rboyes

After discussing it on here I picked up a TAB Gear biathlon sling to give a try. It arrived today- seems well made and good cushioning on the shoulder straps. With a two point sling I had my qd cups on opposite sides of the rifle, but that doesn’t work with the biathlon style sling so I added another cup. Just running around the house the biathlon seems to have less rifle movement compared to a cinched down Magpul or Vickers (I have both). Overall I think it will prove to be another good tool in the box; I’m thinking it will be handy on the longer natural terrain stages, but the traditional 2-point slings a better choice on bay stages for the extra quickness of employment.

I don’t have any personal experience with one, but another option is an Olympic biathlon style sling.

I’ve got 3 Criterion Hybrid barrels, 18” 223 chrome lined, 16” 308 stainless, and 20” 308 nitrided, all are rifle length gas. All 3 shoot well, and as has been mentioned previously, the profile is just going to shift the center of gravity back towards your body a bit which should feel nice. I would have gone with the core profile had then been available/in stock at the time. That being said, with a light hand guard and appropriately weighted stock, the rifles still balance out nicely.

That’s exciting news about ETTS, hopefully it comes to fruition.

The owner was setting up and running the match previously, but sounds like he is too busy with range operations now. An outside person or entity would likely need to handle running the match for it to exist again, like how the Cross Timbers group runs pistol matches there.

TDSA (https://practiscore.com/clubs/tdsa_3gun) is currently the only place hosting 3 gun around DFW. With Triple C closing a few years ago and ETTS dropping 3 gun there just isn’t much left in the area. Last week at TDSA we had about 40 shooters and 5 stages. Outside of DFW are Big Country, a great match near Abilene, and Arklatex, near Texarkana. if you’re on Facebook then join the DFW 3 Gunners page for updates.

A 12.5" barrel with mid-length gas doesn't give you much barrel past the gas block which means narrower window of operation. You can get more pressure at the gas port by using a slower powder for hand loads. The suppressor helps increase pressure a bit. You could try one of the Superlative Arms bleed off gas block (I don't have any personal experience with it but it sounds like it could help in your situation, and tune it to work with the weaker loads).

My current .308 for use with optics is a JP with 16" rifle length gas Criterion with adjustable gas. That combo can cause issues if you use a very fast powder since you won't have enough port pressure in some loads. At He Man this year I used 125 SMK's going 2950fps with IMR 8208 and it functioned great, reliable, accurate and very low recoil. No issues on the far targets with a 16" barrel.

Ejection pattern can depend on the load and how the gas system is tuned. If the rifle is reliable then don't overthink it.

Check your gas block and gas port alignment. Some gas blocks/barrel combos should not have the block flush against the barrel shoulder. Example- I have a Criterion 308 barrel, and I installed the SLR gas block about a business card's thickness away from the shoulder in order to get the gas port holes to line up properly.

A steak on your plate is worth two in the freezer. My favorite is Boar's Head in Savannah. Rib eye, of course.

But you get better fireballs with slow powder and short barrels! J/k I use IMR 8208 for .308.

I have a fix I posted in another thread, let me take a look for it. Edit: Please see this thread. Reducing the angle of the step I point out on the bolt catch resolved the bolt hanging back problem in my M2. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=208201&hl%2Brboyes#entry2338094

Powder selection also makes a difference in your rifle's operation. I've found that slower powders in my 16" rifle gas gives a wider operational window.

Not much difference in the two lengths. Rifle gas port should see less erosion compared to midlength. Adjustable gas can make them feel the same. I'm currently using a 16" rifle length gas barrel in my .308. Works great.