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Posted: 5/31/2011 1:17:34 PM EDT
| I'm new to building and I need some educated opinions on the Front sight / Gas block. As I understand it, you can either get the ones that have set screws and you tighten them down real well or you can get ones that are actually pinned to the barrel. (Please correct me if I'm wrong) I am looking at getting a front sight that's foldable like a Yankee Hill, but I'd prefer the kind that pins in place just so I can guarantee that nothing moves on me. What are my best options keeping in mind that I would like a colapsable front sight / gas block that gets pinned to the barrel. Also I would appreciate any advice on the best supplier to pick up something like that. Thanks in advance. |
| For folding Front Sights you don't have a choice. You need to mount them to a railed free float tube or go with a flip up that encompasses a gas block. Both options are Costly. I have YHM rail mounted front sight and diamond series handguard and it works fine, but I still prefer a standard or f marked front sight base for defensive or got to-shtf rifles. A pinned FSB is preferable in almost every situation unless you plan to mount and use a scope the majority of the time. With an FSB you don't have to worry about the sight coming off the rifle. For Red dots like Aimpoints you actually want to cowitness the front sight and red dot at the same time. |
| Well, obviously you need to seek out & purchase a folding gas block/FSB that is meant to be pinned & send it with your barrel to a shop like ADCO in OH to have them do the pinning. This is not a job for the garage gunsmith without the proper machines/tools & know-how needed to properly do this work. KAC sells a folding FSB that is designed to be pinned just like a standard A-frame FSB, but it's not cheap by any means. Good luck with your search. |
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Good to know. Ok, so lets assume I will be using a scope most of the time and I am planning on installing a free float handgaurd with a flip front sight mounted on the rail, are there any low pro gas blocks that are better than others as far as staying in place and not moving? I ordered a BCM Standard 20" Rifle Length Barrel, Stripped and haven't received it yet so I don't know exactly what I'm working with as far as the gas port is concerned but I guess what I'm trying to find out is what my options are for gas blocks other than sending the barrel to a shop to have it mounted. (unless of course that's what I absolutely have to do) Thanks for all your input.
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One thing nice about BCM barrels is that they are already dimpled for a set screw gas block. Only one dimple; the one directly under the gas port. I am partial to the VTLOR low profile set screw gas block since the BDE pinning jig is designed around it. Thus you can use the set screws alone of you want or set screws and pinned using the jig if you want. The jig will come with two 2/0 pins so you can pin two gas blocks. You'll need a #31 drill bit and a 2/0 reamer.
It'll look like this when you're done 
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| There are plenty of options for low profile gas blocks. Everything we've seen from expensive to affordable do the same thing. I run a Vltor low profile gas block under my Daniel Defense Lite Rail 9.0. Works great! It's also pinned. YHM also makes some very nice, very affordable low profile gas blocks too! After re-reading your thread I'm a bit confused if you're looking for a low profile gas block to go under your rail system or are you looking for a gas block that you can mount your folding front sight directly to!?! Young Manufacturing also makes a nice low profile railed gas block that looks great, locks on solid, and would alow you to mount your folding front sight to it! |
| I think I've finally decided that I'm going to go with a low profile gas block and mount a folding front sight on my handgaurd. I was originally looking at getting a front sight/ gas block combo but I'm leaning more towards the low pro now. Do any of you guys have a low pro gas block installed with just the set screws and no pins? (I.e. VLTOR) My BCM barrel IS dimpled once under the gas port and I'm thinking that this should make for a pretty strong gas block mount even if it's not pinned...... but I'm curious if anyone has experience with a set-up like this and has it held up well? Thanks. |
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