After reading an article about how to "quietly" chamber a round in an AR during hunting using the forward assist to soft seat, I tried this. However, my forward assist does not work or engage the carrier. I inspected the forward assist arm and it appears that it is worn or sheared away. Could it be that the recoil of the rifle causes the forward assist mechanism to move forward while the bolt is traveling backward, damaging the contact surface of the forward assist. I noticed on the forward assist button that the finish is slightly worn. Anyone else have this problem?
If this is happening, I could also be the cause of some others rifles that were short stroking.