Hi, sorry for the rookie question but I'm new to this world. I have a New Frontier lower and just purchased a complete upper from someones Smith & Wesson's M&P15 Sport. The upper comes without a dust gate or forward assist. I understand that if i keep my gun clean and put away I can do without the dust gate. However will I need to have the forward assist? I am contemplating selling the M&P15 Sport upper and buying an upper with the forward assist and dust gate. Please let me know what you all think. thanks!

Forward assist or the ejection port cover is not necessary for a range rifle.

A forward assist is very handy for easing a round into the chamber.
While they might be rare there is the occasional AD slamming the BCG closed on a live round.

I don't have them on my SHTF rifles.   IMHO they are not really needed.

Not having a forward assist is not your biggest problem with that setup.

BS. If this was true, every time you shot the gun and it cycled, it would slam fire. Dropping the bolt on the top round on a mag to charge the gun is no more likely to fire than every time you pulled the trigger as it cycles on all of the following rounds. If your worried about a slam fire when charging the gun, don't shoot it. All of the other rounds are being shoved out of the mag into the chamber, and "primer kissed" just the same as the first. A training instructor will tell you that you should never ride the charging handle down. Last funny one I heard was "We ride cowgirls, not charging handles!" Riding it will cause the bolt not to seat correctly and not chambering a round fully. This can be dangerous possibly causing an out of battery or partially out of battery fire. At best you pull the trigger and nothing happens. Which is very bad on a working gun or self defence weapon. You should never have to use the forward assist when loading the gun.

OP... Like mentioned above, you do not need a dust cover or a forward assist on a range gun. If you plan on shooing in the desert or anywhere it is really dirty, the dust cover is nice. I have never been trained at any time you should use the forward assist. It tends to just shove problems in the chamber vs getting the problem cleared and the gun running. My guns will always have a dust cover. And with getting a Mil Spec upper, you get a forward assist. There are a ton of the S&W guns here that are slick sides.  

Edit–– I see your new.  Welcome!

Checkout the Homtown California forum for Ca related stuff.

You don't need either...I've never used the foward assist on any of my AR's and the dust cover is only used for photo shoots,LOL. I don't play in the mud and sand...so neither have been necessary.

I tend to agree with these guys, unless you have .mil experience.   I use mine on rare occasions if I am using my crappy mags I have from deployment. Just something I was trained to do for immediate action.

Not a bad option to have. Can add value to the rifle if you ever decided to sell/trade.

You are only gonna need it when you dont have it

Thanks for all your opinions. Since I will only be firing in a rifle range I think I'll stick with what I have and upgrade to a standard Mil Spec upper later down the line.



I agree there. I seem to always have that kinda of luck! lol

I did not say slam fire; I don’t know what caused the one I witnessed.
Training classes don’t teach it all.
There are situations where making as much noise as possible might not be the best move.
I load my weapons that way a lot and I have not experienced any problems getting the bolt into battery.

The military attempted to replicate this in a test environment and could not. In fact it appears that repeated chamberings kill the primer rather than firing it.

That's interesting.

You did not say slamfire, but you described it.
"A slamfire is a premature, (usually) unintended discharge of a firearm that occurs as a round is being loaded into the chamber."
This why you should always load for a magazine, the action of stripping the round from the magazine slows the reducing the force so as not to generate enough ft lbs to set off the primer. With correct ammo and a proper functioning rifle, dropping a round in the chamber then releasing the bolt, will not generate enough force to make a slamfire. Now if you have light primers or some debris that has logged the fp forward, I can see a slamfire happening. This why you always have the muzzle end pointed in a safe direction while loading. Slamfires are about as rare as hen's teeth.

I saw a posted email reply years ago from I think it was from Federal telling someone that every strike on a primer that does not set it off degrades it.
It is not surprising the military could not replicate the problem.
They undoubtedly used weapons in good condition and issue ammo with hard primers.

Thanks! I'll be sure to check that out. I haven't explored enough to see a CA forum! Also I can relate to the comment of trying to remove the problem instead of jamming it and making it worse.

You do not Need one.

I'll help. What part of the state are you in?

http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_8/11_California.html

+1, but I also can see someone with their finger on a light or defective trigger having a problem.

Having your finger inside the trigger guard area during loading or magazine changes will get you DQ'ed from every Match I've shot in. Sometimes you just can't fix stupid.

Thanks! I'm in the Bay Area. U?

Bay? I'm sorry.

I'm north of Sac buy a few hours where we have a little more elbow room.

"Oh noes, this round won't chamber!!! Something must be wrong!!! Let's just jam it in there without diagnosing the problem... It'll be fine, here, hold my beer."

Tap Tap Tap...

BOOM.


If your rounds arent chambering then you have a problem. Fix the problem instead of jamming things in places they don't want to go.

FA is not needed.

Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch teaches not using the forward assist. If the round won't chamber by pushing forward on the indention in the bolt carrier with your thumb then you don't want to cram it in with the forward assist. IMHO, Dust covers are a good idea.

There isnt always something wrong with the weapon if a round doesnt chamber. Sure it is good to look and see if there is something wrong or obstructing, but sometimes the fact is is that it doesnt always go how it should 100% of the time. Forward assist is a nice option to have and you cant go wrong by not having it. Either save a few bucks or give youself some security in having another tool built right into the weapon.

not necessary.......nor is the case deflector.

I assume you meant to say " can't go wrong by having it"  and I disagree... there are plenty of Kaboomed rifles out there that would still be intact if the upper was not equipped with a FA.

Its no big deal really OP... both of my current rifles have them... I just never touch them.  If my particular uppers were offered in a version without a FA I would buy them and swap them out if for no other reason than to save a couple ounces... but its no big deal.

I just don't like it when people say that a FA is a MUST HAVE.  That is BS.

Yep thats is what i meant to say. Damn brain lol I agree with you on some points though. They do barely get used, add some more weight, and could probably save a few rifles if they werent there. Some people, like me, really like them for security reason as it is another tool to the weapon (for better or worse), and others see the failures in them and choose not to get them. Nothin wrong with either side, its all about preference anyways. Sometimes I cant blame you for not wanting them espically for the reasons you gave. I only like having them and only recommend them because its another tool and, in some cases, can add more value to the wepaon if you ever wanted to trade/sell.

In my opinion I think they look neat too

Available here

I bought a couple of these and plan to use these on all my future builds.

Eugene Stoner didn't think so but the Army required it.  A buddy of mine in Vietman got shot up because of that damn FA locked up his rifle making it into nothing but a damn club!  NO FA FOR ME EVER!!

You don't need a forward assist.



You don't need a buttstock, there are AR pistols.



You don't need a flat top upper, Stoner didn't design it that way...right?



You don't need optics, or a sling or even a collapsible stock. Don't need a fancy trigger or a light.



You don't need aftermarket pistol grips or sling mount/bottle openers either.



But I find most of the above useful along with the forward assist.

+1 to OlCrow
Given the mechanics of how the bolt locks up I am having a problem seeing how anyone that is not a candidate for natural selection would misuse the FA to the point of causing a KB in the civilian world.
Actually I don’t think I have ever seen a post where the FA was attributed to causing a KB.

+1 to having the forward assist.  I have not seen it create problems and it helps in ensuring the status of the weapon in the dark without having to completely stroke the charging handle with all that associated noise.  For folks who maintain their rifle properly, use good mags, and shoot quality ammo - I see no downside to having it and it enhances the features of the rifle as I stated above.  I have them on all of mine.