Must haves? First I haven't been to the range in almost 3 years now. I had to move out of town and the range here has too many rules. I do go to a public range once in a while but I'm generally the only one there or at most someone way down at the other end of the line will be there. As for bug out conditions again I figure I can pick up the parts to convert over to FA if I really think it's needed. As for jammed rounds if I find it's jamming much I'll be buying something else anyway. In 23 years my SKS has never jammed even once and that's through many thousands of rounds. If I needed a gun for the brush I'd be fine using that one. It has shown itself to be extremely reliable. My AR is mostly for HD. A lot of the reason I even bought one was the different ammo choices. That just isn't the case with 7.62 x 39. But to be honest I've rarely had any firearms that jammed much. Only my AK I guess. I got rid of that piece of junk long ago. Yeah I know most people have better luck with them. It's a long story. Just think "friends with kits' and let it go at that.

Meh, the ejection port cover does not hermetically seal, so water, sand and dirt can still get in there. My Sport rides strapped to my four wheeler or my jeep, or thrown in the bed of my truck when I hog hunt in west Texas. By the time I get across the pastures and down the dirt roads, my rifle is covered in red dust. Rifle has never jammed from this.

As far as the forward assist, there are better ways to deal with a "stubborn round". Forcing a round into chamber is not the intended use of the forward assist.

What is the primary intended use then? I was under the impression it was for pushing a round into a dirty, balking chamber when the heat was really on. I've always thought it was a last resort type move and that's why I never was crazy about having one. IMO most semi-auto rifles work fine wthout being force fed but my experience with full auto weapons is limited to few fun shoots with borrowed weapons. I assumed a full auto got dirty much quicker because of the volume of ammo they can eat. A fire fight in the sand box is something that could make life hard on a full auto it seems but actually the full auto guns I've shot all seemed to work fine even with one of them being what I would think of as seriously abused with full cans of WD-40. That was an AK and I got a WD shower while shooting that thing. I wouldn't have wanted to be wearing a nice shirt. But that was newer Russian ammo combined with way too much WD so there was plenty to possibly go wrong IMO. But again I don't have that much full auto experience.

Seriously I don't have a clue what other purpose they would have other than force feeding a round in a tight spot. Can you educate an AR newbie?

They are there to insure the bolt is closed. A light tap after charging the weapon, or after checking to see if the weapon is loaded.

You would perform SPORTS if the weapon didn't fire.
S - Slap, slap the magazine
P - Pull, Pull the charging handle all the way back (this should eject a round if it were causing you trouble. If not, you need to remove the round)
O - Observe, look to see if there are any obstructions that would not allow a round to chamber
R - Release, let go of charging handle and let it fly forward. This grabs a new round, since the one that didn't go bang would be ejected at this point.
T - Tap, tap the forward assist to insure the bolt is all the way forward
S - Squeeze, get back on target and squeeze the trigger

If you find that you are repeatedly performing this operation, it is time to take a look at the rifle and figure out what is wrong. You may not be able to do this in the middle of a firefight in Afghanistan, but as a civilian, your rifle should be clean and in good working order if you are depending upon it for HD.

This is also old school military. The Army required the forward assist to be added since the charging handle could only pull the bolt back, but not move it forward like the operating rod on the M1 or M14.

Some modern shooting courses now omit the tap in their training. They have you roll the rifle to the right as you pull the charging handle and observe the chamber to allow any loose obstruction to fall out of the ejection port if it was not cleared by pulling the charging handle. Release, then get back on target and squeeze the trigger.

OK that's not really any different than what I thought. I never really thought a person should shove a round in with FA but rather just push it forward if you see the bolt has completely closed. Again I'm new to AR's. But I'm not new to clearing a jammed chamber. I've been doing the things you describe here for so long they're second nature. I do realize how bad it could be if a round fired out of battery. But like you said a well maintained rifle shouldn't have that problem. It if happens just once I'll be all over it to figure out why. I don't need to be firing any round out of battery even if it's just a .22.

My understanding was that the FA went back the M16A1 because of the initial problems with e M16 in Vietnam. There are those that would argue it's just a feel good feature that was put on the rifle to make soldider think the problems had been dealt with. But of course the problems were mostly ammo related anyway. I'm not saying there's no reason for a FA. I'm just repeating what I've read.

