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Posted: 5/26/2016 10:05:28 PM EDT
Just curious on what you think the future holds for piston rifles ? Doesn't seem like there is much talk about them anymore. And companies like Daniel and Bcm have not jumped on the piston design. We have seen Colt drop the piston rifle. Do you think it was a short fad or not ?
I have a Pws in 5.56 & .308. Love what they have done. Lwrc seems nice but crazy expensive. What's in store for years ahead ? |
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Pistons were primarily a fad. But they are necessary in really short (<11 inch barrel length) SBRs. Also like 308 ARs there is no one uniform standard. So the market will correct itself to 2 or 3 designs. I think Ruger, LMT, and possibly LWRC will be the players in the long term. If the .mil adopts a piston design though, all bets will be off
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Piston if you SBR or suppress.
Piston is more weight and less accurate. I also don't want to mess with adjusting the gas. LMT, PWS, SIG MCX would be what I'd look at. Pay careful attention to how they are assembled, and the additional complexity. My guess...Probably the biggest reason is because the US military isn't contacting for piston rifles. Everyone else is small batch niche piston rifles. |
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Pistons were primarily a fad. But they are necessary in really short (<11 inch barrel length) SBRs. Also like 308 ARs there is no one uniform standard. So the market will correct itself to 2 or 3 designs. I think Ruger, LMT, and possibly LWRC will be the players in the long term. If the .mil adopts a piston design though, all bets will be off View Quote Looks like the .mil officially adopted a 7.62 pattern HK gas piston rifle. I don't think it will create the new standard though, too expensive of a rifle on civilian market. |
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Piston if you SBR or suppress. Piston is more weight and less accurate. I also don't want to mess with adjusting the gas. LMT, PWS, SIG MCX would be what I'd look at. Pay careful attention to how they are assembled, and the additional complexity. My guess...Probably the biggest reason is because the US military isn't contacting for piston rifles. Everyone else is small batch niche piston rifles. View Quote less accurate? boy are you green. i've an seen an older LWRC 18" DMR upper print sub MOA with SMK 77gr at 100yds and thats a nothing special barrel. adjusting gas? wtf are you talking about? |
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M27 IAR s a piston rifle, not sure how widespread it is in service.
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While I love my PSD (8.5in) I see no reason to get another piston rifle. I see them useful for short barrels otherwise bla.. People talk about cleaning all the time but I rarely clean any of my rifles so no biggie either way. Little dirt shouldn't hamper a quality setup.
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Looks like the .mil officially adopted a 7.62 pattern HK gas piston rifle. I don't think it will create the new standard though, too expensive of a rifle on civilian market. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Pistons were primarily a fad. But they are necessary in really short (<11 inch barrel length) SBRs. Also like 308 ARs there is no one uniform standard. So the market will correct itself to 2 or 3 designs. I think Ruger, LMT, and possibly LWRC will be the players in the long term. If the .mil adopts a piston design though, all bets will be off Looks like the .mil officially adopted a 7.62 pattern HK gas piston rifle. I don't think it will create the new standard though, too expensive of a rifle on civilian market. I`m talking about a standard issue weapon. The M110 CSASS and the Marines IAR aren`t a standard issue weapon to each individual servicemen. |
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Pistons have their place as does direct gas.
Buy what you want or need or both....... |
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Piston ARs will have their niche but they'll never replace DI ARs if that is what you're asking. The DI AR won't be replaced until the military adopts a new battle rifle, which will most likely be a piston gun that was designed to be one from the get go.
