M&P 15 Sport and the Missing Forward Assist

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JeffShrugged

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I have an M&P 15 Sport sans forward assist and dust cover. Neither one of those missing parts seem to have negatively affected my rifle for its intended purpose.

My question is, with regard to the missing forward assist, if one had a situation where the bolt failed to lock, couldn't one simply push against the charging handle? I've never actually had this happen, so I have been unable to test the theory. I've seen people say push against the depression in the bolt, but the charging handle is right there, easy to hit with your thumb. Wouldn't that work too?

As for the dust cover issue, next time I'm in a middle eastern desert I will bring a roll of masking tape.

There are some people surprisingly horrified at the exclusion of these two functions on the AR forums. I just shrug.
 
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Im shrugging as well.
Love my Sport!


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No, pushing on charging handle will not move the bolt forward past it's locked position. The forward assist is there to move the bolt forward if it fails to lock up which could occur due to a "tight" round, in chamber/lugs, soft recoil spring, out of time, insufficient lube. Before the range these can be prevented by checking the chambering of each round, clean the gun- dirty from firing or environmental debris (mud), ice, lubrication. The benefit of the assist would be in a defensive, hunting, timed competition. Black electrical tape would prob work better since it seems like can reapply it after removal. Be Safe,
 
JeffShrugged said:
My question is, with regard to the missing forward assist, if one had a situation where the bolt failed to lock, couldn't one simply push against the charging handle?
Click to expand...
No, the charging handle will only pull the bolt carrier. Try this, put an empty mag in and pull the charging handle fully to the rear. What happens to the bolt and charging handle? Both stay to the rear. Now, push the charging handle back in place. Notice that the bolt carrier stays back, but the charging handle goes back in place with little resistance.

This happens because the charging handle is not actually attached to the bolt carrier. If it were, it would come flying back on every shot. That would not be good. :eek:

JeffShrugged said:
I've seen people say push against the depression in the bolt, but the charging handle is right there, easy to hit with your thumb. Wouldn't that work too?
Click to expand...
You can press against that depression, but it doesn't give the same amount of leverage a forward assist would.

If you keep your gun clean, you'll never need the forward assist.
 
JeffShrugged said:
. I've seen people say push against the depression in the bolt,
Click to expand...

That little depression is also where combustion gases operate the bolt during the firing cycle. I expect it gets quite warm after extended firing, which is when the possibility of malfunctions increase.

Generally, if the bolt doesn't fully seat a cartridge, there is some type of problem. A prudent person (on a range, not necessarily in a gun fight) will stop, unload the weapon and verify condition of ammunition and rifle (check for bore obstruction) while looking for the cause of the problem. Might be something as simple as needing lubrication of the working parts.

There's a lot of videos on utube showing people blowing up their rifles after beating a round into the chamber with the FA.
 
You can always use the notches on the side of the BCG. I've never needed it because if there is an issue I'm not going to cram the round in there, im gonna pull the charging handle and look inside. The charging handle was designed to cope with the jamming issues they had in Vietnam due to the powder used in the ammo. Since that is no longer an issue, they really aren't needed anymore.
 
The forward assist was never meant to jam a round into the chamber. In wet conditions the bore can get water in it. With the 22 cal bore size you have to allow some air in behind it in order for all the water to get out. When you pull the bolt back a bit, it will sometimes stick when allowed forward. With no forward assist, you have to remove the round and then rechamber a round. A lot of times the ejected round will end up on the ground. It is then picked up and put back in the magazine, possibly bringing some dirt with it. Not good, so the forward assist was added.

Do a search for the M16 Comic Book Manual.
 
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Remember the original design didn't have a forward assist. Pushing the bolt forward with your finger was the forward assist.
 
Less machining - cheaper to make.

Most people have never touched the FA. People generally are not attacked by a Birchwood Casey bullseye in that they needed a punky round chambered RIGHT NOW.

