Ordered around Oct. 22nd, it finally shipped last Thursday, and I just received it this afternoon.

Impressions:

- About as light as my Bushy 16" upper w/ Larue 9" rail (don't have a scale to give exacts)
- Rail is not all that wide, basically like most PRI SPR-type rails
- Included basic rail covers with it
- Love the raised optics area
- Don't like their fixed front sight, I guess they were out of Troy fronts.
- Has basically the same bolt/extractor only no gas tube, and instead a moving piston in the top.
- Has M4 feed-ramps and chrome bolt/bc/chamber/bore

Taking it to the range around 4-5pm today to test it out.

Photos:

I was reading about these in the latest BOOK OF THE AR15.  Quite interesting, but I'm not sure what problem it solves.

The author wrote that it keeps heat and fouling out of the upper receiver.  I've never found heat or fouling in the upper to be of any concern at all.  Granted it might be easier to clean the weapon, but I don't see any functionality gain.

How do you like that rifle case?  Is it the same as this one? www.elitetacticalsources.com/client/details.php?pid=3497

Looks nice, and that is coming from someone who generally does not like the look of the Predator rail system.  

Yes that is the rifle case that I bought, same website and everything. It is awesome, a seriously great buy.

What I love about the gas piston uppers is the greatly reduced recoil/muzzle rise, ease of follow-up shots (they are awesome with 2-stage/match triggers). Also the non-fouling bolt/extractor/firing pin/etc. No more (or potential) gas ring problems and you only have a couple spots to clean- the piston area and the bore/chamber.

I go shooting a lot now, and carbon buildup in the back of the BC and on the back of the bolt gets extreme, even with soaking and cleaning regularly. It's just getting to be a real pain cleaning multiple DI uppers. I will eventually move to all piston-uppers.

I wish AR's would have been designed like this from the beginning.



- rem

Quoted: I go shooting a lot now, and carbon buildup in the back of the BC and on the back of the bolt gets extreme, even with soaking and cleaning regularly. It's just getting to be a real pain cleaning multiple DI uppers. I will eventually move to all piston-uppers.

I hear that!  Generally I'll only shoot one of my ARs per trip.  I hate cleaning the bolt group, but I'm anal so I like it spotless.

The article made it sound like these uppers are as reliable as the conventional upper.  I wonder if they'll ever go after any MIL contracts.

Nice set-up..

I like the ideal of the piston uppers, but I cannot justify the cost.

Maybe if the cost comes down, I'll look at one, but for me it also solves a problem that I simply do not have...

Enjoy, I love mine. Cleaning is the holy grail of AR's.

All the new AR designs are using a piston system. FN SCAR, HK 416, etc. etc. Plus with the decreased maintenance, it's no wonder why the military is looking at them.

The Robarms XCR looks awesome, and I've shot a Leitner Wise which was great, it had like ZERO muzzle rise and was very noticeably easier to shoot than a regular AR when bumpfiring or doing rapid shots.



- rem

Sweet setup Man.  Gotta love those POF's. Very well made.

The more that people start getting these piston uppers , the more positive feedback they will get. The DI people will realize what they are missing. To each his own but I truely believe that the pistons op AR's are the better rifles.

Nice setup.  I have been really thinking about a piston upper.  I'll wait a little bit more.

Max

Test fired it today and was able to rapid-fire while easily keeping sights on the target. People were drooling over it at the indoor range. Tomorrow morning I am off to the outdoor 700yd range and I'm going to take some videos of it and do a standard review.


- rem

Great! Can't wait for the review!

How does the  Predator rail attach to the upper receiver?

All your pics are from the left side of the gun, and I can't see any of the right side?

Sweet looking rig.  Just wondering how heavy the Predator is??  Is it too much to shoulder??

Quoted: All the new AR designs are using a piston system. FN SCAR, HK 416, etc. etc. - rem

They wouldn't be "new designs" if they didn't....

Nice looking pics, and I tend to agree that the piston AR is here to stay.

The outdoor range ended up being closed last week for a private match. So, I went to another outdoor range that was only 100yd, and ended up shooting 50yd the entire time. I did find out though for some reason that I am able to bump fire this setup when I couldnt really bump fire with the other upper. I thought that was only dependant on the lower (trigger and all), but for some odd reason I can even accidentally bump fire with this standard bushy lower and the gas-piston upper. If I hold my trigger finger a certain way after firing, it just continues to rapid fire. Pretty cool, although I did get yelled at twice at this other range where rapid-firing is not allowed (it was a shitty range). I'm going to get some videos up at the end of the week when I go to my regular range again. I could bump from the table with bipod and also from the shoulder.

The way the predator rail system attaches to the upper receiver is much (exactly?) like the KAC RAS. It is a one-piece FF system that mounts to the barrel nut area and the flat-top upper receiver. The receiver and barrel basically slide right into it, and then you tighten the barrel nut area using 5 allen screws. 2 on the top rail, 1 on each side, and 1 on the bottom. At least that's what I think those are for.

I dont see why people say the predator is "too big". I think it is perfect. It is very light for it's perceived size, and the slight height increase on the upper receiver makes it a lot more comfortable to look through my scopes and get a nice small chin/cheek weld on the stock. The sides are not all that much wider than most rails out there, and they seem to stay as cool as my Larue 9" on my other upper. It is very easy to shoulder and does not appear to be any heavier than my other upper with the Larue 9" and troy sights.

I'll post some more on this thread at the end of the week. Videos and pictures.



- rem

Looks good!Looking forward to that video.

OK - I want one -  WHAT DID IT COST YOU ?

I need to know if it is in my range.

tag

Go to POF's website to get prices on what setup you may want. There are a number of different combinations you can get. You will not be disappointed! If you are looking for a robust, relaible, yet very simple designed gas piston, this one is for you.
You can also find POF in the industry section.

Here are some more photos:

How do you like it with the Acog? Which bipod is that?  Very nice rig!

TS

GG&G tactical bipod with swivel. I like it with the ACOG a lot better than my other upper, because it is raised slightly and gives me a more comfortable cheek weld. It's a lot more comfortable to look through and feels more natural. I shot for an hour today out to 500 and 700 yards with it and had a lot of fun. Tried some ADCOM M855 and it was pretty good although I had a squib and 7 rounds out of a box of 20 that were too defect to fire. Got half a case of Barnaul for the gas-piston upper and it ate 100 rounds no problem. Bump fired a couple mags of it and it was a lot of fun.


- rem