I'm considering an AR15 build using a piston-based complete upper receiver, preferably mid-length with a 16 or 18 inch barrel.  Is Adams Arms still the best source for a proven, reliable piston-based system at reasonable cost?  I'm looking for a "best value" without compromising reliability or good quality.  I don't necessarily want "cheapest" and don't want "unreasonably expensive."  I appreciate any recommendations you can offer based on your own experiences.  Thanks!

For me, yes. I just ordered another one based on one of their blemished models. They just run and run. Even on the blem, I couldn't find any issues with the rifle. With quality ammo, it's 1 moa at 100 yd which is good enough for me

In my mind, yes.

Although you will come across mixed reviews w/respect to it functioning with .223 or light loads as well as needing over 100 rounds before they break-in and run without hiccups, AA is about the only builder who offers sub $1000 fully built piston uppers with respectable material spec and components.

You can also try looking for Uppers from a brand named "Huldra" which was a contract build for Fleet Farm by Adams.

I would say look at LWRC.  I know it's a bit more in price but well worth the money. I purchased an M6a2 complete upper for about $1000.  I have three LWRC rifles and they all run flawlessly.

Complete AA uppers are a good affordable piston system. I think most of the reliability issues are with improperly assembled AA kits.

Huldra is a good option. It's basically all AA minus the brand name recognition. Kinda like the difference between Snap-On and Blue Point; same basic tools but different pricing.

my AA setup has run flawlessly.

Both of mine have, too.  I don't see the point in paying any more than what AA charges.  IMO, they have pretty much solved the piston implementation as far as the AR15 is concerned.  The kits are pretty much bomb-proof and you can easily go straight to their website and buy extra or replacement parts, if need be.

No. They are just one source in the market of many. PWS, LMT, Colt, Barret, LWRC all make a fantastic piston setup and can be had at reasonable prices, depending where you look. If your market is 1100 and under, I'd suggest looking for a PWS upper to fondle. They are rather nice.

When the panic hit, I got REALLY into firearms. I've bought/sold/bartered lots of AR, AK, 308 platforms, handguns, etc. I want to try out every gun I can to learn for myself what's worth keeping if they pull the rug out from under us. I tried short stroke piston, long stroke, DI. The one panic buy I made that I simply will not part with is a Huldra ( Adams Arms) upper receiver. It's just... bitchin. So simple, such great quality, no maintainance, and very affordable. In fact, I have another AR for sale and the AA will be my last remaining AR. It's the bee's knee's.

Another source for LWRC complete uppers right now is CDNN Sports.  I just picked up a 16" M6A2 complete upper yesterday for $799 without sights.  Two models with sights are priced at $899 and $999 respectively.  Maybe worth looking at.  They are listed under "Gun Parts" section in the AR section...about page 15.

Sorry, your thinking is false.  Many of the issues I have seen on here the last two years and from my personal experience have been with factory built AA uppers.  I have a factory built complete AA upper that was sent back 3 times for attempts to make it work.  After various work being done to it by AA, it still took a long break in period for it to finally start cycling without issues.  Even then it will not cycle any sort of Russian/steel cased ammo while all my other AR's shoot without issue.  While they are less expensive than other piston uppers, they are still expensive to some of us who don't have piles of money laying around, especially when you have to burn through ammo trying to get it to work right.  Yes AA's customer support is great and yes they are probably still the best deal going on complete piston uppers, but they are not without issues.  I like my AA piston upper now that it's working, but I don't think I will venture into buying another one anytime soon.

Sorry, but your thinking is false.

For every one of you -- there's at least one of me -- and in reality that ratio is way higher, since it's usually the dissatisfied vocal minority that you ever really hear from and not the people who are out happily shooting their perfectly fine and functioning uppers.

Me?  I have 2 factory built AA uppers that have run flawlessly from day one.  No "break in" required.  They eat everything they're fed, including Tula.

I just bought an AA complete upper with rail for $600, and the quality is superb. I see no reason to pay double for another brand that is likely harder to disassemble and has worse customer service.

The fact that the other mfgs all charge so much for their products just leads me to believe that they don't have confidence in them long-term. Like they suspect recalls or other warranty work for years and years.

Most of the time I would say yes but in dealing with them over the last two months with a QC problem and getting my upper back I would have to say no. YMMV but right now not sure I would ever deal with them again.