I guess I'm just not used to the idea that a rifle may not want to work anyway. Yeah if you're in Iraq with the fine dust you can certainly have problems build up over time. But like you said a person should be on top of cleaning and lubing their rifle. To me that's just old school stuff that we should always follow with every weapon including single shot designs. I can certainly see the reason for a FA. For one thing you may want to ease the charging handle forward in a battlefield situation so that you aren't heard by the bad guys. You then push the FA to make sure the bolt closed. Same goes for hunting really. Racking the slide on any semi-auto just might scare off a pack of hogs. We all need to do our part to get rid of those critters and anything that keeps even one from running instead of being killed is a good thing IMO.

Again I will be expecting my rifle to work without the need of a forward assist. I do maintain my weapons. And I test them before I count too much on them for SD of any kind. Maintenance is the first thing dad taught us about guns long before I was allowed to shoot them. I had older brothers and I was there when they were taught just so dad wouldn't have to do it all again when I got old enough to shoot. Dad had a semi-auto shotgun which was considered finicky in those days. So we were taught to be meticulous about care of a weapon especially one that might fire dirty ammo like some shotgun ammo. I learned to clean a shotgun every time you used it and I still do that. Rifles it depends on their nature and my experience with them. You want it to work when the pressure is on and sometimes we can make mistakes at that time we would never do under normal circumstances. For that reason alone it's best to know your weapon is almost certain to function. That's why I don't worry so much about not having a FA. I'll know if the rifle is likely to work or not before any trouble shows up. I'll know because of practice and maintenance.

According to the original designer, Mr. Stoner, the small indent in the bolt was intended to be a way to nudge the bolt forward if needed. If more force is needed than can be applied with this method you have a serious issue that doesn't require more force but rather more inspection.

With that said in a hot combat situation it is easier and quicker to slap the forward assist than find the bolt indent, which maybe hot from firing, with your thumb.

Me I don't see the need personally but the debate if it's needed in a civilian rifle goes on......

I think people have been insecure about there not being a bolt handle like other rifles. At times it certainly has been helpful but a civilian who might never fire his gun in anger (highly likely) and if he does it will only be fired a few times I'm not of the mind that a person like that needs a FA. But what do I know. If it turns out you die because I said this please don't sue me.

Yes. Must have for me. Why wouldn't I want them when I can get an AR with them for the same price? And S&W realized them cutting corners with the original Sport wasn't gonna fly with the introduction of the Ruger AR-556. I rarely had a malfunction with my AR's either, and I kept them super clean as I do all my guns. But one time I needed that forward assist on my colt using Winchester white box ammo. And having a dust cover to keep dirt and water out is just a no-brainer.

I've been looking for an AR for plinking and disregarded the Sport in favor of the Ruger. Now that the Sport 2 is around it's a contender. The original sport is still out of the running.

Plus I think no FA or DC just don't look right.

I agree. I just don't use either. The FA seems like it's only use at my friendly local civilian gun club is to make a bad situation worse.

When the Sport was introduced, the AR market was quite different. There were very few quality rifles available at the lower end of the price range.

I wouldn't say that S&W "cut corners" with the original Sport. They were quite honest about dropping the forward assist and the ejection port cover in order to lower the cost of the rifle.

Cutting corners is more like not treating the barrel, or using a different alloy for the bolt than the industry standard... things the casual buyer may not notice, and things that Ruger has done with the AR 556.

I do agree with you that I would buy the Sport II over a current production Sport for the same price, but with all the gun control talk going on, prices are going up... so I don't blame CJ for buying what was available if it fit his needs vs. continuing to look as prices rise.

The reason I didn't wait was mostly that Christmas thing. I was getting a present from my family (that I got to pick out - we do that since it's better than wasting money on stuff people don't need or want) and I needed it before Christmas. I looked around a lot at gun dealers on the web and big box stores and LGS's and I could find very few Sports and zero Sport II's. Maybe they were available at places but I looked nearly every day and didn't once see a Sport II. As for the choice between S&W and Ruger I think the barrel finish is just better on the Smith. YMMV.

Nice Christmas present btw.....

Yes it was Kevin. My two kids and my wife went together on it. Plus I gave my wife several small presents I got here and there but that was just because I wanted to. They always work together to get me something nice. I put some money into it myself come to think of it.

I'm not much of a person to let people buy presents blindly. None of us do that any more. The only people who like that arrangement are the people who sell presents. This way it's really more like everyone just buys themselves something and lets others take the credit for it. We swap checks to be put in on presents for each other. Christmas shouldn't be about money anyway.

Saying FA/DC is mandatory on an AR is like saying snow tires are mandatory on cars.

It depends on your environment and uses. It could be useful to some, it could be meaningless to others. To make a declaration for all is very silly.
"Guess you cut corners by not running snow tires" "No.... I live in Miami".

