ICS Forward Assist User Manual

[Cokeman]

I've got an ICS M4 with a forward assist to release the spring tension (prior to storing the gun). However, I'm not sure that the ICS gun's user manual provided any clear instructions on its use.

Someone pointed me to some instructions provided by ICS
http://www.icsbb.com/edm/m4/spring-e.html
Essentially, it states that forward assist should only be used after the gun has been fired in semi-auto mode. If used after the gun has been fired in the full-auto mode, there is a possibility of breaking the piston teeth.

[Moonschlagen]

All it does is decompress the spring in the cylinder...nothing more. Semi or full auto has no bearing on that.

[Rusty Lugnuts]

Not sure i agree with moonschlagen because semi auto ensures resting position of your piston versus full auto where momentum can start to draw the piston back again. This would result in your internals being in a different spot, when you push the forward assist.

[Kokanee]

Another reason why ICS M4's never really took off - useless features that no one asked for, instead of durable, cost effective designs. I owned one a few years back, and the forward assist is absolutely superfluous, no need for it at all. I was more concerned with the cheap pot metal receiver that had a number of weak points prone to breakage and the half assed two piece gearbox.

Bottom line, yes if you are going to hit the FA then do so after firing a few shots at semi, which will also release the spring tension and do the FA's job for it.

[BrokenBird]

The only thing it does is to push the anti reversal latch out of the way, thus releasing the spring tension. I have 4 of those that I open up quite regularly.


BrokenBird

[Kos-Mos]

The ONLY reason why the forward assist is there is to prevent damage to the piston/gears and accidental fire when you split open the gun.

It is there to release the spring and make sure the piston is forward before opening the receiver. Nothing more, nothing less. If you don't press it first, you WILL break stuff. And the receiver quality is on par with anything else M4 metal... King Arms metal bodies are about the same quality as the ICS ones... but the split mechbox is indestructible vs. a plain old v2. There is no connection between the mechbox/upper and lower/stock, so if you fall on it you might break the gun in two. That happens with ANY brand of M4, so it's not exactly a design flaw... I try not to fall on my gun, right at the rear body pin.

If you store the gun for a long time, it's also good to press the release make sure the piston is forward.

You can do it what ever how you fired before. But if you release after a full-auto burst, it is possible that there is a BB in the chamber and that it gets shot out at low FPS when you press the forward assist.