User Panel
Posted: 5/8/2024 2:40:04 PM EST
I'm not very familiar with the company, but they seem to have a good reputation for quality, most of their models seem to have fairly clean designs, their gas system seems to be well executed, and their pricing doesn't seem to be unreasonable.
But, I've never handled, owned, or shot any of their guns. What kind of experiences have you guys had with these? |
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I have a PWS x39 upper that I use. I like it. Dont have (unfortunately) a full rifle, but I have 100% confidence in that upper.
I reaaaallly want their 308 rifle. |
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I have been running PWS MK1s since 2011 at least once a week and used to run them 3-4 times a week.
They are not like most piston ARs which are muzzle heavy because the PWS piston design is very different, much lighter and neutrally balanced so they feel and weigh more like a DI AR I generally clean them every 6 months but have gone a year without cleaning, just forget as it does not need much upkeep. This encourages more training over a DI IMO at least for me For a while a friend would shoot mine want to buy it and I would sell it to them and buy a new one. So I was upgrading for almost nothing. I am down to 3 but generally only shoot my primary trainer a MK114 Mod 1 with a MK116 Mod2 upper on a Mod 1 lower as my SHTF reserve. They other just sits and is unfired. I do have DI guns and really like them but when you can shoot then just put a PWS in the safe with no cleaning it is really hard to want to bother with a DI, IMO |
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I bought an PWS upper many years ago (It's a quad rail) to run with a suppressor because convinced my how wonderful piston guns were.
Unfortunately at that time, I did not know anyone with a suppressor or a piston gun to stop me. I learned my lesson. Avoid pistons, stick with uppers that use standard BCG's, barrels, and gas blocks. At least with my other bad gun purchases, I could get most of my money out of it. Between heavy buffers and modifying their system to bleed off the excessive gas I did eventually get it where it was bearable to shoot. Then it was only heavy and inaccurate! YMMV, Maybe they are better now. |
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Quoted: I bought an PWS upper many years ago (It's a quad rail) to run with a suppressor because convinced my how wonderful piston guns were. Unfortunately at that time, I did not know anyone with a suppressor or a piston gun to stop me. I learned my lesson. Avoid pistons, stick with uppers that use standard BCG's, barrels, and gas blocks. At least with my other bad gun purchases, I could get most of my money out of it. Between heavy buffers and modifying their system to bleed off the excessive gas I did eventually get it where it was bearable to shoot. Then it was only heavy and inaccurate! YMMV, Maybe they are better now. View Quote Interesting. This seems to contradict most of what I see about these guns elsewhere. The piston system is said to reduce ejection port noise, reduce gas to the shooter's face, and keep the gun cleaner, and a lot of guys say the adjustable gas system is good for a variety of conditions. |
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Quoted: Interesting. This seems to contradict most of what I see about these guns elsewhere. The piston system is said to reduce ejection port noise, reduce gas to the shooter's face, and keep the gun cleaner, and a lot of guys say the adjustable gas system is good for a variety of conditions. View Quote In general: Unsuppressed? Yes Suppressed? No, not even close As the brass case ejects, it sucks all the gas and carbon trapped in the can, back through the breech and ejection port. So it still gets dirty. You can't really avoid that. Is it cleaner than if you were shooting a DI gun suppressed? Slightly, yes. Will it run longer between failures suppressed without maintenance? Probably. Is it in any way actually clean? No, fuck no. You're still going to be scrubbing the fuck out of it when you're done. My SCAR17 still gets fucking filthy after a couple hundred rounds, my BRN-180 still needs to get scrubbed and hosed out after a couple hundred rounds, my AUG still needs to get hosed and scrubbed out after a couple hundred rounds, so on so forth. Unsuppressed they're great; you almost don't even need to clean them at all. Put a can on them though...still dirty. Honestly I've pretty much gone back to DI for suppressed use. I've got a couple rifles I'm going to run until failure to see how far I can push them. The only appreciable change over "stock" either has (both 16" midlength carbines) is they both have full chrome BCGs. |
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Quoted: Interesting. This seems to contradict most of what I see about these guns elsewhere. The piston system is said to reduce ejection port noise, reduce gas to the shooter's face, and keep the gun cleaner, and a lot of guys say the adjustable gas system is good for a variety of conditions. View Quote I don't remember what year it was I got mine, but no adjustable gas block. Did I mention it's a quad rail :-) As mentioned above it gets extremely dirty, worse than DI with an adjustable gas block (IMHO) Between the epic "battlefield Las Vegas" thread and my own experience: No more pistons for me. |
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I had the MK111 Pro upper and it was okay.