It's not mandatory for the gun to work, but they are features that I insist on an AR, just because I like them. And you'll never need snow tires in Miami. But as I said before, I have needed to forward assist and the gun was maybe 100 rounds into a range session. And the dust cover? Keeping the action as clean as possible while not in use is a no brainer for me.

If you think they're useless then I'm glad your happy with your sport. Let's see how many original sports are sold once the sport 2 hits the shelves. I bet they drop the sport from the lineup. And what else did they change other than the FA or DA?

They have already dropped the Sport from the lineup. That's a big reasonI was having so much trouble finding one. If you go to this page:

S&W M&P15 Sport AR-15 Semi Auto Rifle 5.56mm NATO 16" Barrel 30 Rounds 6 Position Stock Fixed Front Sight Polymer Handguard Black 811036

You'll see that it says,

"We're sorry, but this product is no longer available."

In other words it has been discontinued. As I said before I couldn't find the old one or the new one when I was looking. I still haven't seen a new one on the net for sale. I don't look that much now though.

I just bought my Sport 2 at Shoot Straight in Oblando. They had a stack of them on sale for $$650 ($50 cheaper than the Ruger Ar556s I also found in town). I waited a over a week to buy, doing as much research as I could. Was suprised they were still in stock when I went back. SS has an online store....

Of course they will drop the Sport from the lineup. When companies make changes to a product, they drop the previous model that was changed... unless you are Coca Cola, then you bring the previous version back to market.

As far as "needing" the forward assist at the range... If you are continually using the forward assist to fully seat the bolt, you need to stop and figure out what is wrong with the rifle, especially when shooting at the range. From my previous post outlining SPORTS, you can see that the military does not train one to force the bolt closed upon a stoppage. It is used only when there has been operator intervention in the loading of the weapon (charging handle has been pulled). When the action is working on it's own and a stoppage occurs, the first step is not pounding on the forward assist.

One good use for a FA (no experience, just read about it) was if you were hunting or some other situation where you wanted to chamber a round somewhat quietly.

You can do that just as easily by nudging the bolt forward with your thumb on the indention that the ejection port cover latch rides in.

Not looking to put more thumb on a dirty hot bolt. And why didn't they advise GI's in Vietnam to do the same thing if it's so useless. And can you get the same forward momentum doing that as a good slap of the FA?

You don't want to slap the FA, only push it. If the bolt won't go into battery with a thumb push, it's time the see why and not force the issue.

Last time I needed to close my bolt quietly, as stated in the question, my bolt was not hot. If my bolt is hot, then there really is no need to be quiet, since everyone within the county heard the shots that got the bolt hot.

Again, go read my previous post on regarding "SPORTS". This is the training one receives in the military for clearing a round. There is no slapping and pounding of the forward assist on a round that refused to chamber.

Here, I'll quote it for you...

The only time the forward assist is used is after the operator has manually manipulated the bolt. If the weapon does not chamber a round during normal operation where the action is working from the gas system, you do not use the forward assist as the first step.

got my sport II today

I noticed this morning that Sportsmans Outdoor Superstore has an LEO price of $589 and showing in stock. I'm awaiting a TS, (my first AR), so I'm out of the game but I was hoping it might help someone here who has been looking.

__________________
642-1, M&P15 TS

Just ordered my 1st AR... A Sport II. Should have it in a few day!

Stopped by the local gun shop today, they had a sport II, I put a deposit down on it, will stop back later this week to pick it up. $699.

Before and after pics.....

Here's my Sport. Just shot another 100 flawless rounds this afternoon. Love it!

What optics is that?

Vortex SPARC II

Yes - Vortex Sparc II

Thanks! I gotta get me one of those...

heres mine all i need is a sling

I ordered the Damage Industries buffer spring as suggested. They were on sale cheap, like 6 or 7 bucks! Put it in (gave it a little Froglube treatment first) and shot 100 rounds of 223 and 556 today and it was absolutely silent! That was a great, and inexpensive addition. Now, when my ELF match trigger arrives, I'll be done modding (yeah, right)!

Finished it off today....

Bought a S&W Sport II a few days ago and I'm waiting for it to be shipped to my FFL sometime next week. I ordered a Nikon 3x9x40 P223 scope for it last night and that will go on it when it gets here. Looking forward to getting it setup and taking it to the range to zero it in. This is my second AR as I also own a DPMS that I have been happy with and it has the same scope on it.

Finally shot this beauty yesterday along side its little brother MP15-22... 120 rounds, performed flawlessly, actually both of them did... Very pleased....

Here is my Sport 2 with a Magpul Furniture upgrade along with a Sightmark Ultra QD and a Magpul B.A.D lever..