Noveske switchblock

[m1ajunkie]

I have a surefire 212 suppressor on order that I plan to use on my 14.5" ar, and a future 10.5" sbr. Reading on various forums I am finding that there are strong arguments for and against the switchblock. These uppers will be shot mostly suppressed, but not always.

Is the switchblock necessary on a suppressed ar? I would like to hear feedback from those of you running suppressed ar's.

Those of you without the switchblock, do you wish you had one?

[Eurodriver]

I have a surefire 212 suppressor on order that I plan to use on my 14.5" ar, and a future 10.5" sbr. Reading on various forums I am finding that there are strong arguments for and against the switchblock. These uppers will be shot mostly suppressed, but not always.

Is the switchblock necessary on a suppressed ar? I would like to hear feedback from those of you running suppressed ar's.

Those of you without the switchblock, do you wish you had one?

I don't know anyone who argues against the switchblock...its expensive but I can't really see anything inherently flawed in its design. Its a solid piece of engineering.

I debated on getting a switchblock. I decided not to for my 10.5" as it was only going to be shot 100% suppressed so I used a small gas port barrel in order to eliminate blowback. With that said, if I was planning to shoot it unsuppressed, even once, I wouldn't hesitate to get a switchblock and any future uppers I get will be Noveske SB uppers.

Some have no problems with gas blowback on stock uppers (mainly BCM 11.5"s and LMT 10.5's) but I have shot suppressed ARs and find the "gas face" to be quite uncomfortable, not even taking into account that a SB makes the rifle run cooler and cleaner. It is not a necessity to some, but it is to me. YMMV.

[Moltke]

No it's not "necessary", you can build a gun to run suppressed.

I was drawn to the switchblock and after shooting it for 6 months I have no complaints. I bought a 10.5" N4 upper with the switchblock installed because I wanted a SBR that I could shoot suppressed and unsuppressed. I wanted the convenience of just flipping the switch to "S" and attaching the suppressor, knowing that everything will work as intended. Results? It works as intended. The gun works suppressed, unsuppressed, everything's great.

Please link or summarize an article or strong argument against the switchblock.

[m1ajunkie]

I posted a similar thread on TOS, so I am not sure if linking is appropriate. The members who suggest going with out the switchblock say that it is not needed on a fighting/ defense gun. One member says he has seen shooters forget to put the gas block on the correct setting and get failures when they remove the suppressor.

Not a huge deal, but I agree with the k.i.s.s principle. I just hate to beat up my gear if there are other options. One reason I am leaning away from the switch block myself is that it will force me to use a rail with fsp cut. I like to run my light at 12 o clock and not having that section of rail would be a drawback for me.

[dpaqu]

Other than hand guard compatibility and maybe weight I've never read anything negative about them in my research

Just checked weight per Rob_S weights and Noeveske's website. 26oz for a 10.5” pined switch block barrel from Noeveske VS. 17oz for a DD 10.5” with a cut down GB.

[Moltke]

Ha. So people don't like it because of user error? Delicious.