA and a dust cover wouldn't cost over $100 I wouldn't think (if you get a blem lower). Maybe it isn't as easy as I make it sound. I haven't done it but it sounds like a plan.

The missing forward assist on my early Sport was not a concern when I bought it and still isn`t. I kinda like the looks of the rifle the way it is. And the flawless function of the rifle does not suggest a forward assist is necessary. But people will want what people will want.
Jim

That's pretty much how the FA got added to the mix in the first place. Generals who were used to M1's etc. were iffy about a rifle that couldn't be forced into battery so... The FA was added despite the fact there were no real problems arising from it not being there. That's how I under stand things anyway. "...people will want what people will want."

Got to remember our living conditions were also quite a bit different back then between the Army and Air Force too.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Purchased my first AR15 in 1980 a Colt SP1 and never have had need for the FA on that rifle (yet),
Purchased my second AR15 a H-Bar A2 Bushmaster around 1997,
I recall a range session several years ago where the bolt did not seat fully and the charging handle would not pull the bolt back, in that moment I was happy for the FA option as it closed the bolt enabling me to then clear the chamber and open the action to inspect the chamber, Had this happened on the old SP1 I would have been SOL as an AR15 cannot be disassembled with a stuck bolt since it impedes hinging the rifle open.

Two side notes, the old M1 and M14 had a built in FA in that one could slap the OP rod handle fwd closing the bolt ( had to do this on a Ruger Mini14 once ),
Interestingly Eugene Stoners follow up to the AR15 was the AR18 and while early examples have a smaller charging handle the later versions have a larger "S" shaped handle that doubles as a FA (Seen in picture below at top)

IIRC that rifle can be opened with a stuck bolt but my guess is that change was not made by coincidence.

That's a point I had not thought of at all and it creates a much greater need for the FA than I had known about before. I'm still pretty new to AR's and I did not think at all about not being able to break the rifle down with a round out of battery.

The FA assembly and dust cover are on the upper not the lower.

Yes it's easy enough to swap out if you have the appropriate tools, does mean removing the barrel and gas tube, IMO it's not worth the money or effort though you'd be better off selling your Sport then buying a Sport II if it bothers you that much, probably cost the same and no chance of f'in up your rifle.

You can take both takedown pins out and slide the upper forward off the lower with the bolt still back, it's not pretty but it works.

I should have known they were on the upper. Silly me. To be honest I'm not all that worried about a FA or a dust cover. I sorta like the looks of the Sport without them to be honest. And I don't expect to be needing either. Few jams cause something so bad the bolt can't be pulled back and from what arnoob wrote it appears there's a workaround for that too.

No. Sometimes the bolt doesn't go all the way forward, chambering a cartridge or not, so one can manually move it forward without getting grease on one's hand by touching the bolt. It is actually a useful feature.

If you use grease on your bolt, it is probably the reason that it didn't go into battery in the first place.

My new COLT rifle has a forward assist. My other COLT rifles do not have it. I doubt I will ever use it, but having it there just in case is alright with me.

If you are cleaning your rifle next to your sleeping wife and you don't use it, you will wish you had.

What new Colt did you get? I recently added an AR6721. Waiting patiently for a AR15A4.

The forward assist can be used to chamber a round more quietly.