(Bear with me while I nerd out about gas ports)

I was able to assemble the barrel into an upper and take it out for a test this morning.

I also said before the gas port was estimated to be around .077-.080. I was able to get some proper pin gauges and it gauged out at .078 so more or less in line with SOLGW 13.7 gas ports.

I recently heard about the YHM suppressor gas block while I was considering doing a 10.3 upper, and ordered one. It was cheap ($22) and is marketed as having a reduced sized port. I pin gauged this too and the port size is .063. It’s listed as a “high quality steel” but doesn’t specifically say what type it is.

I scrapped the 10.3 project and still had the gas block on hand so figured I’d give it a try on the 13.7 barrel. I was skeptical if it would cycle on a mid length but I was curious. I ended up using a carbine buffer and spring, and without a silencer it would function maybe half the time but recoil was very gentle. With a can it functioned much better, but would fail to lock back occasionally.

The first pic is the first 3 shot group with Wolf gold 5.56 with a 1-6 optic off a bag, after adjustment is the second picture with a 3 shot group that was about the size of a quarter. This was only at 25 yards, it’s the farthest I can go at this range.

All in all I’m happy with this barrel for the price. Also the YHM suppressor block is pretty neat as well. Time will tell if the port will erode but I suspect that’ll take many rounds. As of now it makes a super smooth upper with and without a can and no gas to the face.