Please 'Splain" about Gas Piston AR's please

[leroy]

Dear fellow gun affectiontos:____________

As the great Ricky Ricardo would say: "Somebody please 'splain to me what the benefits of a piston type AR upper are". Why should we be interested in buying one, etc. I understand how the work; i just don't understand what they bring to the party.

Thanks in advance,

Kind regards,

LEROY

[Guest HexHead]

Dear fellow gun affectiontos:____________

As the great Ricky Ricardo would say: "Somebody please 'splain to me what the benefits of a piston type AR upper are". Why should we be interested in buying one, etc. I understand how the work; i just don't understand what they bring to the party.

Thanks in advance,

Kind regards,

LEROY

They run cleaner and cooler than DI versions. Hot gases don't come anywhere near the chamber. You can also run dirty ammo like the cheap Russian stuff reliably without fouling your chamber. Little added weight at muzzle helps keep it down for faster target reacquisition.

[molonlabetn]

Benefits:

1. They are a great marketing tool for firearms companies.

2. They create alot of discussion on internet forums

3. They keep you from getting a nose full of blowback if you use a suppressor

Basically, the gas piston AR (spearheaded by the HK416 upper), was intended to improve reliability in dirty conditions, and when the weapon was suppressed. According to other links/reviews posted in similar threads on this forum (search for "HK416" or "Gas Piston"), reliability was not really improved, and the increased maintenance requirements on having more small-moving parts negates any increase in reliability or ease of cleaning and increases the potential failure modes. The main advantage is when used with a suppressor, gas pressure is more easily controlled... that's about it though.

[Guest tarheel78]

I own and shoot both DI and AR piston rifles, the piston being the Bushmaster factory-built piston version, not an add-on unit. It sells now online for about $1,550 or so, down from the 1,800 original sticker. Too much IMO, looking back on it.

As a whole, the DIs are very reliable, proven and always get the job done if you take care of them as you should (they are reliable even if abused, too).

I researched a lot about the pistons on the owner forums before buying one to see if its worth the extra $$. There are tons of forum posts elsewhere re all the reasons that piston rifles suck, are gimmicks, too costly, are an answer to a non-existent problem, etc. Lots of negativity on the subject and lots of detractors. You gotta decide for yourself since its your money.

The piston version is heavier, costs more and is much easier to clean up. No BCG crud buildup due to no powder blowback etc. However you still need to lube the key, firing pin and other surfaces periodically. A piston is no excuse for neglecting the innards at all, IMO. This piston rifle might be more reliable than a DI only if I was wading through swamps, dropping it from heights, etc, but that is not the case.

You have an added cleanup step of occasionally removing the stainless steel piston and cleaning powder residue off. Also, I noted how finicky this Bushmaster is about what it will shoot without burping. It does NOT like weak loads, period. It likes LC, AE, Privi Partisan and M855 brass all day. Have had periodic short-stroking using weaker Remington UMC (green box from WalMart when they had it in stock) and Wolf is out of the question. The hot brass rounds work real well, all day.

Bottom line, I still prefer the DI rifles over my piston one. However, wanted to try it out for myself and form my own opinion. The piston is a great rifle, just not my first choice. Hope this responds to your question.

[Guest HexHead]

It does NOT like weak loads, period. It likes LC, AE, Privi Partisan and M855 brass all day. Have had periodic short-stroking using weaker Remington UMC (green box from WalMart when they had it in stock) and Wolf is out of the question. The hot brass rounds work real well, all day.

Interesting as my SIG 556 would eat anything. Never a hiccup with Remington-UMC and instead of Wolf, I used the even cheaper Barnaul ammo in it. It ate that cheap Russian crap like candy and asked for more. It never not worked.

[Guest dont_tread_on_me]

Interesting as my SIG 556 would eat anything. Never a hiccup with Remington-UMC and instead of Wolf, I used the even cheaper Barnaul ammo in it. It ate that cheap Russian crap like candy and asked for more. It never not worked.

Past tense?

[Smith]

They are trying to be as good as an AK's!