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Pistons were primarily a fad. But they are necessary in really short (<11 inch barrel length) SBRs. Also like 308 ARs there is no one uniform standard. So the market will correct itself to 2 or 3 designs. I think Ruger, LMT, and possibly LWRC will be the players in the long term. If the .mil adopts a piston design though, all bets will be off View Quote The FAL has always just been a fad, same with AKs and SCARs. ........all just fad guns. |
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Piston if you SBR or suppress. Piston is more weight and less accurate. I also don't want to mess with adjusting the gas. View Quote The weight of a piston system is negligible. < 3 oz.s often - or about the weight of an H2 buffer. Less accurate? Accuracy has nothing to do with the operation type of the rifle - accuracy is the shooter's responsibly. Precision on the other hand is inherit to the rifle; and the precision of a GP rifle is no more or less precise than a similarly built DI rifle. |
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The wave of the future. Until full military adoption, most will still go DI, Newbs don't care and DI has a great price for vitually the same thing--after all the true selling point is it's clean, and that's not enough to tip the money part. For Mil I think the added parts of the piston would blow the average recruits mind. There were very few who knew what any of the parts in the rifle did and didn't care. Most of us were pretty sure if we could have "lost" our M16 somehow, we would have. Loose springs and parts with soldiers don't mix. Not sure on the HK 556 system, but the G36 and SCAR address this well as those small parts just don't come apart. I'm never looking back.
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Piston rifles are here to stay. So are DI guns. That is just the way it is
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Piston rifles are here to stay. So are DI guns. That is just the way it is View Quote I agree and yet also disagree if that makes any sense. DI rifles aren't going anywhere soon. They will be around as long as 1911s and 6-shooters. Just part of the American fabric of gun ownership. However, future designs will be near exclusively GP. The number of new AR based / AR'ish designs the last 2-3 years lean my opinion in that direction. |
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Although we've seen no widespread US military use there are some piston AR's in foreign service.
SiG, LWRC and HK have a pretty good following in the LE community. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Do you guys think the rise of Nickel Boron bolt carriers and ease of cleaning has put a damper on the piston direction of companies ?
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Do you guys think the rise of Nickel Boron bolt carriers and ease of cleaning has put a damper on the piston direction of companies ? View Quote not IMO. i own both for the benefits of what each offer. i run NiB and nitrided stuff in my DI rifles but they are still a messy rilfe. the slick coatings just extend the run time between cleanings. seems like youre either a piston guy or your not but most piston owners have DI but not every DI guy is going to want a piston. for me the downside to piston AR's is that hey are snappy with a different muzzle rise than DI but all i've ever had is LWCR pistons. edit: i take that back. i had a POF SBR upper and it had a similar recoil feel as the LW. |
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The FAL has always just been a fad, same with AKs and SCARs. ........all just fad guns. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Pistons were primarily a fad. But they are necessary in really short (<11 inch barrel length) SBRs. Also like 308 ARs there is no one uniform standard. So the market will correct itself to 2 or 3 designs. I think Ruger, LMT, and possibly LWRC will be the players in the long term. If the .mil adopts a piston design though, all bets will be off The FAL has always just been a fad, same with AKs and SCARs. ........all just fad guns. Hahaha The Glock 17 was just a fad too. Still is. "Plastic pistol? No hammer? Or safety? Yeah right. I'll keep my sweet new 5906." -Some guy, 1989 |
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Do you guys think the rise of Nickel Boron bolt carriers and ease of cleaning has put a damper on the piston direction of companies ? View Quote The added benefits of NiBoron and TiN do not eliminate the inherit disadvantages of DI rifles. One can chemically bond their bolt carrier in all the slickest nano-polymer NASA whizz bang unobatinium alloy currently TS/SCI classified, and it still doesn't do anything to keep the gasses and junk from being blown back into the carrier and out the gas holes. It still doesn't keep the heat from the spent gases from moving backwards instead of sending it out of the gas block 12-16" away from your face, and in general, without added accessory it still doesn't allow you to fine tune the amount of returning gas. |
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I agree, love my Pws and mainly got it because I bought a Saker and I love how easy it is to switch gas settings on piston guns. Yeah DI has adjustable gas blocks that you have to buy and put on, but you can't switch them very easy. They all have like 20 clicks.
My point of the thread was, just seems like DD and Smith and Colt would make a nice piston gun for suppressors and reliability. Maybe only 10% use a suppressor and they don't think it's worth it. |
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having both, having manufactured and sold both for years, neither is going anywhere. DI will still be produced in larger quantities then piston.