It had more recoil impulse than my DI AR's on the setting it needed to function well suppressed. It was just as dirty shooting suppressed as my DI guns. The kicker for me was the gas block started rusting within 6 months of owning it. |
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Quoted: In general: Unsuppressed? Yes Suppressed? No, not even close As the brass case ejects, it sucks all the gas and carbon trapped in the can, back through the breech and ejection port. So it still gets dirty. You can't really avoid that. Is it cleaner than if you were shooting a DI gun suppressed? Slightly, yes. Will it run longer between failures suppressed without maintenance? Probably. Is it in any way actually clean? No, fuck no. You're still going to be scrubbing the fuck out of it when you're done. My SCAR17 still gets fucking filthy after a couple hundred rounds, my BRN-180 still needs to get scrubbed and hosed out after a couple hundred rounds, my AUG still needs to get hosed and scrubbed out after a couple hundred rounds, so on so forth. Unsuppressed they're great; you almost don't even need to clean them at all. Put a can on them though...still dirty. Honestly I've pretty much gone back to DI for suppressed use. I've got a couple rifles I'm going to run until failure to see how far I can push them. The only appreciable change over "stock" either has (both 16" midlength carbines) is they both have full chrome BCGs. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Interesting. This seems to contradict most of what I see about these guns elsewhere. The piston system is said to reduce ejection port noise, reduce gas to the shooter's face, and keep the gun cleaner, and a lot of guys say the adjustable gas system is good for a variety of conditions. In general: Unsuppressed? Yes Suppressed? No, not even close As the brass case ejects, it sucks all the gas and carbon trapped in the can, back through the breech and ejection port. So it still gets dirty. You can't really avoid that. Is it cleaner than if you were shooting a DI gun suppressed? Slightly, yes. Will it run longer between failures suppressed without maintenance? Probably. Is it in any way actually clean? No, fuck no. You're still going to be scrubbing the fuck out of it when you're done. My SCAR17 still gets fucking filthy after a couple hundred rounds, my BRN-180 still needs to get scrubbed and hosed out after a couple hundred rounds, my AUG still needs to get hosed and scrubbed out after a couple hundred rounds, so on so forth. Unsuppressed they're great; you almost don't even need to clean them at all. Put a can on them though...still dirty. Honestly I've pretty much gone back to DI for suppressed use. I've got a couple rifles I'm going to run until failure to see how far I can push them. The only appreciable change over "stock" either has (both 16" midlength carbines) is they both have full chrome BCGs. Experienced the same with my SCAR 16 using a Legacy Surefire FA556-212. After a few hundred rounds, the inside of my tan receiver would be solid black. |
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Two editions of their uppers.. run like trucks no problems and decently accurate..
Adjustable piston is nice with suppressor |
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I’m sure their products and quality are fine. Never owned any of their stuff.
One of the first brands I remember when I got into ARs around 2011. Honestly, kind of forgot about them. I don’t see their name pop up that much. |
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I want one of those UXRs big time.
I could swear the owner was a member here. |
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Made in Idaho.
From guns to ammo to knives to hops and potatoes....Everything from Idaho is great !! Seriously....PWS is good stuff. Up there with LaRue, Noveske. Etc. . |
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Quoted: I had the MK111 Pro upper and it was okay. It had more recoil impulse than my DI AR's on the setting it needed to function well suppressed. It was just as dirty shooting suppressed as my DI guns. The kicker for me was the gas block started rusting within 6 months of owning it. View Quote My experience is the opposite, my MK111 pro upper is noticeable smoother shooting than my DI upper whether suppressed or unsuppressed. YMMV |
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It’s probably my next purchase. I’ve been jonesing over a x39. I’ve got a PSA x39 upper that runs like top and everyone says it’s a unicorn because all the others they’ve seen don’t.
I’ve run it on my buddies RR a bunch and it never skips a beat with cheap ammo. Anyways, it’s 16” long and I’m wanting a shorter one and will go PWS. |
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The PWS TFL - Tactical Forearm Lengthener |
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I have a PWS Mk111 Mod2. It feels really light in the hand and is very pleasant to shoot suppressed.
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I have the 16" and 10.5" BRN 180 which run fine. I also had one the original PWS piston uppers that had a ton of problems. They replaced it twice and then started inferring that I was doing something wrong with it….nope, just shooting it.
