AR suggestions

never had any reliability problems?
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Not with a M16/ARa but I don't have much experience with the piston ARs. I have shot piston guns quite a bit, M14/M1As, M-60s, M1s etc. The gas system on the ones I've fired do need cleaned more then the DI AR/M16s especially if accuracy is your goal.

The only problems I've seen, were mag related. Mainly people trying to stick 20 rounds in a 20 round mag. Stick with 18 rounds and you'll not have problems, even after market mags. Its the banana clip style after market 30 round mags that give fits.

Also lots of new guys "John Wayne'ing" by taping to magazines together so they can just turn them around. In a jungle environment that bottom mag gets full of crap. Anyway its quicker to just change mags normally.
 
Just throwing it out there. Just throoooowing it out there...

Why not get yourself a DI Smith and Wesson M&P 15 Sporter for $600, buy yourself some quad-rail handguards and a good optic that you can co-witness. Who needs a forward assist anyway?

gz5qrouc


You can buy yourself 1000 rounds of ammunition and still be at home for under what you would spend for an entry level piston AR15. Want to argue about piston AR's being more reliable? Let's start by not throwing our rifles into crude oil. Problem solved.

Piston AR15's are the result of gun-shop conjecture meets insecure gun enthusiast's strong desire to be accepted and admired by his peers. It's like the guy who bought the Barrett M82 5 years ago and has fired three rounds through it ever. What's the point?

~LT
 
EVeryone NEEDS a foward assist that's why the US military trashed millions of M-16's and bought M-16A1's!
This OP makes me think that what the Poster really needs is a quality AK system with a railed forend I recomend the 762 cal but 545 aint bad either
 
Volucris,
You are talking out of your ass.
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I'm assuming you meant me, but please do correct me if I'm wrong.

You know KraigWY has more experience with AR's than I do, after all I only signed my enlistment papers in '97. Been in the Army every year since. So I've used over that last couple of years FN and Colt M16A2, M4 with and without rail upgrades, and an AMU tuned M16A4. Along the way I may have shot a few sniper rifles too... Milspec means absolutely nothing. Milspec triggers suck, big time.

Every brand has a failure rate. Heck, even the differences among the cheapest to the most expensive in terms of reliability have more to do with properly staked gas blocks and aligned sights, not receivers.

Lower receivers don't matter, heck, even the brand of upper receiver doesn't matter as long as the gas system is set up properly. And it is stupid easy to put the gas system together correctly.

Jimro
 
I want an AR because I can get an ambidextrous safety and last shot bolt hold open out of an AR. I would get an Arsenal SGL21 in a heart beat if I didn't have to guess when I was out of ammo and I could get a safety on both sides that only requires your thumb to use.

Those are my personal preferences because I'm a southpaw and it seems like it would be easier to run a weapon with those features.

I want a piston AR because the Army trials in 2007 CLEARLY showed that the piston design GREATLY increases the reliability of the AR platform.

I understand that if I am a bench shooter and I clean my rifle after every shot there is no reason to have a piston AR. But, in my opinion, there is no reason NOT to spend a little more on the more reliable design. Just in case I don't have the luxury of cleaning my rifle after every shot (I'm exaggerating for effect... hopefully you understand what I'm saying).

I have done a little more research and I'm really liking the Ruger SR-556. It comes with troy sights, 3 pmags, its piston, has a free floating quad rail, adjustable stock, and a heavy barrel. The only things I would add to it are the Norgon ambi mag release, the Battlearms BAD ASS ST ambi safety, the BCM gunfighter charging handle, and MAYBE the Smith Enterprises Vortex flash suppressor. I wish the piston wasn't located so far down the barrel and I wish there wasn't so much extra rail (7" is what I prefer). It would definitely help the handling characteristics in my opinion.

Thoughts everyone?
 
My 'cheap' DPMS has not ever had any failure of any kind... ever. Its got about 1,200 round through it now. 5 or 6 different kinds of mags used, and several different brands of ammo, including some steel case.

1,200 rounds and no failures, no parts breakage, not even any premature ware. (the bolt parkerizing is just STARTING to ware off in a few spots).

I have used this gun predator hunting in heavy snow. I have used this gun varminting in fine sand. I lube it with bearing grease, and it doesn't even have a dust cover. No problems.

But I guess I'm just another idiot who got "duped" into buying an inferior product. I should have known better - good thing someone was here to tell me my gun sucked, or I never would have known.
 
