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Thread: Forward Controls Design LDFA
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18 April 2015, 01:00 #16
I'm kind of ambivalent on forward assists. I've never actually needed to use one. My 5.56/.223 with the Phase 5 billet receiver set doesn't have a FA. The upper receiver isn't designed to bother with one. The original M16 wasn't designed with one either. It was something the Army wanted added.
My 7.62x39 pistol build does have a forward assist. Somehow, considering it's been built for 7.62x39, I have a sneaky suspicion that it may actually be needed someday on that pistol.Freedom is NEVER Free. We have to work to protect it and even be willing to die to protect it.
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18 April 2015, 04:26 #17
For those folks that are buying these, what problems have you experienced with your current one that this will fix?
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18 April 2015, 04:55 #18
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18 April 2015, 17:06 #19
Right. So it would seem that this is directed at the 10% of the population that is lefty, then the smaller percentage that have ambi changing handles. I'm curious how many users have experienced problems. I've seen a few come through classes, but I've never used one. I envision some users buying one for no apparent reason, but I'm sure the manufacturer won't mind.
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18 April 2015, 17:12 #20
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21 April 2015, 17:24 #21
Thank you guys for the support and mention! :)
The LDFA was designed for the users that meet one or more criteria:
1. Use an ambi charging handle, more specifically, the ambi charging handle's right latch.
2. Have standard upper receivers. Uppers with forward located FA housing already addressed the issues LDFA does.
If you don't meet one or both criteria, the LDFA isn't more useful than a factory FA, other than being lighter (especially the Ti LDFA) and smaller.
Early on when I started to use an ambi charging handle, I found myself being much slower when I used the right latch to pull the CH back. The location of the FA housing and FA plunger is very close to the T handle of the CH. One day, I figured I might use enough force to rip off my fingernail.
I'm a right hand shooter, being careful with the right latch of the ambi charging handle isn't drilled into muscle memory because I only train shooting from my left side 5% of the time or less. The LDFA removes the possibility of self inflicted injury.
I started Forward Controls to bring purpose designed gear to folks that have specific needs, while these products don't have universal appeal, that's ok with me. Forward Controls, like when I used to run Battle Arms, isn't about profit, which is important to keep the company afloat and moving forward, it is about the users/customers. I get a lot of joy creating things from something drawn on crappy MS Paint, and seeing them come to actual products, it is a very fulfilling job :)
BTW, a lot of the design goals and execution can be found on the Design In Focus section on my site: http://forwardcontrolsdesign.com/Des...cus_ep_45.html
Y'all please feel free to call me or email any time, thank you :DLast edited by Duffy; 21 April 2015 at 17:30.
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21 April 2015, 17:30 #22
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21 April 2015, 17:34 #23
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21 April 2015, 17:38 #24
The ABC/R has more universal appeal, but itself is also designed specifically for receivers with an ambi mag release, such as Norgon's Ambi-Catch, or HVA's AMR.
With or without an ambi mag release, the ABC/R's bottom paddle is much easier to use. Both the upper and lower paddles are angled. Since the inception of the angled paddles idea, several manufacturers had come out with some variations of the same concept, I'm not sure if any was designed for use with ambi mag release though.
While the ABC/R was not designed, nor meant to be a lightweight component (its larger paddles mean more weight), its weight is kept close to that of the factory paddle to avoid over tasking the bolt catch spring. The EMR and EMR-C (mag release buttons with curved and horizontally serrated surface) also pay attention to the weight issue (thus the shallow band below the curved surface).
Reviews for the ABC/R and LDFA should be out soon :D
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21 April 2015, 19:09 #25Member
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Hello Duffy,
Can't seem to find a dealer locator on your site. who are the dealers to order parts from?
Thanks
Roger
ps: not for immediate ordering but in the near future
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21 April 2015, 19:11 #26
I'm not Roger but Rainier Arms has FCD.
https://www.rainierarms.com/catalogs.../?manufacturer[]=411
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21 April 2015, 19:18 #27
http://forwardcontrolsdesign.com/Dealers_ep_41.html
Thanks GOST :)
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21 April 2015, 20:03 #28Senior Member
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I really like it. Also, this makes a lot of sense as to why the original FA was designed as it was, and why some companies kept it. The slick top doesn't interfere with anything one would do "up top" on the weapon. Eugene Stoner...being proven right again and again as time goes on...RIP
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22 April 2015, 08:08 #29
The original "tear drop" FA doesn't have a rim on top to catch on anything, but it does have a prolonged paddle below. The paddle's location is very good, but it could pose a potential snag hazard. Until ambi charging handles became available and more popular, the LDFA would have been seen as a solution in search of a problem, like some had already labeled the LDFA elsewhere.
For those that don't have and use ambi charging handles, the LDFA would be just that, a solution in search of a problem. But it was not designed for these users.
I'd remind folks that for healthy folks, a wheelchair is a solution in search of a problem. But it was not designed for them.
The LDFA is purpose designed for use with ambi charging handles. It also follows the evolution of life on earth: useful parts get more prominent and stronger, less useful parts get smaller or go away. I don't want the FA to go away, only out of the way of my knuckle and fingernail :)
The business development manager at War Sport really likes the LDFA, he shared something with me that validates my "better to have and not need, than to need and not have" position on the FA. He said he had jumped out of too many helicopters and APCs to ever take a rifle to war without an FA. Simple and to the point statement from an experienced Army officer, I have zero experience jumping out of either, my position on the FA is derived from analysis, not experience.
In the civilian world, the FA may seem like an appendage from an era gone by. While we have fads like lightweight, super lightweight, slim handguards, different accessory attachment methods, it seems to me that for the war fighters, reliability is still king.
The FA doesn't make an AR or M16 more reliable, but the absence of it could mean removed ability/feature you might wish you had someday.Last edited by Duffy; 22 April 2015 at 08:14.
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22 April 2015, 08:12 #30