Recently purchased a used Lefty Stag10 in 308 everything stock except the trigger (went with a Trigger Tech two stag fixed 3.5 lbs AR15 Competition) I am looking at a few upgrades to improve accuracy but not necessarily replacing the barrel. I was told trigger, adjustable gas block and muzzle break were three thing I could do without getting to crazy. I am planning to use this mostly for hunting and a bit of target practic.
I have heard pro’s and cons about replacing the gas block with an adjustable one and I am looking for more opinions:
Things I have heard:
Pros
-less wear and tear on the rifle do to cycling
-less recoil on followup shots
Cons
-Potential of it coming apart or loose in the bush with repeated shooting
-Gas from the gas block venting in front of yoursights making quick followup shots difficult
-Changes in ambient environment affecting performance from the time the gas block was set compared to when hunting
-Also you need to stick with the same ammo used when adjusting the gas block as you would hunt with but that isnt really a concern as you should typically hunt with the same ammo you sight in with
I have been looking at the superlative arms and OdinWorks
Thank you ahead time.
Since you say you want to mod for accuracy and you've already changed the trigger. Which doesn't actually make the rifle more accurate, it hides your poor shooting form, which in a round-a-bout way improves accuracy.
A muzzle BRAKE not break (unless you own an NEA/BCL then it's most likely a break) will not improve accuracy and will hurt your ears if you're like me and don't hunt with hearing protection. A muzzle brake will help you get your sights back on target faster which isn't really a big concern when hunting but it does not make the rifle shoot more accurately.
Adjustable gas block, this is a grey area for most.
If your rifle is properly gassed from factory (most are not) it does not need one, also if it is over-gassed it does not need one (this is how they were designed) as it should be reliable unless it's severely over-gassed. Just because I say it doesn't need one doesn't mean the rifle wouldn't benefit from one. I don't usually add an adjustable gas block to my rifles unless I'm having issues of some sort.
An adjustable gas block will also not help you out if your rifle is under-gassed as that is a product of your gas port size or maybe your original gas block is/was out of alignment.
But, there really is no downside to adding an adjustable gas block other than cost as long as you are willing to take the time to set it up correctly. It will make your rifle finicky if you like to change ammo regularly but that's not really something someone should be doing all the time anyway, find a type of ammo your rifle shoots well and stick to it. If you do like to run whatever ammo you can find and want it to be reliable you can always just set your gas block to over-gas the rifle slightly which should make it reliable for most ammo.
As you mentioned in your pro list, when adjusted correctly it will reduce wear and tear on the rifle as well as felt recoil.
I've never heard of one coming apart, just don't buy a Chinese knock-off.
I've never noticed any gas venting getting in the way of my next shot (not many black powder semi autos).
Changes in ambient will not cause problems because of the gas block unless you have it cut back so far you are right on the edge of function in the summer. Failures due to the weather getting colder are usually more a result of improper lubrication.
Yes stick to the same ammo, this is common sense as your POI can shift up to a few inches when changing to different ammo.
Semi autos can be finicky with ammo so once you find something it likes stick to it for hunting so you know it will be reliable, never hunt with any gear you haven't tested and know to be reliable.
If you really want to improve accuracy the single best part to change out is the barrel.
Factory barrels are not great, especially on these $2000ish rifles, they have to sacrifice something to get them to market at the price they do so installing a quality $500+ barrel is not something the factory will be doing.