Re: Differences shooting gas versus bolt guns?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is interesting stuff.
I heard that a friend recently needed to send an AR10 back to the builder because it was opening early and damaging the cartridge rims.
I recently got to actually see the rifle and at first I mistook it for an M4gery, it was so short.
This reinforces my take on the above comments about minimum barrel lengths beyound the gas port.
I wonder how gas port size weighs in with this issue, and whether the minimum lengths would be affect by that, and by the differences between the 5.56, 7.62, and maybe even the .260?
This is why I like the short-stroke piston system on the M14/M1A. It is essentially a self regulating system with the key factors of the timing being built into the piston and cylinder.
I have owned an AR, an M1A,and still own my Garand, each of which takes a very different approach to gas driven operating systems.
If I had my druthers, I'd have an M14 style shortstroke piston system on an AR type action.
The AR depends too much on ammunition configuration to establish its timing. IMHO, this imposes extra, maybe excessive, demands on the load development process.
Greg </div></div>
IIRC, the M-14 system is somewhat fragile and extremely sensitive to the type of ammo being used in it. If too stout a load is used, you run the risk of breaking the op-rod or at least bending it. This will be a problem encountered by the piston-engined ARs. The only good thing is that they are starting to appear at a time when bullets have attained their maximum weights in the .223. With a jet-powered AR, I can easily tune the rifle to compensate for heavy bullets and hot loads. I have been using a CWS for some years now to good effect. I would not dream of shooting my LR load in my AR without it. I currently use the heavy tungsten carbide insert and my brass piles up next to me on the line and is not mangled at all; it is emminently reloadable. If I were to reduce the load or the bullet weight, I could use the lighter insert, or no insert at all, or enevn remove the CWS altogether. This way in my rifles, I can shoot anything from 35grs to 82gr bullets, which is an extremely wide range and I can assure you that my 80gr LR loads are not pussycats.
I have no idea how I could accomplish something similar in an M-14 without extensive mods. If you were to shoot a very heavy 190 gr load out of your M14, I suspect the op-rod would resemble a pretzel.
It is my contention that piston-driven ARs are going to bring a new set of problems to the fore, not the least of which is diminished accuracy. Make mine jet-powered.