I have a Daniel Defense BCG in my BCM mid length upper and pushing the forward assist will not move the carrier forward. It will engage the notches in the carrier but it seems like the forward assist is too short to push it forward any more.
Any little bits of metal laying in your lower receiver? Pull your BCG out and push the forward assist all the way in. Can you see it protrude into the receiver enough to clearly see it. I imagine that you lost about an 1/8 inch of it somehow. It is an easy fix if you did.
Yeah, it protrudes through. In the video, the first time I push the FA you can see the carrier move slightly but that’s the extent to which it travels. The FA engages the notches in the carrier but it just won’t push it forward far enough to have any useful effect.
Have you tried it when the weapon is fully assembled?
Yes, I just did it in the video like that for one handed demonstration while I held the camera. The reason I noticed it didn’t work was when I was trying to do the “silent chambering” of a snap cap.
If the bolt is already as far forward as it will go, and locked into battery, you will not see any results of pushing the Fwd Assist.
Actually in the video the weapon is not fully assembled, but the upper is. I should have clarified. Complete with the upper and lower.
If you have doubts I would get some dummy rounds and try it out. Chances of you actually needing the forward assist are slim to none.
He said he was using snap caps while doing the video.
It won’t work at all no matter what state of assembly it is in. Snap caps were being used and the assist didn’t work.
When you’re hitting the F/A in the video, the bolt moves forward. Is it not all the way forward then? Its hard to tell from the video.
Remove the BCG and then push the forward assist all the way forward. Look into the upper receiver and see if you can actually see the assist pawl. The other thing is you should actually be tapping the forward assist with the palm and not pushing it.
I have seen them break before (very rare) and maybe something is going on there.
Yes, I can see it protruding through. Again, it engages the notches in the carrier but it just seems like either the assist is not long enough or the notches in the carrier are too deep. I don’t have another carrier at this time to see if that’s the problem.
Slapping it hard or pushing it with my thumb both have the same effect: nothing.
I actually noticed this a month or two ago but didn’t bring it up until now because I have never needed to use the assist with any AR and doubt I ever will. If I can’t figure out a solution I won’t really be too upset, but it’s just kind of odd that it is occurring with a BCM upper and a Daniel Defense BCG. This is mind boggling to me.
Try whacking the FA with a rubber mallet. Sometimes it knocks a burr loose just enough for it to travel the full depth.
I think you may be chasing your tail, expecting a reaction to pressing the forward assist when there’s none to be had.
As I mentioned above, if the bolt and carrier are already as far forward and locked into battery as they will go, with nothing in the way of that travel, you will not see any movement of the carrier by pressing the forward assist.
In a clean, broken-in weapon, with a properly adjusted gas tube to carrier key fit- you should be able to take the separated upper receiver, flip it up-side-down, pull the carrier an inch or so to the rear, and by slightly lifting the rear of the upper receiver, watch the bolt and carrier assembly glide forward under their own weight and lock into battery in one smooth motion.
As the weapon is fired, accumulating firing residue, carbon, grit and dust, now you begin to set up the situation where, if loaded from a locked back position, or by hand using the charging handle, you might see some slight forward movement of the carrier by pressing the forward assist.
Those would be the ideal conditions to actually test the forward assist. Other than that, you can only check the assist for condition and security, freedom of movement, place a drop or two of lube in the assist pocket inside the upper receiver, and work the forward assist a few times to ensure the lube makes it’s way into the assembly.
Would one of you mind trying it out with your rifle the way I demonstrated in the video? My old DPMS would work like that and I talked to someone else who has a Noveske that works also.
I gave it a few whacks with a mallet but it didn’t work.
All that appears to me to be taking place in the video is…your bolt carrier appears to be sticking out a bit to the rear. You hit the FA a few times at seat the bolt and carrier, then the carrier fails to move any farther. If you read my posts above, then you’ll see that this is normal.
I know this, but there are forward assist serrations along the entire length of the carrier. Like I said previously, it doesn’t matter where the carrier is positioned in the receiver because the forward assist does not do anything. I don’t think anyone is quite understanding this aspect.
I guess if you tried the test like I asked and it turns out that my rifle is normal then I will accept it and go about my business, but if your rifles work the way my old DPMS did and my BCM doesn’t currently, then I want to get it fixed.
Have you tried dropping a dummy round manually in the chamber and slowly and softly LOL let the bolt REST on the dummy round with out letting it lock up then smack the FA if it closes the bolt it works. The FA will only move the carrier maybe an 1/8’’ or so.
Yes, as I mentioned above this is the reason that I noticed the assist was not working in the first place…which is what led to me recording the video to see if it worked at any position.
ETA: Hang on, I’ll make another video real quick demonstrating this.
I’m uploading a video, stand by…
ETA: Vid’s up…see Pg. 2