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Suppressed "Precision" AR Accuracy: Adjustable gas block vs. Adjustable bolt carrier?

cdeiglmeier

The Tooth Fairy
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Full Member
Minuteman
May 2, 2017
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Issaquah, Washington
I just finished putting together my first precision oriented AR. It is going to be shot suppressed 99.9% of it's life and I was wondering whether a suppressed bolt carrier group or an adjustable gas block has any effect on "accurizing" a suppressed AR meant for precision. I've done some research and feel like I've gotten mixed reviews from across the interwebz. Of course most comes from having a good barrel, but if you're trying to squeeze as much out of a gas gun as possible do either have any effect on accuracy? Has anyone tested this, if so what has worked for you?
 
I didn't even know what a suppressed BCG was, so I googled it.

After reading, it sounds like the BCG gives you two choices, suppressed and not.

If that's the case I'd go gas block for the infinite adjustability.
 
Neither will effect accuracy per se. what you get is a tuned rifle that only uses as much gas as necessary to operate reliably. This will help with dwell time, recoil and follow up shots. Personally I think the adj gas block is the way to go because it’s much easier to tune it for unsuppressed ops as well. Also, as the gun gets dirty, you can increase the gas pressure until cleaning it.
 
Adj block ....for the reasons already stated.

The 2A Armament adj bolt has a pretty slick adj system.

But don't kid yerself into thinking the gas block / bolt is gonna keep much crud out of your receiver. :)
 
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Bootleg makes a 4-position adjustable carrier, but even so, an adjustable block gives you more precise control.
And I'm with everyone else.....neither will effect accuracy to any measurable extent.
 
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Adj block ....for the reasons already stated.

The 2A Armament adj bolt has a pretty slick adj system.

But don't kid yerself into thinking the gas block / bolt is gonna keep much crud out of your receiver. :)

Lol yea they still get dirty as hell! I'll look into the 2A armament
 
Bootleg makes a 4-position adjustable carrier, but even so, an adjustable block gives you more precise control.
And I'm with everyone else.....neither will effect accuracy to any measurable extent.

Yea I've known about the Bootleg Ind. adjustable carrier for a while just wanted to see if anyone has found either to have any measurable differences in accuracy
 
Superlative Arms adjustable gas block, end of story.

The only reason to ever use an adjustable carrier/key is if you cannot change the gas block on the rifle (ex: KAC, LMT, dept. required A2, etc.).
 
Yea I've known about the Bootleg Ind. adjustable carrier for a while just wanted to see if anyone has found either to have any measurable differences in accuracy
AR accuracy is all about the deploying fundamentals. They aren’t as forgiving as bolt guns and require the shooter to be on the gun harder.
 
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AR accuracy is all about the deploying fundamentals. They aren’t as forgiving as bolt guns and require the shooter to be on the gun harder.

Yea I've found the gas gun to be humbling to say the least haha It's my fun new project as I don't get out to shoot my bolt guns as often as I'd like due to school constraints.
 
I just finished putting together my first precision oriented AR. It is going to be shot suppressed 99.9% of it's life and I was wondering whether a suppressed bolt carrier group or an adjustable gas block has any effect on "accurizing" a suppressed AR meant for precision. I've done some research and feel like I've gotten mixed reviews from across the interwebz. Of course most comes from having a good barrel, but if you're trying to squeeze as much out of a gas gun as possible do either have any effect on accuracy? Has anyone tested this, if so what has worked for you?

Go with the adjustable gas block. The block will have much finer adjustment. You're also limiting the flow of gas entering the system at the gas tube. This is much more effective than bleeding off gas at the carrier. JP makes a great adjustable block if you decide to go that route.
 
Keep in mind that not all barrels like having a good chunk of weight hung off their end. My LRP-07 does not appear to like being suppressed from an accuracy standpoint. That makes me a sad panda.

So, test it out both suppressed and unsuppressed.
 
Keep in mind that not all barrels like having a good chunk of weight hung off their end. My LRP-07 does not appear to like being suppressed from an accuracy standpoint. That makes me a sad panda.

So, test it out both suppressed and unsuppressed.
This doesn’t make sense to me. Are you saying it’s not accurate because of the POI shift or something else? I’ve never had a suppressor change the accuracy of a rifle, unless you are getting baffle strikes or have a weak mounting system.
 
This doesn’t make sense to me. Are you saying it’s not accurate because of the POI shift or something else? I’ve never had a suppressor change the accuracy of a rifle, unless you are getting baffle strikes or have a weak mounting system.

It is a head scratcher. I've been testing my .308 JP LRP with both a Sandman L and K. It is simply more precise, i.e. the groups are smaller, when it is unsupressed. Same ammo, same conditions, same shooter. Two different cans. Similar results. I've tried multiple types of ammo and tested on multiple days. Same results. I even switched out the FH mount for a brake in order to change things up. No joy.

This is not POI shift that I'm talking about. That I can live with.

Believe me. I wish it was different. I have a thread on arf about it (although I have not updated it in a few months).

Here is the subject rifle and some representative groups ("US" = Unsupressed; "S" = Suppressed).

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I have a bolt gun that shoots differently with a silencer than without. POI shift is about 3” up without a silencer. Groups also open and close depending on whether I am using a silencer and which load.

Some loads like having a silencer and some loads do not but all shift when I add a silencer.
 
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I have a bolt gun that shoots differently with a silencer than without. POI shift is about 3” up without a silencer. Groups also open and close depending on whether I am using a silencer and which load.

Some loads like having a silencer and some loads do not but all shift when I add a silencer.
Shift is normal. Key is knowing the shift.
 
SLR Rifleworks makes the Sentry series of adjustable gas blocks.
Those generally get very good feedback.
 
To really help you we need to know all the details of your build and we can go from there.

Your parts selection can have just as much to do with this as anything else.

But for this moment let's just assume you have a quality build with quality parts. The main things you need to have for a successful suppressed rifle is a full Mass bolt carrier group preferably with an HP Bolt. Adjustable gas block and a heavy buffer system, like Tubbs or JP