New Griffin Enhanced BCG

[alamo5000]

Apparently Griffin introduced a new type of BCG geared at increased suppression in AR platforms.



https://www.griffinarmament.com/grif...eid=b47d68033e

The ports are located on the opposite side of a regular carrier and it has different geometry to prevent carbon buildup.

According to the literature on an 18" AR it reduces the right ear noise by over 10DB. Essentially it does dump gas to the inside side of the BCG and acts sort of like a temporary short term baffle that helps with gas dissipation.

I just saw this online so I'm reading more about it, but it does look interesting for sure. They are saying that the effects are highly dependent on gas length so we will look into that more.

[alamo5000]

The information from a podcast says on a rifle length gas system it shows a 10.5 DB reduction for the right ear. Mid length gas systems improved by 8.2 DB reduction and for carbine length it shows around a 3 DB reduction. (All reduction numbers I listed are for the right ear only).

[alamo5000]

Pistol length gas system has zero impact.

[alamo5000]

Ok, I splurged again and got two of these. I got the carrier only, not the whole thing.

From my math using Griffin's numbers regarding my cans I got one for my 16" rifle and one for my 6 ARC. With those two I estimate the ear performance for full power 5.56 and 6 ARC to get down to the 124 to 125ish DB range.

Just for reference that's about 3 to 4 DB louder (at the right ear) than shooting subsonic suppressed 22LR out of a 10/22.

[alamo5000]

After sleeping on it, this package has numerous layers of benefits.

If you opt for the whole package with the spring and bolt and buffer, it is a rough equivalent of a roller delayed system. The carrier itself travels something like .25" farther back and the bolt itself has a longer stroke. The net result is a little bit slower bolt opening. This reduces open the bolt under peak pressure.

The cam pin and firing pin are proprietary as the inside geometry of the cam pin is beefed up. However the OD is not altered so the carrier is reverse compatible with anything else standard mil spec.

Where the primary sound reduction happens is changing the size and location of the ports, which are traditionally located on the right side of the bolt and vent straight out into the outside air.

In some of their old tests of other products over the years left them knowing that small ports can increase sound signature a lot.

In one example, many years ago they were testing a muzzle device that had some small ports on it. With a bare muzzle the rifle metered in the high 160's. Same exact setup except adding that muzzle device that had the small ports and the sound signature increased to the low 170's.

Basically put the size and location of those ports on a traditional BCG are increasing port noise just by virtue of their existence, shape, and location.

So they moved them.

[UWone77]

How's the gas though?

[alamo5000]

How's the gas though?

I will let you know as soon as I get mine. Then again none of my rifles have a serious gas face problem to start with. I bought two of them, one for a 5.56 and one for 6 ARC. The latter will be completely new territory because even Griffin has not tested it with that cartridge.

Personally I don't think it will be any different than the baseline of whatever the original is for the rifle and suppressor combo, but it does have upside potential, way more than downside.

That said I think it will depend on the configuration of this BCG. If you run it with their bolt, (theirs is a gas ring free design)but you have the option to run with or with out gas rings. But if you run it with the whole package with rings (short buffer, bolt and carrier both), I think it will help out a lot. The reason being (in my opinion) is that the sum total creates a roller delayed equivalent type of system. The bolt itself is delayed slightly so that it won't open until peak pressure is passed. At least in concept that could help mitigate the majority of gas (which originates from the bore itself, ie straight back). At least that seems like a logical assumption.

There are a few other things that could potentially improve on gas face, but as a general rule I don't think it will change anything in that regard. It will just make it quieter.

[alamo5000]

How's the gas though?

In the podcast where they discuss this product they were talking about how much this can "change the game".

For example the past several years of not more than that, the general rule for suppressor manufacturers was to try and cater to the low back pressure can market. Now everyone is making a somewhat low back pressure can, even with traditional baffled cans. They allow more flow through to get in on the suppressed AR platform craze.

With this though, they can go back to more constricted designs because now they can mitigate port noise in other ways. Basically they said it has the potential to reduce the overall sound signature in general. IE much better muzzle numbers, but without sacrificing noise by adding it to the other end at the port.

[alamo5000]

FYI if you use the code MERRY15 for 30% off.

I didn't get the full system, just the carrier. But depends on what you want to accomplish.

[alamo5000]

Here is another thought process regarding gas. Look at the picture above. The gas is not just redirected, it's given somewhere to go. It has a pocket, where at least in theory, the gas has momentum going backwards and down. It's not being trapped but rather redirected. I theory the wall of the upper and the geometry of the left side of the carrier creates a somewhat sealed pocket.

Except in this case that pocket is not static. As the gas is released in the pocket, the carrier will physically move backwards and somewhat follow the gas. This will slow down the gas while it expands, but any residual gas pressure on the tail end of the sequence will push the rest of it downward.

It's not like a system where you quickly pressurize a loosely fitting vessel and in turn it looks for the path of least resistance.

Even though there is 'new gas' in the upper that wasn't there before, it seems like it should use the gas' own momentum in a more efficient way to help change it's course.

It's not fighting the system in a head to head battle but rather "pit maneuvering" the gas using its own energy to relatively gently redirect its path.

[gatordev]

It's not fighting the system in a head to head battle but rather "pit maneuvering" the gas using its own energy to relatively gently redirect its path.

But now it's blowing crap down into the mag and the FCG, based on that picture.

The proof is in the pudding, and if it's less gassy, great, but it looks like you will still have to pay for that benefit somehow. At least the Bootleg pushes it out of the gun, though it can still come back at you.

[alamo5000]

But now it's blowing crap down into the mag and the FCG, based on that picture.

The proof is in the pudding, and if it's less gassy, great, but it looks like you will still have to pay for that benefit somehow. At least the Bootleg pushes it out of the gun, though it can still come back at you.

It's already blowing crap down in my mag and fire controls. At this point it's a matter of how much more (if any)LOL

On the podcast it says they did a constant 3000++ round test specifically testing that and other reliability concerns. They said no terrible effects and no reliability issues arose.

This product is literally less than a week old since they dropped it on the public. It's all going to be somewhat experimental.

[alamo5000]

I have not been following industry stuff that much, but after I quit social media it's even less now.

That said, apparently in a few weeks they are going to release another version of this. It will be a regular BCG without any of the extra stuff, except the geometry and ports and all that will be on the left side. They said those are going to be the most affordable ones.

I own a couple of Griffin BCG and I like them a lot. Apparently I got in on the first wave of the Gucci version. I didn't get the whole thing, just the carrier. Which with the discount I got them to the front door for $147.50 (each).

The ones coming out in a month or two should be cheaper.

[alamo5000]

Got em today. Did a quick 12 round test using 55gr ammo out of a 16" AR. 12 rounds were shot with no hearing protection at all. Zero discomfort. Zero ringing.

To me, at this point I will give it a 110% must have. An AR is still loud, but I would safely say that you could probably shoot a 30 round mag without muffs and not have a problem.

That said I'm not a doctor and I don't know much about cumulative noise and all that. I put the 30 round comment because I would probably still not do a full range day like it's a 22LR.

If anything my LEFT ear was slightly louder but not by much. Definitely two thumbs up for shooter benefit. More tests on longer barrels (and possibly shorter) coming up, probably tomorrow.

[alamo5000]

Regarding the left side ear, I just thought about it and I was standing about 3 feet from a metal barn when I was shooting. That could have made a difference. Even at that there was zero ringing right or left. I still won't shy away from taking limited shots but now those limits are more than zero. Big, big, BIG improvement.