Okay, I searched but is anyone running 190s in their gas guns?

GhostFace

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  • Apr 1, 2003
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    With Hornady suspending production of the 178 bthp I am searching for something to replace it with. I should be taking possession of my .30-06 build soon and I bought 1k of 190cc to use with that rifle. I also have 2k of these on order with my LGS. I got to thinking maybe I should use these bullets with my gas gun, Armalite 18 incher. The BC is nearly the same for the two bullets but my concern is will I be able to get enough speed with the 190s and my shorter barrel. I know a former member here, LLondon was one of the first to use the 190s in a gas gun but all those old posts are gone. I searched for 190s but I didn't find much. Has anyone played with the 190 for their gas gun.
     
    I run 190 Nosler Custom Comps and Sierra SMK's through my 16" 308 AR. I'm using a Rainier Select barrel with 1:11 twist. I think 1:11 is right at the lower limit of being able to stabilize the 190's. Groups at 100 yards are around 1.5 moa, but only open up to 2.5 moa at 300 yards, leading me to think that the bullets my not be reaching stability until several hundred yards downrange. I've seen the best accuracy and velocity using Hodgedon CFE-223. Working the math for my drops at 650 and 1000 yards, the rifle is pushing these at about 2480-2500 FPS.

    One thing I would advise when running these heavier bullets in a gas gun, is to get an adjustable gas block if you don't already have one. I noticed on mine that the felt recoil went up significantly when running the 190's vs 168-175 grain bullets. I went thrugh several muzzle brakes trying to tame this added recoil, which was now along the lines of my 300 Win Mag, to no avail. Once I installed an adjustable gas block I was able to tune the action for slower cycling, eliminating the extra recoil imparted by the buffer hammering backwards to quickly.
     
    Thanks guys for the info, I do have an adjustable gas block. How temp stable are 2000 MR and CFE?

    I can't really say how temp stable CFE is. Being in San Diego, we don't get much in the way of extreme spreads of temperature out here. My initial workups were done when it was around 65-70F, and I've shot it out in AZ with the same loads at 95-100F without any excess pressure. Only a 35 degree spread, but it's all I've got so far.