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Quoted: I don't remember what year it was I got mine, but no adjustable gas block. Did I mention it's a quad rail :-) As mentioned above it gets extremely dirty, worse than DI with an adjustable gas block (IMHO) Between the epic "battlefield Las Vegas" thread and my own experience: No more pistons for me. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Interesting. This seems to contradict most of what I see about these guns elsewhere. The piston system is said to reduce ejection port noise, reduce gas to the shooter's face, and keep the gun cleaner, and a lot of guys say the adjustable gas system is good for a variety of conditions. I don't remember what year it was I got mine, but no adjustable gas block. Did I mention it's a quad rail :-) As mentioned above it gets extremely dirty, worse than DI with an adjustable gas block (IMHO) Between the epic "battlefield Las Vegas" thread and my own experience: No more pistons for me. The BLV threads are cool, but when he groups everything into 416 style guns and “everything else,” it’s hard to get any value from that if he’s not being specific. |
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I had one of their Modern Muskets and it was a great build from them. Sold it and should have kept her.
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Quoted: Love both of mine. They're basically identical. One in 300BO, the other 5.56. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/261993/20230308_095138-3208909.jpg Eta: forgot to point out I only bought the uppers as I prefer Radian lowers. But they’ve been flawless. Great combo. View Quote battery acog = winning |
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Quoted: My experience is the opposite, my MK111 pro upper is noticeable smoother shooting than my DI upper whether suppressed or unsuppressed. YMMV View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I had the MK111 Pro upper and it was okay. It had more recoil impulse than my DI AR's on the setting it needed to function well suppressed. It was just as dirty shooting suppressed as my DI guns. The kicker for me was the gas block started rusting within 6 months of owning it. My experience is the opposite, my MK111 pro upper is noticeable smoother shooting than my DI upper whether suppressed or unsuppressed. YMMV I'm trying to figure out how some of these comparisons work. PWSs have adjustable gas blocks, but are we comparing them to old school carbine length gas system 16" DI guns, mid length DI guns, SBRs, or DI guns that also have adjustable gas systems? Or, is the difference so close that we're the argument is over nothing? |
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Quoted: I'm trying to figure out how some of these comparisons work. PWSs have adjustable gas blocks, but are we comparing them to old school carbine length gas system 16" DI guns, mid length DI guns, SBRs, or DI guns that also have adjustable gas systems? Or, is the difference so close that we're the argument is over nothing? View Quote I want to say mine had a suppressed/unsuppressed switch…? It's been maybe 15 or 16 years ago or so and honestly I'm not sure. IIRC the gas block cracked twice and they replaced it without and questions. The 3rd time it cracked they did get a little shitty about it, inferring that I was doing something wrong. The only this I was doing was shooting it albeit I was running it fairly hard….maybe 4-500 rd sessions over 3 hours? It was the 10.5" and I most always ran it with a can. They ended up refunding me my money. In their defense they were easy to work with and the upper seemed to be high quality….if the gas bloack didn't keep cracking. lol. Again this was when they first put this out and my guess was R&D was still ongoing at the time. I will say that while I like the BRB180 shorty it's starting get a little wonky with some failures to extract and slow extraction….I havn't really looked at it hard to see hats up and I need to. |
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Quoted: I want to say mine had a suppressed/unsuppressed switch…? It's been maybe 15 or 16 years ago or so and honestly I'm not sure. IIRC the gas block cracked twice and they replaced it without and questions. The 3rd time it cracked they did get a little shitty about it, inferring that I was doing something wrong. The only this I was doing was shooting it albeit I was running it fairly hard….maybe 4-500 rd sessions over 3 hours? It was the 10.5" and I most always ran it with a can. They ended up refunding me my money. In their defense they were easy to work with and the upper seemed to be high quality….if the gas bloack didn't keep cracking. lol. Again this was when they first put this out and my guess was R&D was still ongoing at the time. I will say that while I like the BRB180 shorty it's starting get a little wonky with some failures to extract and slow extraction….I havn't really looked at it hard to see hats up and I need to. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I'm trying to figure out how some of these comparisons work. PWSs have adjustable gas blocks, but are we comparing them to old school carbine length gas system 16" DI guns, mid length DI guns, SBRs, or DI guns that also have adjustable gas systems? Or, is the difference so close that we're the argument is over nothing? I want to say mine had a suppressed/unsuppressed switch…? It's been maybe 15 or 16 years ago or so and honestly I'm not sure. IIRC the gas block cracked twice and they replaced it without and questions. The 3rd time it cracked they did get a little shitty about it, inferring that I was doing something wrong. The only this I was doing was shooting it albeit I was running it fairly hard….maybe 4-500 rd sessions over 3 hours? It was the 10.5" and I most always ran it with a can. They ended up refunding me my money. In their defense they were easy to work with and the upper seemed to be high quality….if the gas bloack didn't keep cracking. lol. Again this was when they first put this out and my guess was R&D was still ongoing at the time. I will say that while I like the BRB180 shorty it's starting get a little wonky with some failures to extract and slow extraction….I havn't really looked at it hard to see hats up and I need to. Man... 15 years ago feels like a weirdly long time in AR world. On one hand, we're shooting guns that were designed 65+ years ago, but there have been so many shifts and refinements in the industry in the last decade or so. |
