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Posted: 12/21/2024 3:47:09 PM EDT
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Seems like the website has been out of everything for a while, and I have not seen anything on the internet to suggest otherwise. I am in the process of suppressing my SOCOM 16, and was looking to get the adjustable gas plug. The seem to be the only game in town for this. I have the SEI plug for the SOCOM, and I have been told this will work, but I would rather have it dialed in if possible. I have seen this product, the Shootingsite.com spindle valve which comes in two types, and adjustable you can replace the jets to dial in, or a non adjustable you buy and then drill yourself to adjust. I am thinking the latter, as that one has a wide open "normal" port, and the drilled one you adjust, it starts at a .052 cm hole. This way if I decide to shoot "loud", I can swing the valve from small hole to large. Thoughts on this? I would rather have the adjustable plug, but Schuster seemed to be the only game in town, and this seems like the only other option. Open to suggestions, and your own experiences if you are in the same situation. |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
| Schuster MFG has been out of business for a little over a year. It was a father and son company. Matt, the son drank himself to death 3 years ago and Rich had a massive stroke 2 years ago. I'll look around for a SOCOM plug. They weren't very popular, I may have one buried somewhere. |
I'm no good at telling people what they want to hear when I dont believe it myself :)
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Originally Posted By bigbore: Schuster MFG has been out of business for a little over a year. It was a father and son company. Matt, the son drank himself to death 3 years ago and Rich had a massive stroke 2 years ago. I'll look around for a SOCOM plug. They weren't very popular, I may have one buried somewhere. |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Originally Posted By aztrooper: Thanks sir. Let me know if you do come across one, I would be happy to buy it. If BigBore strikes out shoot me a PM. I'm 90% sure I have one NIW somewhere in a box on a shelf in the basement. Bought it by mistake. ETA: Oh, shit. Is it specific to the SOCOM or would the M1A Schuster plug work? The one I may (or may not) have would be for the M1A. |
Nothing was supposed to happen this way, Doc.
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Originally Posted By Eight_Ring: If BigBore strikes out shoot me a PM. I'm 90% sure I have one NIW somewhere in a box on a shelf in the basement. Bought it by mistake. ETA: Oh, shit. Is it specific to the SOCOM or would the M1A Schuster plug work? The one I may (or may not) have would be for the M1A. |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Originally Posted By aztrooper: Looking for the Adjustable gas plug, either type is fine. I have a extension on the SEI setup that allows for the regular gas plug to be used. Originally Posted By aztrooper: Originally Posted By Eight_Ring: If BigBore strikes out shoot me a PM. I'm 90% sure I have one NIW somewhere in a box on a shelf in the basement. Bought it by mistake. ETA: Oh, shit. Is it specific to the SOCOM or would the M1A Schuster plug work? The one I may (or may not) have would be for the M1A. OK. I will look tomorrow. ETA: Shit--pretty sure that this is the one I got. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/100471972?srsltid=AfmBOopm0bzhetxP_CiS3AuDP9-WQwB0XN2REdAe3Byrdi6EnZiZmxQF&pid=855569 You want this one: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004719353?srsltid=AfmBOorV38kaueNY6oAtw00LNMCPlXKBo0sxQ2vn5W8ZRtepc31comiK&pid=699378 |
Nothing was supposed to happen this way, Doc.
