diff --git a/core/src/banking_stage/forwarder.rs b/core/src/banking_stage/forwarder.rs
index ab78b4006b8..39ff4721259 100644
--- a/core/src/banking_stage/forwarder.rs
+++ b/core/src/banking_stage/forwarder.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use {
     },
     solana_client::{connection_cache::ConnectionCache, tpu_connection::TpuConnection},
     solana_gossip::cluster_info::ClusterInfo,
-    solana_measure::measure::Measure,
+    solana_measure::measure_us,
     solana_perf::{data_budget::DataBudget, packet::Packet},
     solana_poh::poh_recorder::PohRecorder,
     solana_runtime::bank_forks::BankForks,
@@ -135,24 +135,24 @@ impl Forwarder {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Forwards all valid, unprocessed packets in the buffer, up to a rate limit. Returns
-    /// the number of successfully forwarded packets in second part of tuple
-    fn forward_buffered_packets<'a>(
+    /// Forwards all valid, unprocessed packets in the iterator, up to a rate limit.
+    /// Returns whether forwarding succeeded, the number of attempted forwarded packets
+    /// if any, the time spent forwarding in us, and the leader pubkey if any.
+    fn forward_packets<'a>(
         &self,
         forward_option: &ForwardOption,
         forwardable_packets: impl Iterator<Item = &'a Packet>,
-        banking_stage_stats: &BankingStageStats,
     ) -> (
         std::result::Result<(), TransportError>,
         usize,
+        u64,
         Option<Pubkey>,
     ) {
         let Some((leader_pubkey, addr)) = self.get_leader_and_addr(forward_option) else {
-            return (Ok(()), 0, None);
+            return (Ok(()), 0, 0, None);
         };
 
         self.update_data_budget();
-
         let packet_vec: Vec<_> = forwardable_packets
             .filter(|p| !p.meta().forwarded())
             .filter(|p| self.data_budget.take(p.meta().size))
@@ -164,43 +164,50 @@ impl Forwarder {
         // fix this so returns the correct number of succeeded packets
         // when there's an error sending the batch. This was left as-is for now
         // in favor of shipping Quic support, which was considered higher-priority
-        if !packet_vec.is_empty() {
-            inc_new_counter_info!("banking_stage-forwarded_packets", packet_vec_len);
+        let (res, forward_us) = if !packet_vec.is_empty() {
+            measure_us!(self.forward(forward_option, packet_vec, &addr))
+        } else {
+            (Ok(()), 0)
+        };
 
-            let mut measure = Measure::start("banking_stage-forward-us");
+        (res, packet_vec_len, forward_us, Some(leader_pubkey))
+    }
 
-            let res = if let ForwardOption::ForwardTpuVote = forward_option {
-                // The vote must be forwarded using only UDP.
+    /// Forwards all valid, unprocessed packets in the buffer, up to a rate limit. Returns
+    /// the number of successfully forwarded packets in second part of tuple
+    fn forward_buffered_packets<'a>(
+        &self,
+        forward_option: &ForwardOption,
+        forwardable_packets: impl Iterator<Item = &'a Packet>,
+        banking_stage_stats: &BankingStageStats,
+    ) -> (
+        std::result::Result<(), TransportError>,
+        usize,
+        Option<Pubkey>,
+    ) {
+        let (res, num_packets, forward_us, leader_pubkey) =
+            self.forward_packets(forward_option, forwardable_packets);
+
+        if num_packets > 0 {
+            inc_new_counter_info!("banking_stage-forwarded_packets", num_packets);
+            if let ForwardOption::ForwardTpuVote = forward_option {
                 banking_stage_stats
                     .forwarded_vote_count
-                    .fetch_add(packet_vec_len, Ordering::Relaxed);
-                let pkts: Vec<_> = packet_vec.into_iter().zip(repeat(addr)).collect();
-                batch_send(&self.socket, &pkts).map_err(|err| err.into())
+                    .fetch_add(num_packets, Ordering::Relaxed);
             } else {
-                // All other transactions can be forwarded using QUIC, get_connection() will use
-                // system wide setting to pick the correct connection object.
                 banking_stage_stats
                     .forwarded_transaction_count
-                    .fetch_add(packet_vec_len, Ordering::Relaxed);
-                let conn = self.connection_cache.get_connection(&addr);
-                conn.send_data_batch_async(packet_vec)
-            };
+                    .fetch_add(num_packets, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            }
 
-            measure.stop();
-            inc_new_counter_info!(
-                "banking_stage-forward-us",
-                measure.as_us() as usize,
-                1000,
-                1000
-            );
+            inc_new_counter_info!("banking_stage-forward-us", forward_us as usize, 1000, 1000);
 
-            if let Err(err) = res {
+            if res.is_err() {
                 inc_new_counter_info!("banking_stage-forward_packets-failed-batches", 1);
-                return (Err(err), 0, Some(leader_pubkey));
             }
         }
 
-        (Ok(()), packet_vec_len, Some(leader_pubkey))
+        (res, num_packets, leader_pubkey)
     }
 
     /// Get the pubkey and socket address for the leader to forward to
@@ -231,6 +238,28 @@ impl Forwarder {
             )
         });
     }
+
+    fn forward(
+        &self,
+        forward_option: &ForwardOption,
+        packet_vec: Vec<Vec<u8>>,
+        addr: &SocketAddr,
+    ) -> Result<(), TransportError> {
+        match forward_option {
+            ForwardOption::ForwardTpuVote => {
+                // The vote must be forwarded using only UDP.
+                let pkts: Vec<_> = packet_vec.into_iter().zip(repeat(*addr)).collect();
+                batch_send(&self.socket, &pkts).map_err(|err| err.into())
+            }
+            ForwardOption::ForwardTransaction => {
+                // All other transactions can be forwarded using QUIC, get_connection() will use
+                // system wide setting to pick the correct connection object.
+                let conn = self.connection_cache.get_connection(addr);
+                conn.send_data_batch_async(packet_vec)
+            }
+            ForwardOption::NotForward => panic!("should not forward"),
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]