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Quoted: I love my Mk116 5.56. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/129976/8CAEE83D-79B8-48C7-9851-B9DFD24EC702-808260.jpg It's soft shooting, extremely accurate, and digests steel case like a champ. It's the only AR I still own, I sold the others. View Quote Love mine too. Good soft shooting quality gun and plenty accurate. It's a keeper. |
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This isn't the thread to debate the merits of piston vs. di, but the highly regarded denizens of GD will do it anyway
I've had a couple PWS uppers and a few brn180's (made by pws) as well, all have been quality with no major issues Their customer support has always been good about answering questions or getting replacement parts out if something broke or even proactively offering replacements for upgrades That said, PWS was acquired last year which always makes me leery of changes for the worse ... https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/PWS-company-sold-/126-780417/ They just announced a new rifle platform at SHOT show 2024 called the UXR that I'm going to give a try this year https://www.primaryweapons.com/firearms/uxr/ |
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Quoted: This isn't the thread to debate the merits of piston vs. di, but the highly regarded denizens of GD will do it anyway I've had a couple PWS uppers and a few brn180's (made by pws) as well, all have been quality with no major issues Their customer support has always been good about answering questions or getting replacement parts out if something broke or even proactively offering replacements for upgrades That said, PWS was acquired last year which always makes me leery of changes for the worse ... https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/PWS-company-sold-/126-780417/ They just announced a new rifle platform at SHOT show 2024 called the UXR that I'm going to give a try this year https://www.primaryweapons.com/firearms/uxr/ https://www.primaryweapons.com/media/wysiwyg/UXR-xchange-diagram_1.jpg View Quote It’s kind of weird when you think about it, but a good portion of the gun industry has changed hands in the last few years. I think most of those companies have fared alright, but it’s maybe more concerning when it’s a smaller, independent company that had a particular focus. |
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Quoted: I bought an PWS upper many years ago (It's a quad rail) to run with a suppressor because convinced my how wonderful piston guns were. Unfortunately at that time, I did not know anyone with a suppressor or a piston gun to stop me. I learned my lesson. Avoid pistons, stick with uppers that use standard BCG's, barrels, and gas blocks. At least with my other bad gun purchases, I could get most of my money out of it. Between heavy buffers and modifying their system to bleed off the excessive gas I did eventually get it where it was bearable to shoot. Then it was only heavy and inaccurate! YMMV, Maybe they are better now. View Quote Back in my contracting days we had PWS Mk1xx Mod0’s. They ran very well but didn’t suppress for shit and the stainless barrels were smoked FAST. Also, the quad rail turned into a heat sink. The Mod1/Mod2 is significantly improved and suppress very well. |
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Quoted: I want to say mine had a suppressed/unsuppressed switch…? It's been maybe 15 or 16 years ago or so and honestly I'm not sure. IIRC the gas block cracked twice and they replaced it without and questions. The 3rd time it cracked they did get a little shitty about it, inferring that I was doing something wrong. The only this I was doing was shooting it albeit I was running it fairly hard….maybe 4-500 rd sessions over 3 hours? It was the 10.5" and I most always ran it with a can. They ended up refunding me my money. In their defense they were easy to work with and the upper seemed to be high quality….if the gas bloack didn't keep cracking. lol. Again this was when they first put this out and my guess was R&D was still ongoing at the time. I will say that while I like the BRB180 shorty it's starting get a little wonky with some failures to extract and slow extraction….I havn't really looked at it hard to see hats up and I need to. View Quote If it had keymod it had an adjustable gas block. Quad rail was the Mod0 without any adjustments. |
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View Quote Is this made by PWS? eta: consensus is yes. Interdasting. |
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View Quote Mine had some failures to go into battery, finally kaboomed. That was the bad part. PWS immediately sent me a return label, sorted it out, rebuilt the upper, no charge. That was the good part. Stellar customer service, no complaints. |
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My only other experience: years ago at NW multigun, PWS supplied a full auto SBR stage gun. Every shooter was given 60 rounds for the stage. 10-12 shooters per squad, 10 squads. That gun ran hard full auto continuously, ran like a raped ape. Very impressive.
Meanwhile on stage 1, the SCAR broke and they closed the stage after the first day. The FN guy couldn't get it running again. Nothing to do with PWS, but the contrast in reliability cured my SCAR fever. |
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