Any of you have a slick sided upper? Is the purpose to save weight? Purely Aesthetics? Would you own a rifle without forward assist?

I'm down to half a dozen AR's right now, I only own one that has a forward assist. The only reason that it has one is because it is a factory gun.
If I am building a rifle from parts I make sure that the upper does not have this worthless feature.

My side charger doesn’t.

Yes, somewhat, meh, yes.

MM

Most of us use our AR’s such that we can keep them cleaned and adequately lubed, so it’s an unnecessary complication. I mean, how many other semi-auto rifles do you see with a forward assist?

All mine have forward assists, I almost think I’ve smacked one once or twice, not sure.

I like it in case I’m hunting and need to be “quiet” when chambering a round. I can pull back and then slowly let the charging handle return, and then make sure the bolt is fully closed/round fully chambered with the forward assist.

Not usually necessary, but if the chamber is dirty, and you don’t wanna just yank back on the charging handle and let ‘er go, then it COULD be of some use.

Y do you want to pound something in where it doesn’t want to go. Even in a life/death situation if your ammo won’t chamber on its own there pry a reason. I have uppers both ways and all my hunting uppers are now side chargers so I can manipulate the bolt. I like the slick sided ones as it less stuff to catch on or have a failure. YMMV

David

When's the last time I needed one?

I have two early 80s SP1 carbines , slick side, light handy little carbines, Everything else has a forward assist.

Right now, you better buy any upper that you can find, either with or w/o the FA.

MM

The AR I built for prairie dogs doesn't have a forward assist or dust cover. I don't miss it or see a reason for it on that rifle.

The original M16 design didn't have a forward assist, the Army insisted on adding it. The designer of the M16, Eugene Stoner, didn't include one as he saw no need for it. If there's something keeping the bolt from closing under it's own power then forcing it closed is probably going to turn something easily cleared into a jammed mess.

If you need to ease the bolt home quietly, you’ll need a FA fairly often, which is why side chargers can be better for hunting builds. Normal free bolt use, there’s no real need. As far as hanging up on stuff, other stuff on ARs are a bigger concern, to me. Just my take.

I have one left but I had to go check to see which gun it was on. That's how much I use the FA.

I only bought this one for a light weight build but now all of my guns are light weight and having a FA doesn't add enough weight to notice.

Yep I that is why I like forward assist quiet loading and making sure bolt is in battery

This is why I prefer a forward assist. I won't own an ar without one.

Bb

I always have to wonder why it would be important to chamber quietly.

While folks can have their own reasons, probably one of the more common is hunting elevated stands, and not climbing or hauling up a loaded gun, and then wanting no more noise than possible when loading it once there.

I've never hunted with an AR

Most every other common semi auto hunting rifle besides an AR has a forward assist.....a fixed charging handle.

Saves weight and in my opinion looks better. Although they typically cost a little more than traditional uppers.

+2

Spooked a couple groundhogs when I chambered my first round of the day. Learned to close it quiet and seat with bfa.

I just chamber at the truck, figure they heard me drive in anyway...

When hunting an AR, I chamber before I open the door of the truck.

Are you guys allowed to use semi-autos now? Their illegality was one of the great injustices of my childhood.

In PA semi rifle for ground hogs, coyotes, small game. No deer bear or turkeys. Probably legal 3 years maybe?

Good for you guys!

Stoner has a nice slick sided upper and matching rail for $99 at Midway. Absolute steal and I can't remember the last time I used a forward assist.

Another light bulb went on recently when I started to look at sling carry. Being left handed, with a conventional front carry the FA jabs me in the gut. The deflector might also be an issue, but perhaps not as much, and it really can't be eliminated, especially for a lefty.

I suppose the ultimate solution would be to get a dedicated left hand AR, but that involves a whole slew of limitations, beginning with choice options.

Anyhow, it's got me thinking about an upper without the forward assist.

Paul

Depends on what the situation is. There have been accounts of their usefulness in military settings, most notably in Iraq during the initial faze. As the story goes a young army corporal shot 7 Iraqi soldiers and each time he had to use his forward assist to load a round because of all the Iraqi sand that was in it. He wasn't known to keep his gun clean as I recall.

Most of us won't be in those conditions, but I like the idea of using it to quietly load a round. I use mine for gophers around our place and keep it clean so I have never used the one on mine.

I don't own any now but the brother in law has several side chargers and they are nice.

Makes charging the rifle easier with a large optic of thermal on top.

As far as i know he has not had a problem because it does not have a forward assist.

If you have a side charger (reciprocating style), then that IS your forward assist.

With rear charging /non-fixed charging, FA is something you don’t need, until you do. With side (fixed) charging, you already have it.

9 times out of 10, a forward assist will get you in pickle. If the round isn't chambering, there's probably a good reason.

My HD rifles have a functional FA.

I build both, most times I plug the FA hole with a derlin plug.

Nah....10 out of 10 they work just fine for helping chamber a round much more quietly. If you’re using it while firing, then it’s a zero sum game to begin with. LOL

I have used a forward assist hundreds of times and never once did it make a situation worse.

That said if you feel the urge to hammer on the FA then "pickles" are in your future.