Gas piston vs direct impingement: which way to go?

[Caster]

Now that I have my new S&W AR, I have a couple of questions: 1.) on what occasion would I need to use the forward assist?, 2.) should I keep the action "wet" with lube? and 3.) are there PMAGs available in 5 round capacity for hunting?

Thanks, Steve

They're right it doesn't matter in TN, BUT Magpul does make a 20 round magazine that might make the rifle lighter and handier for long hikes.

[Dolomite_supafly]

There are a few other reasons for a forward assist.

One is if you are doing a check to see if a round is chambered. If you let the bolt go from a partial opening it may not go into battery. Or if you ride it forward after checking to see if it is loaded most guns, unless they are broke in, will hang right at the last moment.

It isn't always for a dirty chamber. We had issues with some slightly out of spec ammo while overseas. It helped lock the bolts up so we could shoot. They would stop just shy of going all the way into battery. It would take a couple of smart raps on the forward assist to get the bolt closed. For whatever reason it was Serbian ammo that ended up in our supply chain. It caused so many malfunctions that we decided to use it for training then after trying to deal with that we finally sent it with EOD to blow up with their next shot.

But for the majority if users it is something not needed. And honestly if you are just doing a check you can use your thumb and press the bolt forward in the cutout.

Dolomite

[eapking]

AK?

[Dolomite_supafly]

What people need to realize is that when the AR was being developed weight was a major issue. And at the same time uses for all kinds of new polymers were being realized. Gene Stoner realized this and used one to eliminate the other with great success.

50 years ago, yes 50, when the AR was being designed the current US battle rifle, the M14, weighed close to 12 pounds when loaded. And along with the rifles weight the weight of a basic load of 308 was extremely heavy. And all this extra weight was a burden so weight was a concern during the development of the AR. And this weight concern is why lightweight, yet strong, plastics were used along with aluminum during its development. And along with the plastics and aluminum used to reduce weight Gene Stoner also realized there were other ways to reduce weight as well. One of them was to us the DI system rather than a piston system of the AK.

The M16, in its original configuration, was extremely lightweight then and even by today's standards it is still lightweight. The original weight was 7 pounds but through the course of "improvements" they have added several pounds of weight as well as reducing its effectiveness in other ways I will not go into here.

Compared to every other main battle rifle the AR was the lightest rifle in service in the 60's. It was only after the AR's adoption that other countries began looking at using plastics and lightweight materials in their designs.

Dolomite

[Guest Victor9er]

Congrats! Would love to see some pictures of it if you snap a few.

I was looking in to the S&W M&P 15T Tactical, but Outpost Armory didn't have any in stock, so I settled for the Colt AR15 6920 LE.

Nice... I've been looking HARD at the M&P 15T myself... but it seems everyone is out of stock on the S&W AR's... and no word on how long it might be, are they backed up on orders that badly? Does anyone know what's up with S&W as of late?

[Guest profgunner]

Nice... I've been looking HARD at the M&P 15T myself... but it seems everyone is out of stock on the S&W AR's... and no word on how long it might be, are they backed up on orders that badly? Does anyone know what's up with S&W as of late?

I shopped around for a used one but had no luck. So I broke down and ordered one from Budsgunshop. So far I'm really happy with the weapon.

[JohnC]

Nice... I've been looking HARD at the M&P 15T myself... but it seems everyone is out of stock on the S&W AR's... and no word on how long it might be, are they backed up on orders that badly? Does anyone know what's up with S&W as of late?

Not sure on when they'll be caught up. I think demand right now is really high for AR's though.

Outpost had other models of the S&W AR15 when I went up there, but nothing I was interested in. Walmart had the Colt 6920 LE for $1097.00 so I went for that.

[Guest profgunner]

Have any of you had experience with Trijicon sights? Do they stack up well against AimPoint products?

[gjohnsoniv]

Have any of you had experience with Trijicon sights? Do they stack up well against AimPoint products?

Which specific Trijicon product?