• You are using the old High Contrast theme. We have installed a new dark theme for you, called UI.X. This will work better with the new upgrade of our software. You can select it at the bottom of any page.

Can you hold the forward assist when shooting an AR-15?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Scout21

Scout21

Member
Joined
May 8, 2019
Messages
638
Location
99 New York Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
A buddy of mine is trying to make his suppressed .300 Blackout as quiet as possible. He's been allowed to shoot pigs on a tiny piece of land that borders some supposedly rather unpleasant neighbors.

He asked me if there would be any issue holding the forward assist while shooting to keep the action from cycling. I'm not sure if he'll hurt his thumb or action by doing it so I said I'd ask around.
 
Ethan Verity said:
Terrible idea, the tiny ratchet teeth of the forward assist were not meant to lock the bolt!! All he'll end up doing is breaking his forward assist and/or scratching the heck out of the bolt ratcheting.

Anyway, here is a related video I found:
Click to expand...

Interesting. I guess that idea is scratched. I wonder if one could drop a round into the chamber and then plug the buffer tube like you do with a shotgun magazine tube.
 
The earlier video seems to indicate no damage to the gun when the forward assist is held forward. That said my thumb is more delicate than a clamp and I am willing to bet that would sting the thumb or hand holding it forward. Not to mention the act of holding it forward would make for an awkward shooting position in most cases. At least two of my AR's don't have a forward assist...

The better solution is to simple turn off the gas system. There are several makers that make gas blocks that are quickly selectable by the user.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003379956

This one in the link above from Noveske has three settings; one for normal shooting, one for suppressed, and one that turns the gas system off completely. This would be a good solution for the OP's friend.
 
Last edited:
marksman13 said:
He’s not going to notice enough difference in the sound to be worth the headache. If a neighbor can hear the action, they’ll hear the shot.
Click to expand...
This is what I was thinking. I offered to shoot his gun while he stood a good distance away to hear what it sounds like the next time we go to the range.

Honestly if I were him I'd strongly consider picking up a threaded Savage Mark II for $200 and ear hole them with CCI Quiets or Standards. Considering the price of the adjustable gas blocks he'll come out about the same out of pocket.
 
The question in my mind is can he legally shoot on that property? If the answer is no, then the question is purely academic. Otherwise, I see no potential ill effect to your opposable digit; it’s not like that assist is going to come back much.
 
On a side note I have shot my side charging AR15 before with my hand blocking the charging handle before just to see what would happen. It won't break your thumb or anything like that but it probably won't be real comfortable holding it with just one thumb.
 
LoonWulf said:
I'd actually be more concerned about a wounded pig making it into the neighbor's property than the sound of a single muffled gunshot.
Click to expand...


Yeah, if the neighbor doesn't like guns or hunting, think how thrilled they'll be if an obviously shot animal dies on their property.

As far as holding an appendage on it, not me thanks, I like all 10 as they are. I read people put their thumbs over the back of just a .22 pistol slide, preventing it from coming back to stop the noise of it cycling, but I'm not brave enough to even do that.
 
Speedo66 said:
Yeah, if the neighbor doesn't like guns or hunting, think how thrilled they'll be if an obviously shot animal dies on their property.

As far as holding an appendage on it, not me thanks, I like all 10 as they are. I read people put their thumbs over the back of just a .22 pistol slide, preventing it from coming back to stop the noise of it cycling, but I'm not brave enough to even do that.
Click to expand...
When I was playing with CCI quiets in my 10-in buck mark, I took that one for the team.... Didn't do it twice but it didn't break anything.....
 
Scout21 said:
A buddy of mine is trying to make his suppressed .300 Blackout as quiet as possible. He's been allowed to shoot pigs on a tiny piece of land that borders some supposedly rather unpleasant neighbors.

He asked me if there would be any issue holding the forward assist while shooting to keep the action from cycling. I'm not sure if he'll hurt his thumb or action by doing it so I said I'd ask around.
Click to expand...
It’s a forward assist, It is not designed to hold things moving backwards, plus the screaming of the pigs will be lauder than the action if not killed instantly.
 