Piston does run cleaner when using a suppressor, that is the big advantage. I do prefer a rifle that is designed to be a piston rifle from the get go....that being said, I'll still have a couple piston rifles in 223 and 7.62x25....I am going to convert my 308 into a DI system though. |
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In the AR pattern I think pistons will stick around on a relatively minor scale. New rifle designs will continue to primarily use piston based operating systems. Piston operating systems work better with some type of bolt guide rails as opposed to the bolt/receiver setup of the AR-15. It can be shoehorned into an AR-15 reasonably well but a design made for the piston is preferable.
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I run an Adams Arms carbine. I like getting a lot less gas in the face than I did with previous ARs. I also like that the innards stay a fair amount cleaner.
The weight difference is somewhere between nominal and nonexistent. Once you accessorize a rifle, that 2-3 ounces doesn't matter. -shooter |
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I like both DI and piston. They both have their pros and cons. I don't think piston guns are going anywhere but they will never be as popular as DI guns. I think the primary reason being cost.
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I dont have a SIG, but their design allowing a folding stock is moving things ahead. I think the AR platform could be near perfect with just a few tweaks. The clean piston followed by a better BCG that allows some sand in the chamber and still function would just about do it. The SCAR inards and the ergonomics of the AR. My Army days M16 just sucked in South Carolina sand.
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Im not a fan of piston uppers that still need to use the buffer and buffer spring. They are better for lefties on right hand rifles (less gas to the face) and are a bit better to clean. I use folding stock (and\or brace on pistol), so I like the Rock River or ARAK pistons. I use to run a Colt (nice name on a soso rifle) with an Adams piston. It was "ok", but not as solid of a system as my ARAK is.
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A few companies will persist, but DI has soundly defeated the piston..... and IMHO its primarily due to logistics/ price/ commonality. The main reason why I moved away from Pistons after Sandy Hook was parts availability. I sold my 516 and two AA uppers. I only have an OPs 416 (my fav piston by far btw). For the record, pistons work and work well. As I far as I can tell, accuracy is not affected. Going forward, I will stick with BCGs and gas tubes.
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A few companies will persist, but DI has soundly defeated the piston..... and IMHO its primarily due to logistics/ price/ commonality. The main reason why I moved away from Pistons after Sandy Hook was parts availability. I sold my 516 and two AA uppers. I only have an OPs 416 (my fav piston by far btw). For the record, pistons work and work well. As I far as I can tell, accuracy is not affected. Going forward, I will stick with BCGs and gas tubes. View Quote I suspect there is a lot of truth in this. The piston systems and the AR seem to be diverging - as in the alternatives to the AR (Sig, etc) may leverage the piston system differently. -shooter |
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I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. i love my LW uppers but i have had issues with the M6 series and springs that go to shit...basically over compressed or weak metal that doesnt rebound or breaks. i have resorted to carrying 2 extra springs in the PG. funny thing is, they still ran with the shortened springs but you could hear it. supposedly the new IC series uses a different spring. i need to pull that one arpat and check it out...off to the safe.. |
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I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. Agreed. POF has it pretty well figured out. I prefer my PWS rifles to my POF only because of the longer handguards and standard rail height of the PWS rifles. Picked up an AA Evo Ultralight this week, going to see how it runs. The pencil barrel and cheap little springs on the op rod and bolt are what bother me about the design. With that said, not my first AA, nice guns for the price. Question on the AA uppers: do they run ok without the op rod spring and bolt spring? Not sure why the springs are really necessary. |
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Agreed. POF has it pretty well figured out. I prefer my PWS rifles to my POF only because of the longer handguards and standard rail height of the PWS rifles. Picked up an AA Evo Ultralight this week, going to see how it runs. The pencil barrel and cheap little springs on the op rod and bolt are what bother me about the design. With that said, not my first AA, nice guns for the price. Question on the AA uppers: do they run ok without the op rod spring and bolt spring? Not sure why the springs are really necessary. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. Agreed. POF has it pretty well figured out. I prefer my PWS rifles to my POF only because of the longer handguards and standard rail height of the PWS rifles. Picked up an AA Evo Ultralight this week, going to see how it runs. The pencil barrel and cheap little springs on the op rod and bolt are what bother me about the design. With that said, not my first AA, nice guns for the price. Question on the AA uppers: do they run ok without the op rod spring and bolt spring? Not sure why the springs are really necessary. Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. |
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Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. Agreed. POF has it pretty well figured out. I prefer my PWS rifles to my POF only because of the longer handguards and standard rail height of the PWS rifles. Picked up an AA Evo Ultralight this week, going to see how it runs. The pencil barrel and cheap little springs on the op rod and bolt are what bother me about the design. With that said, not my first AA, nice guns for the price. Question on the AA uppers: do they run ok without the op rod spring and bolt spring? Not sure why the springs are really necessary. Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. I just checked out PWS website and their newest iteration of the MK1 Mod1 now had a spring on the bolt just like the AA bolt. |
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Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. View Quote The spring is there to prevent damage to the barrel nut. The piston rod has a stop / step machined into it and the spring slows it down or keeps it from hitting the barrel nut. They put the spring right over the hottest part of the rifle. Heat & springs is a bad mix. |
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I have both DI and piston rifles.
