FA Pro's & Con's

[ngcsugrad09]

or get a gun that dont need it. cue ak - FTW!

What is that handle on the side of the bolt. It doubles as a forward assist.

 

[Crackerz]

If the bolt doesn't fully close and the extractor doesn't make it onto the cartridge, and even if you decide not to take a chance and push it on closed and fire it, you still need to get the thing out of the chamber. If the bolt ain't closed enough to have the extractor to pull it out, without the forward assist your attempting to recharge by slamming the next round from the mag into the one stuck in the chamber, or dropping your mag to prevent this from happening. Then working the charge handle again while looking to find your mag. I ain't knocking the ones without the F/A for target shooting, but if I got to depend on it to work, I want every tool to make it work or clear a malfunction asap. Why wouldn't you want it on an AR? On an AK, M1A, or Mini 14 you'd push the bolt handle to accomplish the same thing. The original AR design doesn't have the ability to push the bolt as the other designs have. In my opinion it should have been there from the start. It was a necessary improvement for a battle rifle. I hope to never use the F/A on any of mine, but they all have it, just in case I do.

X2 Best as I remember, the forward assist was added during the Vietnam war to address one of the many problems in the field after the M-16 was initially deployed.

 

[Chuckdog]

Comparing the F/A to a piston conversion doesn't really fly with me. I have no problem with either. I'm happy to rely on either. Neither will make me pick another rifle. Both ways unlock the bolt. It's not adding a feature, it's changing how an existing feature functions. It's two ways of doing the same thing. The first generation upper without the F/A has no way of pushing the bolt into full battery, so adding the F/A added a new necessary feature. It didn't just modify an existing one.
F/A = Added the ability to push the bolt into full battery. A much needed missing feature that any rifle needs.
Piston Gas System = Modifies how an existing feature does it's job. I'll take it if it's there, but I won't pass up one that doesn't have it. All my other types of selfloading rifles use a piston of sort. They all unlock the bolt.

Funny posts I read above.. "it's an improvement" yada, yada, yada. "cars don't need air conditioning, but it's nice to have it and not need it.."

.. but talk about gas pistons on AR rifles and the contradictions flow like a river... "AR's wasn't designed for it originally, so AR's don't need them.."

LOL !!!!

 

[07JKX]

What is that handle on the side of the bolt. It doubles as a forward assist.

that you never need...lol


my ak is so awesome... it still shoots even when i run outta ammo! ha beat that!