That being said, I'm left handed, so the shell deflector is not an option for me....
 
ironhead7544 said:
The forward assist was never meant to jam a round into the chamber. In wet conditions the bore can get water in it. With the 22 cal bore size you have to allow some air in behind it in order for all the water to get out. When you pull the bolt back a bit, it will sometimes stick when allowed forward. With no forward assist, you have to remove the round and then rechamber a round. A lot of times the ejected round will end up on the ground. It is then picked up and put back in the magazine, possibly bringing some dirt with it. Not good, so the forward assist was added.

Do a search for the M16 Comic Book Manual.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. It was put there because the high sulpher content of the powder used in the ammo in Vietnam plus the idea that the m-16 was a self cleaning rifle led to difficulties seating the round. This is documented fact. It isn't even hard to find that information. The ar-10 originally had no FA.
 
I believe that there is more to the history of the M16 than meets the eye. Check out retroblackrifle.com. The early Air Force M16's didn't have the FA, while the Army's did.

601-Right-601x438.jpg
 
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Jlduke said:
Nonsense. It was put there because the high sulpher content of the powder used in the ammo in Vietnam plus the idea that the m-16 was a self cleaning rifle led to difficulties seating the round. This is documented fact. It isn't even hard to find that information. The ar-10 originally had no FA.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you got that information but I was there. 45b20 Small Arms Repairman. U.S.Army 69-72.

The bad ammo did not last long in the inventory. Had too much preservative and was pulled.

Not a good idea to jam a sticky round into an autoloader. May not come out and then you are stuck.
 
k80clay said:
That being said, I'm left handed, so the shell deflector is not an option for me....
Click to expand...
I don't know what this means. I'm a lefty and I'm glad the shell deflector is there. Otherwise an ejected shell might hit me in the face. I have not seen a modern AR without one.

Even the Sport has one:
811037_03_md.jpg
 
Rastoff said:
I don't know what this means. I'm a lefty and I'm glad the shell deflector is there. Otherwise an ejected shell might hit me in the face. I have not seen a modern AR without one.

Even the Sport has one:
811037_03_md.jpg
Click to expand...

I too am a lefty. A FA gets in my way when I use an ambi charging handle. Therefore I love my Sport. If you can't seat the bolt by pushing on the depression, they a FA will turn the carbine into a club. I also would not buy an M4 clone without the shell deflector.
 
Kodiakco said:
I believe that there is more to the history of the M16 than meets the eye. Check out retroblackrifle.com. The early Air Force M16's didn't have the FA, while the Army's did.

601-Right-601x438.jpg
Click to expand...

Fired many many rounds out of our AF sixteens without the forward assist and cannot recall anyone having an issue. Would have liked the shell deflector though, more than a few hot brass down the neck on the range. Just my experience.
 
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vipermd said:
No, pushing on charging handle will not move the bolt forward past it's locked position. The forward assist is there to move the bolt forward if it fails to lock up which could occur due to a "tight" round, in chamber/lugs, soft recoil spring, out of time, insufficient lube. Before the range these can be prevented by checking the chambering of each round, clean the gun- dirty from firing or environmental debris (mud), ice, lubrication. The benefit of the assist would be in a defensive, hunting, timed competition. Black electrical tape would prob work better since it seems like can reapply it after removal. Be Safe,
Click to expand...

FWIW. There is an indentation on the side of the bolt carrier that shows through the ejection port. If the carbine fails to chamber a round, just use a finger to push the bolt forward until it locks. If this does not work, use the charging handle to eject the round. If you "force" a round into the chamber via the FA, then you have a round stuck in the chamber that may not fire. Clearing a stuck round, I have helped clear them that resulted from steel cased imported ammo, is not something you want to have to do. I suggest you Google and read up on the FA. The FA is the wrong answer to a problem that existed in Vietnam when the M16 was a new weapon system. The right gun powder and cleaning kits were and are still the correct answer.
 
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Whilst in the service, never had a need to use the forward assist, even in combat.
Truth be told, I only used the FA during SPORTS whilst still in boot camp. Additionally, once the first round is sent down range, we are all operating without a dust cover
 
When I was struggling with the decision to buy a Sport (which I ultimately did buy) I asked a couple of friends who've had ARs for a few years how often they've used their forward assists.

One replied "Never.". The other said "What's the Forward Assist?"

That cemented my decision. :-)
 
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