Hey all,

I'm working on a couple of builds for the wife and I and I'm struggling with a decision.

I've been planning on SLR Sentry 7 gas blocks and Miculek compensators, primarily because I want to be able to tune them to suit 2 purposes:

1. I want my wife's rifle to function at the absolute least recoil achievable. This is more a function of giving her maximum control for follow up shots.

2. I want to be able to tweak the system to reliably shot whatever is available for ammunition, given the state of things.

I'm also trying to get the most bang for my $. I'll never run suppressed. I don't intend to do competition shooting.

Is the adjustable block really going to be a benefit? I've years of military experience under my belt so I'm confident I can take a plain vanilla AR and deploy it with ease, as well as help my wife do the same. Having no experience with adjustable gas blocks I feel like I don't have enough data to judge whether there's anything to gain from using one in this circumstance.

Advice is much appreciated!

They key to eliminating recoil is to direct as much of the muzzle blast as possible in the opposite direction of the bullet. This causes the momentum to cancel out.

Most important component is your muzzle device. I recommend the PA hypertap. Something like 80% of gasses will be reflected.

Second step is to use an adjustable gas block to reduce gas as much as possible. What this does is let the extra gas go into the muzzle brake for more recoil reduction.

Third step is to reduce your reciprocating mass and spring tension as much as possible. DSA arms BCG is the lightest. Taccom buffer is the lightest. 10% reduced power buffer spring. After putting in these components, you will be able to turn the adjustable gas block way down to operate on signifantly less gas, meaning even more gas reflected at the muzzle brake.

In addition, the lighter BCG has less momentum jostling the gun around. Do these three steps and your recoil will be gone.

Thanks for the reply! I totally get the effects of each component and the way they impact the whole unit. I guess my question is really driven by practical application... is it going to result in significant advantages for defensive shooting? I mean, my wife is a decent shot already and I'm sure she can shoot as well as any hobby shooter. Has anyone found that the adjustable block has really made follow up dramatically tighter or is this simply incremental gain? I suppose it's worth noting this is going on a lapped and bedded 16" mid length govt. profile. I guess that's part of my dilemma... I  KNOW a carbine length system overgasses bad based on my time with the M4, but the mid length should change that dynamic a bit by reducing dwell a bit.

I'd run an Aero VG6 Gamma brake (I have one and it really works well) or any brake that limits barrel rise.  There are a ton of review here on the forum.  I'd also throw in a H2 or H3 buffer.  I'd run as heavy of buffer as the rifle will cycle reliably.  I'd leave the adjustable gas block to the suppressed guns or variant calibers.

"defensive shooting", as in CQB, with a muzzle brake? So the ear muffs are the 1st goto item w/ a brake installed? Or is being deaf an acceptable outcome?

Adj gas block it, then try one of two things:
1) a QD mount primary muzzle device, YHM makes a brake w/ QD mount, others make various types. You can then QD on a blast can, or a suppressor later.
2) Linear fwd comp.

More along the lines of, I want her to be able to place as many rounds as needed on center mass to stop a real threat if the SHTF. At that point, a little tinnitus beats the hell out of 72" of dirt and a pine box. Otherwise, it's just range time.

As the adjustable gas block goes, my focus on this aspect is linked to how easy it is for me to swap out pretty much everything else that impacts accuracy, aside from the barrel. At 2-3x the cost of a fixed GB, I want to know that it makes enough difference in the end for what its intended purpose is. It sounds like maybe not.

the improvement is absolutely night versus day in terms of faster and more accurate follow-up shots.  The downside is that there's going to be massive concussive blast, so this is a gun that you only want to shoot with good hearing protection.  It's probably not what you want to be grabbing by your bedstand when someone breaks in your house, but maybe it is what you want to grab when you're planning to hunker down and take down a wave of incoming zombies.  The other thing to keep in mind is that the extra muzzle flash could be bad for giving away your position at night, or ruing your night vision.  A suppressor, or flash hider, would be better served for that purpose.  If you want recoil reduction without increasing flash signature, then the PA EFAB is the best compromise out there.  There is no 1 best muzzle device for everything.  It depends on the situation

Alright, so I'm actually starting to question my whole direction.