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Originally Posted By Eight_Ring: ETA: Oh, shit. Is it specific to the SOCOM or would the M1A Schuster plug work? The one I may (or may not) have would be for the M1A. The SOCOM is not the same as the M1A nut. Also, I do not have one that I can find. |
I'm no good at telling people what they want to hear when I dont believe it myself :)
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Originally Posted By bigbore: The SOCOM is not the same as the M1A nut. Also, I do not have one that I can find. I am looking at getting this instead, as seems the Adjustable plug is a unicorn. They are out of stock right now, but talked to the owner, and they are making a batch now. Drilled Spindle Valve |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Originally Posted By Eight_Ring: OK. I will look tomorrow. ETA: Shit--pretty sure that this is the one I got. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/100471972?srsltid=AfmBOopm0bzhetxP_CiS3AuDP9-WQwB0XN2REdAe3Byrdi6EnZiZmxQF&pid=855569 You want this one: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004719353?srsltid=AfmBOorV38kaueNY6oAtw00LNMCPlXKBo0sxQ2vn5W8ZRtepc31comiK&pid=699378 |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Originally Posted By aztrooper: Ok, thanks for looking! I am looking at getting this instead, as seems the Adjustable plug is a unicorn. They are out of stock right now, but talked to the owner, and they are making a batch now. Drilled Spindle Valve Originally Posted By aztrooper: Originally Posted By bigbore: The SOCOM is not the same as the M1A nut. Also, I do not have one that I can find. I am looking at getting this instead, as seems the Adjustable plug is a unicorn. They are out of stock right now, but talked to the owner, and they are making a batch now. Drilled Spindle Valve That's what I went with. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
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SEI who is in AZ doesn't have what you need? I recently got the parts for a scout model. Said I didn't need to mess with the gas. Parts worked perfectly. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By DuneShoot: SEI who is in AZ doesn't have what you need? I recently got the parts for a scout model. Said I didn't need to mess with the gas. Parts worked perfectly. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/247601/IMG_1500_JPG-3414432.JPG My can is shipping, so when i get to the range, I am going to try out my current setup without it. I just want to see if having a lower amount of gas entering the system would be beneficial to not beat the shit out of my oprod with the extra gas. I can always put the original configuration back, in fact I just purchased some extras from Fulton to have around. |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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I have the Schuster Adjustable Gas Block and it does do a nice job of taming the gas and makes suppressed shooting quite nice. I like the idea of the other option: Shootingsight How does that work? I cannot picture it. |
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Originally Posted By Britbike2001: I have the Schuster Adjustable Gas Block and it does do a nice job of taming the gas and makes suppressed shooting quite nice. I like the idea of the other option: Shootingsight How does that work? I cannot picture it. The spindle valve is right next to the gas port. It was originally designed to allow a user of thr M14 to shut off the gas when firing a rifle grenade. You can use a tool or screwdriver to turn it a quarter, and it will either allow for open or closed. Several manufacturers are using that spindle to put a small hole in the "closed" spot, which will allow for a smaller amount of gas. When a suppressor sends a ton of gas into the system due to back pressure, it restricts the amount of gas, therefore keeping your oprod from getting undo wear and tear. Attached File . |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Originally Posted By aztrooper: The spindle valve is right next to the gas port. It was originally designed to allow a user of thr M14 to shut off the gas when firing a rifle grenade. You can use a tool or screwdriver to turn it a quarter, and it will either allow for open or closed. Several manufacturers are using that spindle to put a small hole in the "closed" spot, which will allow for a smaller amount of gas. When a suppressor sends a ton of gas into the system due to back pressure, it restricts the amount of gas, therefore keeping your oprod from getting undo wear and tear. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/25352/1000025473_jpg-3414833.JPG. Thank you So many things to learn. |
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Not necessarily related to shooting an M14 with a can, but still interesting, I have a gas plug for a standard rifle which I believe was made by Schuster. It was marketed as a National Match compliant drop in which had a small hole drilled down through the center. I believe the original hole size was about .032" (?). Only thing I remember is I took that stated hole size, doubled the diameter and re-drilled it to something like .064" or something. The drill bit is small enough I could not hold it in any drill I own, but had to secure it in a vice and then rotate the gas plug by hand onto the drill bit to drill the hole. It was very easy to drill because it already had the smaller pilot hole. I need to freshen up on the details of this, I should know/remember these things. Hindsight says I should have purchased another gas plug with the smaller hole to keep as a spare without having my larger hole drilled in it. I was planning to buy another. Those of you living in free states should pay attention to this. I did this to do load experimenting with Varget, but the rifle still cycles great even with lighter loads of a 4895. A trimmed ejector spring also made it useable at the range dropping the brass about 4 feet in front of me at about 1:00 o'clock instead of throwing it at my neighbors head to the right. I still feel bad about that... The cross-drilled spindle was an option I had considered but one I wasn't able to obtain. Also, with the way I like to experiment, a drilled spindle valve would be something I couldn't help myself but start experimenting with and maybe a bad rabbit hole for me. |
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Here is what I came up with for my m1a scout, and it should apply to a SOCOM as well. I had accuracy work done a few years ago, and had my gas system unitized by the screw and glue method before I realized the drawbacks. This means my gas spindle is not removable. If yours has not had this done, or you had yours welded instead, then replacing the spindle is a better option for sure. They are cheap, you can get either cross drilled, replaceable jet, or even fully adjustable ones. Cross drilled makes the most sense to me. This gas system is very tolerant of changes, so there's not a lot of reason to have it dialed into the absolute minimum for every load. One setting for standard, and one setting for suppressor should be sufficient. If you don't want to, or can't do that, I did come up with a really simple, nearly free alternative that seems to work great. You can make your own adjustable gas plug at home. I used nothing but a drill press, but honestly I see no reason you couldn't do this with nothing but a vice and hand drill. I drilled down from the top in the center of the plug a #21 bit (a 5/32" should work fine too). I then picked two flats on the side that were about 90 degrees to the sides of the rifle, and drilled those with a #49 bit. I just picked that number because it looked right. I then drilled all the way to the other side flat as you can see in the picture. Finally I finished by chamfering then tapping the top hole a 10-32, and used a stainless set screw and stainless nut for an adjuster. If I were to do it again I may try a smaller bleed hole, like 1/16". I thought about doing a single hole, and I see no reason why that wouldn't work just as good. You can see I have mine about 3/4 closed. I started with it all the way open and it won't even try to eject. Where it is set is where I found it would lock the bolt open with my ammo, and no more. 
