Is the forward assist button used on your AR? What is the main purpose of this? Just to seat the very first round? After you fire your first round and the next is loaded why would you need to use this feature?
Thanks for the info.
Aaron

Yes, I use it out of habbit after loading a new mag and loading one in the hole. Just to make sure its seated right. I probably never would need to use it, but make it a habbit and it might save my life sometime. Its worth it.

But if you load a mag into the AR, Press the bolt catch release it will load a round for you. Is this round not seated tight enough?

Yes, it seats fine. But like I said, I do it as a "CYA" thing. If you were in combat with the AR all day or had a lot of CLP and shooting a bunch of rounds you may need to use the F/A to seat a round or two. But I make it a habit so if I am ever in combat its second nature. Ya know what I mean?

Good training, and it certainly isn't going to hurt anything.

99% of the time mine seats it correctly and that other 1% i use the fwd assist, which i think is a excelent feature

 When your gun is hot, dusty and just generally filthy...the FA is great for seating the bolt from a full mag if it doesn't quite go home....also great for brass checks...

IMO...an essential part of any AR

I use it when chamber checking.  If I retract the bolt slightly to verify the chamber and release it without it going fully into battery, a light tap on the F/A drives it home.

What he said.  CYA after chamber checking.  You can never be to sure/carefull.

My AR has no forward assist.[:D]

Like M4_Aiming_at_U said.  It has become a habit for me.  Everytime I load a mag I hit the FA to ensure the bolt is seated.  

Use it or not, the rifle doesn't look right to me without one.

I've only used them sparingly...  but when I needed it I was glad to have it.  This is after many thousands of rounds through issue military and civilian AR15s.

[:)]
Alex

+1 for Lumpy!

When the M16A1 was upgraded to M-16 A-2 (PIP time) it was discerned the the foreward assist "served no useful purpose" but was not deleted from the design, simply because SOCCOM forgot to ask for its removal. It is like the human appendix, there, but virtually useless.  

sure do, 'old habits die hard'

SPORTS!!!!!!!

Every time I load or do a chamber check its used.

LOL. When I'm shooting my other rifles I catch my self doing it.

This from a lurker, I served 13 years US Army with M16, more counting other primary weapons. I never used or felt I needed to use the forward assist. This was before the change to the "burst" selector. I guantaree I fired all I was able to.
My Low pro doesn't have one and I have never needed it, shooting all the cheapo ammo I can find.
"If you ever reach total enlightenment
while drinking beer, I bet it makes
beer shoot out your nose."
Deep Thought, Jack Handy

I used it the other day in a high power match.  Acctually it was the first time I ever acctually had a bolt fail to engage.  However it didnt' work.  It succeeded in putting a hudge dent in the side of the case though.  I was loading single shots at 200yrds slow fire sitting and got the round in the chamber fugly.  

When I load a mag, I always follow these steps

1)Insert mag
2)Slap mag bottom to make sure it's seated
3)Push bolt release
4)Push foward assist

Thats pretty much the only time I use it.

NO !!

Glad to hear most say you don't need it. I just bought a new upper which is a DPMS hi-rider without the forward assist. The upper I am taking off is an A3 with assist.

I use it when hunting deer.  I walk to treestand with empty chamber.  Pull back charging handle and slowly let forward.  Then use F/A to fully seat.

-DEERSNIPER
[sniper]

Never used it, never needed to.

Deersniper listed one of the principle benefits of the forward assist - to silently load the rifle.

Typical of military training I always give the foward assist a tap after I send home the bolt on a new mag. It is a good habit to get in to. I haven't needed it much during live fire but I wouldn't want an AR15 without one.

Amen.  One reason why I ditched my AR10 and won't EVER own another.

Yeah, plus the guns don't look nearly as good without em.  Feel's like my gun is an amputee when I am using a slick side.

I've always been under the assumption that if you have to force a round into battery that something is wrong and it probably ain't a good idea.

No I have many time press check my weapon and the bolt did not close on a round which was 100% factory perfect.  My bolt and carrier were spotless and well lubed with CLP.  

If the carrier is not allowe dto move with full force from the rear I get about a 10-20% rate of the bolt not closing if I ease the charging handle in slowly.

This is when I use the forward assist.

My other option is to yank all the way back on the charging handle and let it fly forward.  This always chambers the round.  Then I go pick up the round on the ground, dust it off remove magazine put it in the magazine and reinsert the magazine.

I find just using the forward assist much easier to do.  You will never need the forward assist if you:

Never press check the rifle.

Never silently load the rifle.

Never ride the charging handle forward when loading.

In all three circumstances its the riding forward of the charging handle that causes the failure to load properly.  In fact the ONLY AK malfunction I have ever seen was from someone trying to slowly ride the charging handle forward in order to be quiet.  It tied the gun up pretty good and I had to remove the magazine to clear the jammed round.

That said I think it is worth its weight to be included on the rifle.  I have never, nor have I ever seen anyone use it to chamber a dirty round that did not fully seat when the gun cycled itself after a shot.

I also press the forward assist to make sure the round is seated after loading my first magazine but I have never had it actually move the bolt carrier that last milimeter forward and lock like it sometimes does after a press check.