The differences seem negligible. People who say DI doesn't work for SBR. People who say you need prison for suppressed. If you set up your rifle appropriately, it will work. One of the things that has prevented piston from taking over is the fact that there are different port sizes, and adjustable gas blocks available for DI rifles that allows you to customize your setup anyway you want. |
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I have both DI and piston rifles. The differences seem negligible. People who say DI doesn't work for SBR. People who say you need prison for suppressed. If you set up your rifle appropriately, it will work. One of the things that has prevented piston from taking over is the fact that there are different port sizes, and adjustable gas blocks available for DI rifles that allows you to customize your setup anyway you want. View Quote The new Superlative Arms "bleed-off" adjustable piston kit seems to bring an advantage to the table if running suppressed. I did not expect this result but it makes the system quieter when running suppressed. Here is my field test video if you want to see my experience with this system https://youtu.be/Cy5XLr3igaU |
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"Bleed off" has less muzzle flash.
Restricted has visible muzzle flash. Not sure if there was a long delay in firing and its oxygen in the tube being consumed on firing but the flash is noticeable. I have run suppressors on direct gas , piston and bolt rifles and the quietest is the bolt action. No action noise. The difference in suppression on piston guns is more noise / gas directed at the exit port vs direct gas that has less noise at the shooters ear IMHO. Do the same test at night and watch the flash around the port exit area. That gas system reminded me of the old "Rhino gas system". It was an add on conversion for standard AR rifles to convert to piston operation. It was a good idea on a SBR or carbine but on a rifle length barrel the "op rod" was a long small diameter and would flex and bend while the short rod was more rigid. |
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"Bleed off" has WAY more muzzle flash. Restricted has minimal or no visible muzzle flash. Not sure if there was a long delay in firing and its oxygen in the tube being consumed on firing but the flash is noticeable. I have run suppressors on direct gas , piston and bolt rifles and the quietest is the bolt action. No action noise. The difference in suppression on piston guns is more noise / gas directed at the exit port vs direct gas that has less noise at the shooters ear IMHO. Do the same test at night and watch the flash around the port exit area. That gas system reminded me of the old "Rhino gas system". It was an add on conversion for standard AR rifles to convert to piston operation. It was a good idea on a SBR or carbine but on a rifle length barrel the "op rod" was a long small diameter and would flex and bend while the short rod was more rigid. View Quote I think you got the "bleed-off" vs restriction muzzle flash mixed up. The muzzle flash was much more prominent with restriction and much less prominent with the "bleed-off" settings. The freeze frame on the opening of the video is restriction setting with significant muzzle flash. https://youtu.be/Cy5XLr3igaU |
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The spring is there to prevent damage to the barrel nut. The piston rod has a stop / step machined into it and the spring slows it down or keeps it from hitting the barrel nut. They put the spring right over the hottest part of the rifle. Heat & springs is a bad mix. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. The spring is there to prevent damage to the barrel nut. The piston rod has a stop / step machined into it and the spring slows it down or keeps it from hitting the barrel nut. They put the spring right over the hottest part of the rifle. Heat & springs is a bad mix. Actually, a temperature map of an AR barrel shows that the chamber swell at the barrel nut is generally the coldest part of the barrel under the hand guard. The hottest part of the barrel is the narrow bit just before the gas block, or the gas block itself if a bull barrel. The extra mass of the chamber swell goes a long way to absorb the heat. |