I would have no issue with Adams, but right now for the money and product is there anything out there that's better than this deal at CDNN?  I'm not a shill for them, but the reality is that they have some great buys on great products frequently.  The complete LWRC upper I bought from them 2 days ago is a complete, true LWRC item...not a parted item.  It's also their "later" version that has the one-piece BCG op rod interface.  It includes their toolless top rail removal handguard for easy access.  Again, not slamming Adams, but for $799 I thought it was a good deal.  I attached mine to a POF P415 complete lower that they had on sale too.

http://www.cdnnsports.com/gun-parts.html?p=15

I wanted to build my AR to be beat on.  As such I didn't want to spend a ton of money.  I wanted a mid-length 16" upper with a nice rail and wanted a piston if I could find it for the right price.  "Blemished" AA mid length tac evo was under $600 including tax and shipping.  Zero problems so far (only a few hundred rounds down the tube).  Mated to a lower and parts sourced from a local gun store I am in for under $800 with a rifle that performs way above it's price point, and  I have yet to find anything I would consider a blemish on the upper and if I had spend an additional $50 or so on the lower you would think this rifle went for $1500+.  Meets my needs and I will be buying more AA products for future builds.

I don't understand why guys will spend $1000+ to put together an AR and then feed it the absolute cheapest crap ammo and are surprised it won't run right. You'll find that a Wolf reduced power buffer spring is available to allow a properly balanced piston system to run on ammo that is well below the normal power level, or run full power 5.56 like it was designed for. Sorry you've had issues with your AA upper, but my 16" midlength Huldra has run absolutely 100% from day one. Personally I've had multiple issues with both my BCM uppers, and people around here practically worship that brand, so nobody's perfect.

I wasn't "thinking", I was stating a clear personal experience and if you search this forum over the past few years you will see plenty of other similar experiences and frustrations posted.  No where did I say they all have issues either.  Of course there are always a few bad experiences that will exist with any product on the market, no one can be perfect all the time.   My point was that your "thinking" that most of  the issues stem from kits that people install themselves and that complete uppers are ok is in fact false.  I know there are plenty of people with great experiences with their AA hardware, but there are also plenty of people like me that were very frustrated.  Funny thing is a friend of mine bought a complete AA upper at the same time as I did.  His worked great right out of the box, will even fire steel cased ammo.  Mine wouldn't cycle on anything, had to be sent back 3 times, finally runs ok now after a long break in period, but will only fire brass cased quality ammo, no steel cased.  Last time my friend has his out, he was having cycling problems, this after having it for 2 years.  There shouldn't be that wide a range of how well their products work.  I'm not out to bash them, they do have great customer service and are still a best buy for the amount of money.  But my and others experiences shouldn't be discounted just because yours worked fine.  Newbies looking to buy one should hear about all experiences, not just the perfect ones.  Just my 2 cents.

Guess I should go buy green tipped ammo from Cheaper then Dirt so that way I'll have some really expensive ammo to go with my $1000 gun?  LMAO.  I have 4 other AR's and never any any problems shooting steel cased ammo, usually Silver Bear, that  I use it for plinking. Sure, it's underpowered compared to other ammo, but it still works fine in every other AR I've owned.  There are plenty of people on here and even my friend's AA upper will shoot steel cased with no issues.

Yes , Adams is GTG .

I have an AA kit that I put on a 20" Palmetto upper (with the FN CHF barrel). I happen to like a longer barrel for a little less blast than a 16". The AA kit is well made, and appears to me to be a simple and well thought out design.

After assembly, I had maybe 2 failures in the first mag or so, which I attribute to all the brand new parts just working themselves in. Since that time it has been 100% reliable for me, under moderate use.

After I put it together ( 2 or 3 years ago) one of my first range trips out was 15 degrees, high winds and light snow. Was outside for about 6 hours. Rifle did just fine. So did the Finn Mosin. I was frozen.

I only shoot bulk 55 grain brass ammo through it, and accuracy has been decent, 2" at 100 yds (with scope and basic rest). It's a good piston system. If I wanted a 16" mid length, I'd look to DSG, they have some good pricing and sometimes a free barrel offer.

Yes .

If you're hell-bent on piston drive, I think a Ruger SR556E is one of the best values on the market, IMHO, at ~$900 complete.

Ummmm...no.

You can't order spare or replacement parts and you have to send the gun into Ruger to have it serviced or repaired.  You also cannot replace the handguard.

OP, AA is still the best source.