Ep. 75 | Gas Guns Vs. Bolt Guns for Long Range

The long-standing perception amongst shooters is that bolt guns hands-down out shoot gas guns in terms of accuracy and long range capability. In the past this was certainly true, and gas guns were simply held to a lower standard in accuracy than bolt guns were. But now, have gas guns made enough strides to match their bolt gun counterparts? Are they a more viable solution for long range precision shooting? We grabbed Dillen Easly, competitive shooter of many disciplines, and Garrett Grover of Rise Armament, manufacturer of gas guns, to chat about this very topic. You’ll also learn the difference between mechanical and “practical” accuracy (A term admittedly just made up by Garrett on the spot) and how they affect your groups and performance at long range, as well as how it may even affect the barrel life for your gun for you individually.
As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.
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[@tcstory5456]

Wish they wouldn't have said something about black nitride its something I haven't heard a super lot about. Like it's not a coating it bonds to the metal to make it stronger along with lubricating and corrosion resistant . Faxon has it on alot of there barrels and iv seen that if a barrel has it on there it could almost double its barrel life but I dont see it on any bolt action barrels just ar barrels iv seen bolt action receivers but not on barrels. Thanks great podcast!!

[@johnsanders7337]

Around 18:00 I can Ryan yelling out in the hall way.....

[@joearledge]

The standard for USGI gas guns and USGI ammo is 4MOA, not 1.5MOA. The average USGI gun-ammo combo does around 2.5MOA-ish. 4 MOA is roughly equal to minute of man at around 500-ish. This is part of the reason why the USMC quals on a man size silhouette at 500.

[@MichaelLeopold1]

Very interesting listen

[@ronws2007]

I am late to the game, as usual. I watched part of this, listened to most on the podcast on soundcloud (long drive home.) I was really interested in this topic. I have 4 rifles. Two bolt guns, two gas. This year I got an AR-10, which I have wanted for some time. My other gas gun is a 5.56. I put on a Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6x - 24x / 50 mm (FFP) on the AR-10. I really like on my MVP Long Range 308 and my Patriot .309 Win came with a Vortex Crossfire II, which I liked, from the start. The M4 A3 has just the iron sights but I am totally comfortable with that. My primary purpose is hunting. the .308 Win rifles for whitetail deer and the M4 for feral hog. State public land that is heavily forested and you are lucky to have a clear shot at 40 yards.
So, my plan is to use my AR-10 for hunting. It is light, even with the big scope on it. Very comfortable to shoot with the PRS stock. And I am not even bothering with a muzzle brake or compensator. Completely comfortable shooting it with just the A2 flash hider.
The one thing I have encountered is over-gassing, so, I am changing to an H3 buffer and that should help by slowing down the the BCG.
As for accuracy, which is nominally the topic of this podcast episode, I have seen others doing a demonstration of my rifle shooting a few inches at 700 yards in the desert with wind. So, I agree, the AR-10s are so accurate these days. And it makes me wonder if it makes it easier for some people to get into bigger calibers and hunting. You could start out on an AR-15 and once you get used to the controls and handling, you move up to an AR-10. Then, eventually, a bolt gun, if you want.
Is it better manufacturing processes? A better way to make more accurate barrels?