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Actually, a temperature map of an AR barrel shows that the chamber swell at the barrel nut is generally the coldest part of the barrel under the hand guard. The hottest part of the barrel is the narrow bit just before the gas block, or the gas block itself if a bull barrel. The extra mass of the chamber swell goes a long way to absorb the heat. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. The spring is there to prevent damage to the barrel nut. The piston rod has a stop / step machined into it and the spring slows it down or keeps it from hitting the barrel nut. They put the spring right over the hottest part of the rifle. Heat & springs is a bad mix. Actually, a temperature map of an AR barrel shows that the chamber swell at the barrel nut is generally the coldest part of the barrel under the hand guard. The hottest part of the barrel is the narrow bit just before the gas block, or the gas block itself if a bull barrel. The extra mass of the chamber swell goes a long way to absorb the heat. Yep and the heat still transfers pretty rapidly , if not there would be no cook offs........ (Still a bad place and close proximity to put a spring IMHO) http://tinyurl.com/hg92okb |
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If the military ever went to piston AR15's this would be a whole other discussion. They could easily be the future
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Quoted: I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. And strangely I prefer LMT piston guns over all of those ^^^. |
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And strangely I prefer LMT piston guns over all of those ^^^. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. And strangely I prefer LMT piston guns over all of those ^^^. Pretty tough and made it a tad over 800 rounds sustained fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfZcEjdvx8c |
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I have a couple of DI AR's and an Adams piston carbine. Like them all, cleaning is easier with the piston, but when I use an improved BCG with the new coatings on a DI cleaning is easier. And, now makers are claiming they can run dry, for many rounds. So, the reasons for trying a piston gun seems to be lessened in my mind, though running any gun dry seems just trying to locate failure, it is better than the POS they gave us in the early years in Nam. These new guns can not be compared to the old M16's. And, when I shoot, am in the shade, sitting, no rain, no dust, mud, clean ammo, clean mags, well why in hell would they not shoot better. And, those paper targets don't run very fast either.
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And strangely I prefer LMT piston guns over all of those ^^^. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I like the LWRC system far better than the PWS/POF design. I am exactly opposite. I prefer the POF design over the LWRC. Simplicity, three parts and no spring. And strangely I prefer LMT piston guns over all of those ^^^. Take a look at the Barrett. They're nice guns. |
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Actually, a temperature map of an AR barrel shows that the chamber swell at the barrel nut is generally the coldest part of the barrel under the hand guard. The hottest part of the barrel is the narrow bit just before the gas block, or the gas block itself if a bull barrel. The extra mass of the chamber swell goes a long way to absorb the heat. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Those springs on the AA rifles will last the life of the piston, they are there to help with the felt recoil, that is all. The rifle will run without them. The spring is there to prevent damage to the barrel nut. The piston rod has a stop / step machined into it and the spring slows it down or keeps it from hitting the barrel nut. They put the spring right over the hottest part of the rifle. Heat & springs is a bad mix. Actually, a temperature map of an AR barrel shows that the chamber swell at the barrel nut is generally the coldest part of the barrel under the hand guard. The hottest part of the barrel is the narrow bit just before the gas block, or the gas block itself if a bull barrel. The extra mass of the chamber swell goes a long way to absorb the heat. Yes hottest part of barrel up by the piston block that is where the hot gas stops. That is why you can pull a bolt carrier out of a just fired piston AR and it is no way near as hot as a DI gun. I have yet to replace a spring, you will shoot the barrel out thru bore erosion before you need a new spring. |
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