Good for you Mr. Trooper. I feel the same way about my M&P 15 Sport. It shoots just as well as the military M16 or M4 I was issued. No it does not have a dust cover (not going to use this in a desert) or a forward assist (never needed it) and the barrel is different. Oh and the trigger guard is enlarged and the handguard has no heat shield. All the shortcomings of not being Milspec. But man, I love to shoot it. I keep it clean and it does what it's suppose to, shoot a 55 gr fmj to various distance targets accurately using the provided iron sights. I don't know how sweet a DD or LMT or any of the other higher price AR15 shoot and maybe they do shoot better but for the price I paid for my Sport, I can get tons of ammo and enjoy my AR even more.:cool:
 
Every once in a while someone starts a thread about a certain style of sales clerk behind a guncounter.The kind that causes folks to find a different gun store.I'm noticing that style displayed by a "contributor" here.

On the allegation that DI systems run dirty.Can we agree that the FN FAL has a very robust,reliable gas system?I loaded a batch of ammo for mine with a powder described as "the Camp Perry" powder,and my STG58 ground to a stop after less than 60 rounds,due to a gritty,nasty filth left by the powder.
I have found that same gritty type fouling when I have tried some "bargain" foreign ammo.One was Olympic Greek 5.56 and some other was Chinese 9x18 Mak.DI systems do require the use of an appropriate powder.That lesson was learned 40 years ago.
Are you buying this rifle with a long heavy barrel to make noise,dust,and brass piles,or are you going to aim and squeeze?
If you want accuracy,out to approaching 800 yds,the 168 gr match bullets work real good with Varget or RE15.You will find those powders,particularly Varget,burn clean and give excellent accuracy.(175's for longer range)
Part of the inherent accuracy of the AR platform is the light DI gas tube having less influence on barrel harmonics .My suspicion is a pistonAR will have less accuracy potential than a DI.
You build yours any way you want,but I consider the DI system an advantage providing you feed it appropriate ammo.
Myself,with the exception of Armalite,I would go with a rifle you can use the SR-25 pattern mags.In my experience,an Armalite AR-10T or NM is also an excellent choice.
 
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HiBC, when you say "Camp Perry Powder" you mean AA2520? Considering that a high power match is 80 rounds (not counting any sighters) that level of fouling seems a bit extreme.

But what you say about gas guns being finicky about powders has the ring of truth to it. Bolt guns are much easier to feed.

Jimro
 
It was 2520.The fouling reminded me of the dust from grinding graphite edm electrodes.I was disappointed.Maybe a magnum primer would help.Anyway,Varget and RE 15 work great.
To the OP,an excellent reason to look at Stag is they offer a true left handed AR. Ejection on the left.If I was a lefty,they would get my buck because they were paying attention.
 
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So armalite makes a good product? Im looking at putting a bull barrel upper on my stag lower but don't know what brand to go with.
 
I would not count on an Armalite upper to be compatible with any other .308 lower.Do some research first.A Kreiger replacement bbl/with headspaced bolt would not be a bad choice.
 
I have several brands of lowers and uppers and really don't have problem with any of them(even one of the dreaded"it will never function right" brands). There are some combinations which fit together better than others I haven't found any combo that failed to work as needed. Oh yeah, NONE of them are piston driven because I don't think they solve any more problems than they create.
 
I want a piston AR because the Army trials in 2007 CLEARLY showed that the piston design GREATLY increases the reliability of the AR platform.


Ah, no, if by trials you mean the infamously tainted Dust Tests. What happened there was a travesty of empirical research. Rack grade used M4's and used magazines were tested against specially handbuilt custom guns with cherry picked new magazines. Hence, the results - used guns vs new.

The Army itself reviewed the methodology, tagged it BS, and scheduled MORE tests where all the magazines were rotated thru all weapons. That's know as eliminating a factor. And the results showed that reliability of issue guns went up, and the hand built custom guns went down.

If anything, Magpul and the PMag was the winner, not Piston over DI. Which raises the question, who says a piston on the barrel is any cleaner than a piston in the bolt carrier? Nobody is making that claim, what they do say is that the DI action is dirtier - and there is ample documentation that has NO bearing on stoppages. You can fire 10 basic loads thru a near milspec M4 before it gums up - any gun has a limit, regardless of what action. A soldier who maintains his gun DAILY in heavy combat would likely clean it once for EACH basic load of ammo.

Lube it, the AR15 will go 50,000 rounds and more with nothing more than a wipedown. On the other hand, the #1 cause of the Hk416 having stoppages is reputedly the magazines, which required a redesign to eliminate jams - which the curved mag in a straight well has done since 1968.

Pistons were NOT proven "superior," "more reliable," or anything, except to those who don't want to really study and get into the subject. It's still popping up WRONG after 4 years, just like the "jammomatic" M16 of 1968. Most people don't get the facts, just the sensationalist rumors passed along.
 
shouldn't "Rack grade used M4's and used magazines" function properly w/o malfunctions too? eventually if they are good guns they will all be "Rack grade used M4's and used magazines"
 
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