From DI to Piston
- Thread starter Denka
- Start date
Ar180shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
IMO a piston in an AR creates more problems than it solves. As mentioned, the gas system and bolt carrier group was designed around an impingement system. Introducing a piston puts extra stress on areas that were not designed to handle it.
Putting a piston on an AR is kinda like trying to run a normal car on a fuel it wasn't made to run on. It's just not going to function as well as a rifle designed to use a piston driven action.
The only improvement I can see to the gas impingement system of the AR-15 that I think is worthy of being attempted is the LR-300's modified gas impingement.
The only improvement I can see to the gas impingement system of the AR-15 that I think is worthy of being attempted is the LR-300's modified gas impingement.
piston ARs are a gimmick .. you will never have any problems with a regular DI rifle if you clean it every 1000 rounds.. and DI guns are a bit more accurate and have less recoil.. If your set on a piston gun get a Swiss Arms , XCR or Tavor .. Remember piston guns only excel in full auto sustained firing and heavy carbon fouling , something we will never encounter ..
- Location
- 54°52'56"N 112°10'7"W Alpha Bravo
you don't really have to clean the gas tube ... i have over 8000 rounds through my AR and never cleaned the gas tube .. but if you had cycling issues and wanted to clean it the best way would to spray brake or carburetor cleaner down it.. that will get all the carbon out ..
Starscream
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
Starscream's patented method for AR15 gas tube cleaning:
1) Buy ammunition
2) Go to range rated for your rifle.
3) Load ammo into magazines
4) Load magazine into rifle
5) #### rifle and chamber a round
6) Aim rifle down range
7) Squeeze trigger
8) Repeat as many times as budget permits.
In all reality, you don't clean the gas tube, it doesn't need it or is it desirable to do so. You're actually much more likely to damage the tube internally in some aborted attempt to do so. At most you may want to just replace the tube when your barrel wears out (you're shooting a smooth bore at that point).
The only problems you may run into is an improperly aligned barrel which would cause misalignment in the gas tube leading to premature wear on the where the bolt carrier key and the tube mate. That however is a QC and manufacturing problem.
Please don't. If it's a cycling issue it's much more likely bad ammo, a misaligned tube, or a bad buffer.
DaveMachine
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- That one place with a cowboy complex
Don't be confused with all the contradicting opinions you get on this site, they are just that, opinions. I have three DI AR's (one is an AR-10) and a piston AR-15 (Stag). I like both types and both shoot reliably and I have not seen any consistent accuracy advantage of one over the other, I guess barrel quality and rigidity are more of a factor here. For a first AR I would recommend the DI, it's proven, parts are common to all makes and it's less expensive, all else being equal. As for the carrier tilt on piston guns, this problem is solved so don't worry about it. Start with a DI and later buy a quality piston upper and enjoy both. By the way, the comments about not requiring gas tube cleaning are correct, in my experience. Never did this in over twenty years of DI shooting.guys keep it coming, within 24 hours, I keep learning a lot hereThnx. Anybody on cleaning gas tube?
Any gun modified into something it was not designed for is usually a recipe for problems, AR15 is a DI design, would a piston design had made it better ??? first start by defining what better means... If a piston is what defines what you need then don't get an AR-15, that's just IMHO
Initially the piston systems had issues... But in most cases these days with the QUALITY piston systems, I.E., Adams Arms, CMMG, Stag, and so on... They've totally eliminated the issues that once existed.
I'm a high round count shooter and most of my EBR's are DI, but I also have Piston Systems in my inventory. Frankly, the piston systems hold up just fine in comparison.
That said, my only complaint about the Piston Systems is that IF (this is a big IF and I've never personally seen it happen)... IF your piston rod breaks they tend to be nearly impossible to get at local gun stores and they tend to be very expensive. This of course will get better overtime as piston systems become more popular... But, I digress.
Some people clean the gas tube with pipe cleaners... I dont generally clean mine as its typically not needed. As I see it... Firing a bullet from the gun cleans (blows out anything) out the gas tube every time.guys keep it coming, within 24 hours, I keep learning a lot here
This man is correct.
HK 416/417 is the way to go if going the AR piston route, there are other companies like POF that seems to be top notch as well. Not to many AR's out there that can hold up to the HK line of rifles. They are combat proven , and have a few years behind them with little to no problems except the odd lemon which happens in every company.
Funny thing, many arfcommers have full range reports of properly put together ARs with no cycling issues and NO CLEANING in the half dozen thousands of rounds.
There's a pic of a guy who ran about 4000 rounds of junk steel cased garbage.
It runs fine.
If you want to spend more money go ahead, though.
There's a pic of a guy who ran about 4000 rounds of junk steel cased garbage.
It runs fine.
If you want to spend more money go ahead, though.