LoonWulf said:
When I was playing with CCI quiets ....
Click to expand...

CCI CB Short and Long are 29gr bullet at 720 fps, about 33 ft/lbs energy.
CCI Quiet .22 are 40gr bullet at 710 fps, about 44 ft/lbs energy.

The CBs will not move the bolt on my Nylon 66, ArmaLite AR-7, or Ruger MkII.

The Quiets will not move move the AR-7s bolt but do function great as a straight-pull bolt action.
The Quiets will eject from my Nylon 66 but not cock the striker or release a cartridge from the tube feed.
The Quiets do move the bolt of the MkII.
I did not try to stop the bolt of the Nylon 66 or MkII with my thumb.

The Quiets generate more bolt momentum than the CBs.

Both the CBs and Quiets are loud from the MkII.
Probably because there's more pressure left in the shorter pistol barrel than in the longer rifle barrel.
 
Carl N. Brown said:
CCI CB Short and Long are 29gr bullet at 720 fps, about 33 ft/lbs energy.
CCI Quiet .22 are 40gr bullet at 710 fps, about 44 ft/lbs energy.

The CBs will not move the bolt on my Nylon 66, ArmaLite AR-7, or Ruger MkII.

The Quiets will not move move the AR-7s bolt but do function great as a straight-pull bolt action.
The Quiets will eject from my Nylon 66 but not cock the striker or release a cartridge from the tube feed.
The Quiets do move the bolt of the MkII.
I did not try to stop the bolt of the Nylon 66 or MkII with my thumb.

The Quiets generate more bolt momentum than the CBs.

Both the CBs and Quiets are loud from the MkII.
Probably because there's more pressure left in the shorter pistol barrel than in the longer rifle barrel.
Click to expand...
The CCI quiets I was messing with were the newer ones that were supposed to cycle the semi autos, I think I've still got one box of those left.
I found that they would cycle my 597s, and long barrel model 70. They generally cycled the buckmark, but not every time.
I also agree they do tend to "pop" and were in fact loud enough that it defeated my idea of being able to shoot them in the yard without irritating people.
 
I've never tried to "retard" the action on an AR with my fingers, I'm missing one already. I do shoot a suppressed 300 BLK AR pistol and the Ruger American 300 BLK that @Ohen Cepel mentioned above. The bolt rifle with appropriately loaded (low powder charge) ammo is about as close to Hollywood silenced as you can get. VERY quiet. Less energy downrage, of course. To me, the blackout pistol suppressed with subsonic ammo sounds about like a nail gun. The bolt rifle is just a faint pop, you control the sound of the action. A suppressed .22 is a bit quieter, but I think at this point you're kind of splitting hairs. Anyway, as @Loonwolf said,
LoonWulf said:
I'd actually be more concerned about a wounded pig making it into the neighbor's property than the sound of a single muffled gunshot.
Click to expand...
That's your real issue.
 
MistWolf said:
There is enough difference in sound levels to make it worth figuring out a way to turn the AR into manually operated for maximum sound suppression.
Click to expand...
Na. Not really. I’ve been shooting suppressed for a long time and for the intended purpose the OP stated, there isn’t enough difference to justify changing anything on the rifle or trying to hold the forward assist forward. A neighbor who hears the action, is going to hear the shot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Possiblity of building an AR-15
Replies
11
Views
827
MilsurpShooter
M
American_Fusilier
  • Locked
AR-15 hunting calibers, what do/have you used?
2
Replies
27
Views
3K
American_Fusilier
American_Fusilier
T
  • Locked
S&W model 15... I can push hammer forward
2
Replies
27
Views
4K
tbeb
T
GunnyUSMC
  • Locked
What happens when you shoot 300 BLK in your 5.56 AR ?
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
rbernie
rbernie
P
  • Locked
New online class - building a fighting AR-15
2 3
Replies
60
Views
4K
dm1333
D
Back
Top