I know me. I've a habit of chasing perfection for no meaningful gain. I guess it's important to note that I've probably in various ways rebuilt a few hundred M16/M4 rifles for uncle Sam. I've deployed with those platforms and know how to make them work for me. I know their limits as they are built but also know that there are plenty of fancy bits I can use to "cure" some of the shortcomings. I've never put most of those things to the test.

Am I chasing fractions of MOA at the cost of being abusively loud? I've a Browning 7mm Mag with BOSS so I get the compensator thing, but never really thought 5.56 would be too bad. My wife's favorite hunter is an old Ruger .44mag carbine... she's got a fair bark.

I guess the follow up question is,  am I better off with just a simple GB and A2 bird cage? I mean, I don't care about muzzle flash so much but I also don't want to make it unbearable to shoot because I tried to make it smooth.

I’m not a huge fan of most of the really effective comps/brakes because of the muzzle blast they produce.  I’ve touched off a round from a 14.5” barrel with a pinned Battlecomp 1.5 indoors (long, stupid story) and I was effectively deaf for the next 30-60 minutes (with noticeable hearing loss for the next few weeks that gradually improved). I can’t say an A2 would have been significantly better in that scenario, but I could certainly tell the difference between the 2 when firing them in an open field without ear-pro.

As for AGBs, yes they can be used to reduce recoil by tuning the gas way down (especially when used with lightened reciprocating components), but depending on how much you restrict the gas, you may run into reliability issues if the weapon is used outside of the ideal conditions it was tuned for.  Colder temps, weaker ammo, a dirtier gun, etc could all lead to the system choking to the point of failure.

You also have to look at the feasibility and reliability of an AGB as well.  There have been more than a few instances of failures of the small parts within them (across most of the popular models), and outside of a direct failure, they are more maintenance intensive if you want to retain the ability to adjust the gas regularly to account for changing conditions (otherwise you’ll end up with a seized/carbon locked adjustment screw).

My personal opinion is that lightened reciprocating components and AGBs should be left off of defensive firearms.  Brakes/comps can be OK, but most of them are going to have some pretty serious tradeoffs.  That said, it’s up to you to weight the pros/cons and decide what’ll work for you.

I recommend picking up a decent used comp or brake off the EE, or just get a DPMS Miculek muzzle brake for like $35 new. Test em out, and see, then sell if you don't like.

What the other guys have all said is spot on - you will reduce muzzle rise and get quicker follow-up shots at the expense of a huge increase in concussion. It's really just up to you if you think the tradeoff is worth it.

For me personally, the answer is hell no for defensive use. Linear comp, maybe, and that's only if you can't get a suppressor. Kaw Valley makes one for maybe $30-40 bucks that actually improves the feel of the recoil impulse IME, while also slightly lowering noise to the shooter. OTOH the sound and fury coming off a big brake indoors with no ear pro hurts me just thinking about it

Re: adj blocks, I do like them generally because I shoot 99% suppressed. You can also try an adjustable bcg (Gemtech and Bootleg make em, I have both and they're good but I'd go Bootleg if I wanted another), or even an adjustable gas key (Rubber City Armory). I've got one of those with probably 5k rounds on it and it's solid and achieves a slight recoil reduction similar to the agbs and adj bcgs. Plus they're like 30 bucks or something.

Long story short, I get the chase of perfection, but it's hard to describe these effects - you kinda need to just see for yourself. I will say you're chasing fairly small gains with an AGB on a non-suppressed gun, that's just my opinion.

Build her an AR-9 then!  A little tinnitus?  I have tinnitus.  Do you?

Yes, I do have tinnitus.

I think I'm headed down the fixed GB route and probably a bird cage. I see the Forward Controls 6315 might be what I really want to gain a little more compensation without the noise of a dedicated comp... can't seem to find one. I'll have to keep an eye out for them to come back into stock.

