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Posted: 10/6/2012 10:19:24 AM EDT
| What piston AR-15's are GTG? Looking at LWRC on high end. S&W for cheaper option. Any I'm overlooking with good track record? Only have DI sticks and think its time to get piston setup. |
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None of them are good to go. They are all proprietary, so you'll have one source for parts if it ever breaks, or you loose a piece. They're heavy, and they don't suppress well. They usually cost a lot, too. Stick with DI. This^^^ Or get a different type of rifle, like a Sig 556, SCAR, etc... The bolt carrier for the AR is of the floating type (no rails) and was never designed to have an offset force applied to it like in a piston system. The offset force causes the phenomenon known as "carrier tilt," in which the bolt carrier tilts as it travels rearward and can seize in the receiver extension. I personally observed this on a friend's PWS upper (in defense of PWS, it's a great product, but my buddy used a commercial-spec receiver extension which was primarily to blame in this incident). It's not to say that all piston driven AR's suck, it's just that there are better platforms out there for it. Keep AR's DI! |
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Quoted: What piston AR-15's are GTG? Looking at LWRC on high end. S&W for cheaper option. Any I'm overlooking with good track record? Only have DI sticks and think its time to get piston setup. why? BTDT, they dont offer advantages until you get into f/a, and "then" you might come into a little advantage |
| Carrier tilt and such vodoo is a non issue in reputable man. weapons. LW is top shelf for sure. You can't go wrong with Rec-7's either. There are bugs in some other newer systems. There are many cheaper systems I have little or no experience with. Piston driven AR platforms from said manufacturers have excelled in SBR's and extraction, BCG running super clean and cool etc etc. |
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There are so many piston haters it is funny. LWRC makes a fantastic weapon, my M6A2 SPR is amazing. The fit n finish, quality of parts, and accuracy is outstanding. Yes you will be paying more for a top notch piston gun, but its not like there are any shortage of DI guns that sell for over 2k.
Compared to my BCM 16" middy, its apples and oranges. Both are fantastic in their own way and each offers their own advantages. But I would say this, if you don't plan to outfit your weapon and utilize the advantages of a piston system (SBR, suppressor, etc) I would just buy a BCM upper and slap in on a quality lower, or buy a complete carbine. My LWRC SPR I went with the SPR because of the spiral fluted barrel and slim rail system. It saves a fair amount of weight and balances better than the M6A2 IMO.. The only issue I have with the rifle is that the cerakote finish doesnt seem as durable and I would like. |
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i have multiple Adams Arms systems running and so far all have been GTG, even my 11.5 AA upper has been reliable with quality brass ammo
there seems to be alot of hate directed to the piston guns, i really don't know why, it seems from these threads here on ARFCOM, that MANY people are having excellent success with the piston rigs. i like both piston and DI, but all of my rifles run fine. 
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Did extensive research on pistons and always end up with the DI set up in my builds.
piston pros: Runs cooler. Good for full auto guns. No gas blow back in face if running suppresed. piston cons; Prioritiy parts Less accuracy more recoil expensive Possible carrier tilt wear on buffer tube You basicly turn a AR into a AK rifle. With that said, LWRC probably builds the best Piston guns on the market. But I have also heard some fairly big name operators name some problems with LWRC. Bottom line is, im still not ready to bet my life on a piston AR. If I was running suppresed, or full auto maybe. |
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Quoted: no, they both have blowback just the same, you can't get rid of it with a pistonQuoted: They're heavy, and they don't suppress well. Not sure what kinda silly nonsense he's thinking here. They are far better for suppressor use than a DI gun. Do you have a piston/can??? Do you have a SBR or run f/a??? |
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Did extensive research on pistons and always end up with the DI set up in my builds. piston pros: Runs cooler. Good for full auto guns. No gas blow back in face if running suppresed. piston cons; Prioritiy parts Less accuracy more recoil expensive Possible carrier tilt wear on buffer tube You basicly turn a AR into a AK rifle. With that said, LWRC probably builds the best Piston guns on the market. But I have also heard some fairly big name operators name some problems with LWRC. Bottom line is, im still not ready to bet my life on a piston AR. If I was running suppresed, or full auto maybe. Less accurate? Horse plop, you know nothing of which you speak. There are many high quality DI weapons available for less dough. DD is very hard to beat. |
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I'm happy with my LMT. She's just as accurate as my other ARs.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/tommel/MyLMT.jpg Just a few comments on the "cons" that were mentioned in another post: Piston cons: Prosperity parts - Yes, but I can switch out the barrel and BCG on my LMT and have a normal DI AR Less accuracy - Not with my LMT more recoil - Maybe - if it recoils more I can't really tell.... expensive - Oh yes. Possible carrier tilt wear on buffer tube - hasn't happened with mine -Tom |
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no, they both have blowback just the same, you can't get rid of it with a piston
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They're heavy, and they don't suppress well. Not sure what kinda silly nonsense he's thinking here. They are far better for suppressor use than a DI gun. Do you have a piston/can??? Do you have a SBR or run f/a??? I converted my SBR with a can to a AA piston. It now very noticeably produces less gas in the face than when it was DI. When it was DI it was terrible and made your eyes water badly, now it is not a problem shooting long strings of fire suppressed. |
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What piston AR-15's are GTG? Looking at LWRC on high end. S&W for cheaper option. Any I'm overlooking with good track record? Only have DI sticks and think its time to get piston setup. why? BTDT, they dont offer advantages until you get into f/a, and "then" you might come into a little advantage Ive also found piston setups to be more tolerant of lower powered Russian steel cased ammo. |
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I converted one of my BCM uppers with an AA piston kit and haven't looked back. Seems anymore, when I need an AR to take to the desert as recreation or SD carbine I always grab my conversion. Have over 800 rounds of Silver Bear, Tula and Brown Bear mixed ammo and have yet saw the need to clean the bolt and upper. Run a bore snake down the barrel and it is cleaned. Do I see a need to convert the other AR's? Probably not, they run fine and serve purpose. But for just plain ease of maintenance, it is hard to not be impressed with the conversion.
Last weekend , I did a mag dump and asked my brother to touch the bolt. He hesitated, but touched it after I pulled it out of the upper. Couldn't believe how cool and clean it was especially after having just shot 200 rounds of Tula. When we returned home, we cleaned the rifles and I watched him bring out the scraper and gun blast to clean his bolt. Me...I just popped open a beer and watched him go to work...
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| The cheapest option is to convert your DI to a piston. I converted an old Bushy years ago to an Osprey Defense Piston System and loved it. If you can afford it a Hogan Rifle is the way to go. I have no complaints what-so-ever. |
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no, they both have blowback just the same, you can't get rid of it with a piston
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They're heavy, and they don't suppress well. Not sure what kinda silly nonsense he's thinking here. They are far better for suppressor use than a DI gun. Do you have a piston/can??? Do you have a SBR or run f/a??? I converted my SBR with a can to a AA piston. It now very noticeably produces less gas in the face than when it was DI. When it was DI it was terrible and made your eyes water badly, now it is not a problem shooting long strings of fire suppressed. I thought a dab of silicon/Gas Buster charging handle took care of alot of blowback from suppressed setups. |
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You're right in proprietary matter, but it doesn't add wieght to your weapon.
Unless, quad rails are for assorted attachments. That's not my cup of tea. I have four AR platforms over four years and all of them have piston setup. No parts have fail me yet or need to replace parts, all of them have over 3k rounds without a hickup. |
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