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Originally Posted By Britbike2001: I have the Schuster Adjustable Gas Block and it does do a nice job of taming the gas and makes suppressed shooting quite nice. I like the idea of the other option: Shootingsight How does that work? I cannot picture it. I used this for my EBR when I had it. Worked awesome. |
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Originally Posted By nikonov: Fulton armory has the schuster plugs in stock. I just ordered one a few days ago |
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Originally Posted By fgshoot: Here is what I came up with for my m1a scout, and it should apply to a SOCOM as well. I had accuracy work done a few years ago, and had my gas system unitized by the screw and glue method before I realized the drawbacks. This means my gas spindle is not removable. If yours has not had this done, or you had yours welded instead, then replacing the spindle is a better option for sure. They are cheap, you can get either cross drilled, replaceable jet, or even fully adjustable ones. Cross drilled makes the most sense to me. This gas system is very tolerant of changes, so there's not a lot of reason to have it dialed into the absolute minimum for every load. One setting for standard, and one setting for suppressor should be sufficient. If you don't want to, or can't do that, I did come up with a really simple, nearly free alternative that seems to work great. You can make your own adjustable gas plug at home. I used nothing but a drill press, but honestly I see no reason you couldn't do this with nothing but a vice and hand drill. I drilled down from the top in the center of the plug a #21 bit (a 5/32" should work fine too). I then picked two flats on the side that were about 90 degrees to the sides of the rifle, and drilled those with a #49 bit. I just picked that number because it looked right. I then drilled all the way to the other side flat as you can see in the picture. Finally I finished by chamfering then tapping the top hole a 10-32, and used a stainless set screw and stainless nut for an adjuster. If I were to do it again I may try a smaller bleed hole, like 1/16". I thought about doing a single hole, and I see no reason why that wouldn't work just as good. You can see I have mine about 3/4 closed. I started with it all the way open and it won't even try to eject. Where it is set is where I found it would lock the bolt open with my ammo, and no more. https://i.ibb.co/sWJhySQ/IMG-20250105-150059.jpg This is amazing. Thank you for sharing your experiment, wins, losses, etc. Its a short write up but probably took hours of pondering, fabricating, tweaking, etc. to get to the point you can write this up. Thank you. The M1A isn't the perfect precision rifle, but I have one, and really like it, so I expect to try messing around with your nice design to see how well I can dial in things. |
Joined:
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Posts:
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EE: 100% (4)
SD, USA
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To be perfectly honest, I found the idea online, and did it in my garage that day, and it just worked. There's a few different versions of an adjustable gas plug you can find online that people have made, including some who have effectively copied a Schuster design. I'm not exactly sure what the benefit of that design is, maybe I am missing something. I saw no reason to make it more complicated than drilling two holes, tapping one, and putting in a screw to adjust flow. Then I just took it out with some ammo, shot it, adjusted it until it started locking back. The M1A is a very forgiving gas system, so it isn't finicky at all. It couldn't have took me more than 15 rounds before I was happy with it, haven't touched it since then. If you aren't using a suppressor, or aren't doing something out of the ordinary such as shooting 200+ gr bullets, or slower powder like Reloder 17, then I wouldn't mess with it. |
| I have an M1A that I use as a dedicated suppressor host . It has a Shuster plug and a fresh Wolfe recoil spring. It is much happier with the plug. |
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