I appreciate all of the help, and it has been helpful. It's nice to have access to folks that have used some of these things and are willing to share their knowledge and experience!

The quietest sounding muzzle devices, aside from suppressors, are three prong flash hiders. These also have great tactical applications.

Avoid the birdcage combo device. If it's a combo device you want, the EFAB is superior.

In this context, I would try out one of these.
https://rouschsports.com/shop/thread-adapters-solvent-traps/12-28/frh1-bfc-s-flash-redirecting-multipurpose-flash-hider-blast-forwarding-cone-external-thread-adapter-34-16/

In the in-home context, less a good supp, none of it is really gonna save the ears, the concussion may be redirected but it's gonna bounce right back at you from the walls, ceiling, floor, and in some rare situations the return sound could actually hit the ears with greater intensity.

in-home / CQB, I'd choose to have a suppressor, or, maybe a 16" 300aac using subs, or, or, maybe a 14" 300aac w/ pinned-welded linear fwd comp using either supe or sub ammo, or, 300aac SBR w/ supp & subs, or, even just a 300aac SBR w/ subs and linear fwd comp.

The 14" 300aac/subs option above might be an ok choice.

Or, for the lady, 16" 20ga semi-auto w/ an always-on Aimpoint reflex optic.

Many ways to meet the goals.

However, if this is a team-duo, having similar firearms makes sense, easier for the other to run your rifle if needed. So having a 300 and a 223 can be problematic in that SHTF situation.

As far as the AGB, look at Odin Works set-it-&-forget-it block.

Im running a supelative arms adjustable gas block and a fossa 556 muzzle device.  Between the 2 felt recoil is way down and follow up shots are a lot quicker.   Next would be a heavier buffer but as it sits now it is a real pleasure to shoot.

I feel like I've run in a circle on this, at least a little. I looked into the Odin Works tunable block and like it, except I was hoping to go with a clamp on GB... but their adjustable comes in a clamp on variety. At that  point,  I'm once again looking at the SLR. I feel like I really want to be able to optimize the gas system so I'm backing away from a standard fixed GB. Ultimately, once my handguards arrive I'll know what they'll accommodate and chose from there. I really don't want to dimple my barrels if I can help it.

For a muzzle device, I think I have found a couple of FC 6315 brakes. They boast a 20ish % reduction in muzzle climb without the concussive repercussions of a true compensator.

This leaves me open to lightening the reciprocating mass when parts become more available without needing to replace the GB while still benefiting from reduced muzzle climb by redirecting some of the gasses at the business end.

There is no inherent muzzle rise, muzzle rise only results from holding the gun a certain way. When you compensate using directed gas ports like this, it creates a real downward force. You're counteracting a sometimes present upwards force with an always present downward force, and therefore results in overcompensation downwards if you remove the upward pressure from your arms.

The EFAB i recommended does not have this problem, is also not sensitive to orientation, and reduces recoil by 56%, while remaining "very low" concussion. It is a newer technology that is superior.



If you choose not to use an adjustable gas block, you will also be making your rifle louder, dirtier, and less reliable...but  your call.

I dig it, pebble. I've pretty much settled on an adjustable block. I think the EFAB is a little beyond the investment I was looking to make right now. I always found my muzzle climbed noticeably,  particularly in 3 rd burst applications. While that's not necessarily a result of recoil alone, the brake I'm looking at is both a flash hider and counters those forces a bit, at a cost that I can live with. In essence, if I can tame the gas and reciprocating mass effectively it will be moot.

Fair enough, I sometimes forget that there may be a budget limit

Ok, my Daytona  Tactical handguards finally arrived. They measure out at 1.35" ID. I've rulled out the Odin Works adjustable due to the circumference being exactly 1.35. This leaves me wanting the SLR Sentry  7. I'd rather have the clamp on style GB but I'm unclear about how well they fit under this sized handguard. It looks tight. Anyone have a combo like this that can advise?