Wednesday, April 2, 2014

The Smoother The Better

18" barrel with rifle-length gas system

If you're a 3-gunner or someone who is at all interested in tuning your AR-15 to being the smoothest and most accurate rifle possible, then you've probably already thought about the gas system. The Direct Impingement gas system on the Stoner platform rifle is the key to taming your rifle. Simply put, the amount of gas that blows back into the upper receiver forces the bolt carrier backward and onto the receiver extension/buffer assembly. Changing either the 1) gas system length or gas port size 2) Bolt carrier weight or 3) Buffer system weight will affect the felt recoil to the shooter. Careful tuning of this system can turn your rifle into a kitten as far as recoil is concerned, allowing really quick and accurate shooting.

I talked about gas system lengths in this POST a little over a year ago. Check it out if you haven't seen it. I go into detail on the different AR-15 gas lengths and what they do for your rifle.

The one system that I didn't mention much then, because it is relatively unknown to most shooters, is the INTERMEDIATE gas length. This is a gas length that is used in some 18" barrels made by high-end manufacturers such as Noveske, aimed at 3-gun shooters who want super-smooth and flat shooting barrels. You may equate the intermediate length gas system on an 18" barrel to a mid-length gas system on a 16" barrel. But, perhaps, the whole concept can be improved.

Stay tuned for more on this subject in the near future.

Be safe and see you next time.
~Mac

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