Posted: 12/12/2008 11:48:28 AM EDT
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Did anyone catch the article "Malfunction Reduction" in the December 2008 issue of S.W.A.T. by Pat Rogers?
Two quotes: Neither do we use the Forward Assist. Not ever. We have been doing this for a few days, and have never, ever observed a situation where pushing on that useless appendage would have made anything better." Later in referring to the Military acronym "SPORTS": TAP: The Forward Assist. As stated above, we don't use the forward assist-ever. it accomplishes nothing except making a bad thing worse. AGREED! PursuitSS |
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If one slept in a Holiday Inn last night, then one would not need a forward assist. If one sleeps outside in some god forsaken land for weeks or months at a time, one might need a forward assist.
Maybe the next adminstration will ban forward assist bearing rifles and every one will have to remove them. That will settle the debate once and for all. 
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Why in hell is there a debate? It was put on the weapon for a bad reason, every time I have seen it used it has been for all the wrong reasons, carry a bottle of CLP or use some high pressure grease instead on the carrier, grease stays, oil runs away.
I tested several lubricants on my M4, Grease is the winner... Militec 1 dry ran a close second and not as messy, use as stated on the tube and it works great. |
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This is like that damned cow in "Me Myself and Irene". It won't die! The only time I've ever had to use the forward assist, I should have done something else instead.
1. Clean the weapon or 2. Lube the weapon or 3. Dump the mag and check the chamber, cause' I stuck a fresh round into an empty case that had it's base ripped off. 
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The forward assist was put on the AR-15 platform back in the 1960's to cover up other mistakes in bringing the weapon into use during the Vietnam war. The forward assist will remain on the military rifle as long as the AR-15 platform is in government use because nobody in the government today or in the distant future has the balls to remove it from the platform's specifications. Therefore as long as state, county, local, and other law enforcement agencies suck on Uncle Sam's tit and Johnny Rambo Jr. is wondering around gun shows; there always will be forward assist devices on the AR-15 platform. 
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Quoted:
Why in hell is there a debate? It was put on the weapon for a bad reason, every time I have seen it used it has been for all the wrong reasons, carry a bottle of CLP or use some high pressure grease instead on the carrier, grease stays, oil runs away. I tested several lubricants on my M4, Grease is the winner... Militec 1 dry ran a close second and not as messy, use as stated on the tube and it works great. Would you say that using grease in a few key places COULD help an AR run longer before jamming? More details please about your test! |
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Not a big secret on the grease, I use Grease (moly grease, Wheel Bearing Grease, Synthetic Grease) Clean off all other lubricants, apply the grease on the "shiny" contact areas of the bolt carrier, Apply a small amount of grease between the rails as well.
The Grease will stay, and keep working when the weapon gets hot it will not cook off. Even hellishly dirty it will still keep running, I ran about 5000 mixed rounds through my personal M4, Ball, Blanks (very dirty) no cleaning totally abused, the weapon worked fine, did not get dirty enough to cause a stoppage and I put the weapon in the hands of trainees and experienced personnel, with explicit instructions NOT to maintain the weapon, in fact cleaning was forbidden. Never failed. When I finally cleaned it to test another lubricant nothing was the worse for wear, The Grease was still wet though grimy it was still lubricating. Strike Hold is a good lube also it is a thicker product that stays put and is used on machineguns a lot. Militec 1- when applied as instructed it does in fact create an very slick surface that does not hold dirt. But it is a liquid and needs to be reapplied somewhat frequently, to maintain the protection and the weapon has to be cleaned with that product no solvents or it will strip the built up protection. it is not much of a storage lube. |
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Quoted:
Not a big secret on the grease, I use Grease (moly grease, Wheel Bearing Grease, Synthetic Grease) Clean off all other lubricants, apply the grease on the "shiny" contact areas of the bolt carrier, Apply a small amount of grease between the rails as well. The Grease will stay, and keep working when the weapon gets hot it will not cook off. Even hellishly dirty it will still keep running, I ran about 5000 mixed rounds through my personal M4, Ball, Blanks (very dirty) no cleaning totally abused, the weapon worked fine, did not get dirty enough to cause a stoppage and I put the weapon in the hands of trainees and experienced personnel, with explicit instructions NOT to maintain the weapon, in fact cleaning was forbidden. Never failed. When I finally cleaned it to test another lubricant nothing was the worse for wear, The Grease was still wet though grimy it was still lubricating. Strike Hold is a good lube also it is a thicker product that stays put and is used on machineguns a lot. Militec 1- when applied as instructed it does in fact create an very slick surface that does not hold dirt. But it is a liquid and needs to be reapplied somewhat frequently, to maintain the protection and the weapon has to be cleaned with that product no solvents or it will strip the built up protection. it is not much of a storage lube. 
Nobody but nobody puts ketchup grease on a hot dog rifle... 
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Oh I don't think you could mistake Pat Rogers for a "Swat" guy... Pretty sure he has more trigger time behind the M-16 series than you and I Combined. Oh and he's a Marine Ken, there ain't no such thing as an Ex Marine.  No ex Marines except maybe Sen. John Murtha 
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I use my forward assist all the time. I ground down the little lever inside so it doesn't engage the carrier. So now it's a great place to put my foot when I'm yanking on the charging handle to get out a stuck shell. You're not serious ar you JH? 
hehe, god no. I don't use that damn thing. hehe, however, my idea would at least give it a purpose!! |
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The .mil does thing differently than civilians do (this includes leos). They have a different mindset and different procedures.
Wanna hear something really strange? The (now obsolete) M60A3 tank had four triggers for it's main gun. The tank commander had one in the cupola, the gunner had one one his powered controls, another on the manual elevation crank handle and a third manually operated "master blaster" handle (manually operated electrical generator, used if the vehicle had no power. The main gun rounds were electrically ignited) So as a back up device to get the weapon working when operating in a degraded state it does make sense. BTW, I don't know if it is true but I have heard one reason the .mil will not go to glocks is they have no hammer. The .mil likes a "second strike" feature on their pistols. You know, a secondary means of getting the weapon to function just in case something bad happens. |
| The REAL reason the US.MIL (LOTS of others using it) will not go to the GLOCK is due to the lack of a manual/Mechanical Safety, it is the small mindedness of the military that propels this. Tapping the FA still does nothing good... if the bolt won't close squirt a little lube in there and RACK release RACK release RACK release reload and fire the damned gun! what is making your bolt not close may be another issue and if you jam the bolt in battery you may never manually get it back out or even mechanically through fire. |
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Learn the mortar technique to clear that and you will be far better off! Unless you're doing it wrong and standing above the rifle. Duh... I SAID LEARN IT.... You can only make so many mistakes before you either learn or it doesn't matter anymore...
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