I had one on a MSTN custom upper. The general idea is to allow someone to have a gas block that is tuned to a certain barrel length and allows the shooter to switch between suppressed, unsuppressed and off modes.
The suppressed mode has a smaller hole to reduce the amount of gas directed back into the bolt carrier group. This also helps to reduce how dirty the upper, bolt carrier group and ammo in the mag get while shooting.
The off mode turns the gun into a single shot rifle that has to have a new round chambered each time by using the charging handle.
The unsuppressed mode allows normal operation without a suppressor attached.
Pros:
Adjust gas based on use of suppressor or not.
Reduces amount of dirt blown back into upper and bolt carrier group.
Tuned to the specific barrel length
Cons:
Price
Won't fit under handguards. (Note: Noveske does have a new handguard that has a cut out for the switchblock so it does not completely eliminate all barrel/handguard options)
Tuned to the specific barrel length
If you are planning on using a suppressor quite abit while shooting an AR, it might be good to look into one. Otherwise, it is not really of any added benefit unless you really want a single-shot AR.
The suppressed mode has a smaller hole to reduce the amount of gas directed back into the bolt carrier group. This also helps to reduce how dirty the upper, bolt carrier group and ammo in the mag get while shooting.
The off mode turns the gun into a single shot rifle that has to have a new round chambered each time by using the charging handle.
The unsuppressed mode allows normal operation without a suppressor attached.
Pros:
Adjust gas based on use of suppressor or not.
Reduces amount of dirt blown back into upper and bolt carrier group.
Tuned to the specific barrel length
Cons:
Price
Won't fit under handguards. (Note: Noveske does have a new handguard that has a cut out for the switchblock so it does not completely eliminate all barrel/handguard options)
Tuned to the specific barrel length
If you are planning on using a suppressor quite abit while shooting an AR, it might be good to look into one. Otherwise, it is not really of any added benefit unless you really want a single-shot AR.
The switchblock only makes sense if you're going to shoot suppressed. Otherwise it's a waste of money. I have one and it's typical Noveske quality, perfect.
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If you're shooting suppressed the benefits are several. The shooter will get a lot less gas to the face (helped even more if you do the RTV gasbuster mod), the operating parts will stay a lot cleaner and there will be less wear and tear on the system. If you're shooting full auto like I am, the cyclic rate will also be reduced to approximate unsuppressed rates.
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If you're shooting suppressed the benefits are several. The shooter will get a lot less gas to the face (helped even more if you do the RTV gasbuster mod), the operating parts will stay a lot cleaner and there will be less wear and tear on the system. If you're shooting full auto like I am, the cyclic rate will also be reduced to approximate unsuppressed rates.
