Posted on 01/22/2009 9:36:40 AM PST by WOBBLY BOB
gas piston AR-15 upgrade- worth the $ ?
if so, why? why aren't the military picking it up too ?
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No, it’s not. If you have an AR already, just keep it clean and it will run just fine. If you haven’t got an AR but think you might want a piston gun, buy something like a SIG 556 that already uses a piston gas system.
kinda what I thought.
What are your thoughts on the SIG 556?
Also, what scope setup would you recommend? I have been pricing stuff and I like the trijicon acog scope but it is very pricey. Any advice would be appreciated?
Cons - added weight and reduced accuracy compared to free float/impingement rifle.
Mostly faddish for semiauto rifles.
Confession Time:
I purchased a AR-15 when I was in the Navy from the ships gun club. Cost $420. And it was a beauty. It had a telescoping stock and came with extra magazines including a 40 round banana clip that, well just looked so cool and stood out when we were posing for gun club pictures.
Sold it for $680 several years later to pay for my Wife’s engagement ring.
You can beat up on me now. Oh and yes, we are still married.
* All of the hot gas and carbon are expelled into the environment right behind the gas block far away from the bolt carrier/receiver.
* The bolt carrier runs and stays clean with no increase in temperature.
* There is no need to lubricate the bolt carrier or its parts. This will eliminate the cause to collect external debris.
You can beat up on me now. Oh and yes, we are still married.
Sounds like it's high time you go out and buy her an anniversary present, Sailor! And pick up one for yourself while you're at it...
You Posting a story on AR-15s is like teasing someone by showing pictures of their hot but long lost High School Girlfriend. So stop it.
if you’re still married, we can’t beat you up.
Ya’ know...it that’s all she cost you (either one, the AR or the wife) then that’s a pretty good deal. Sumthin’ tells me, though, that the ongoing maintenance costs have not been added in...
It’s not too late to pick up another AR. Better get one before 0bambi starts workin’ on the 2nd Amendment, again.
This could get down right ugly before it’s all over.
ACOG is worth every penny. But, best optic depends on rifle, caliber and intended use.
like an FAL ?
The 'upgrade' is frivolous and unnecessary for the following reasons:
1. The cost is enormous. The sum total of parts in a gas-operated AR approaches $3000-$4000 when all is said and done. That's an absurd price for a 5.56 carbine, considering what else you can get for that money. $1800 for just an assembled upper is a laugh riot, in my opinion. I think I'd rather have a bolt action Sako TRG-42 in .338 Lapua for that price.
2. There are several gas piston retrofit kits out there, and most of them seem to work pretty well. However, the components are proprietary and you'll have only one source for parts if something goes wrong or wears out. Hope they don't change to a new or updated system in the meantime that's not backwards compatible with what you bought into. Besides, a lot of those gas piston assemblies look like a ballpoint pen clicky mechanism designed by aerospace engineers. They don't seem very robust to me.
3. Gas piston uppers vent into the atmosphere right where the noise is loudest and therefore don't suppress particularly well. That may or may not be a concern to you, but if you're Ricky Hispeed tactical operator fanboy, tell me you're not going to want to suppress your $3500 AR. You'll find the same problems that people trying to suppress AKs find out: 'My silencer, it does nothing!'
4. The legacy AR platform never got out of the prototype stage for gas piston tech. You're adding something where it was never designed to be. Maybe it will work just swell, and maybe you'll have hiccups if you change or add things like a shorter barrel, new caliber, a collapsible stock and recoil spring, new bolt head, etc. All the pitfalls associated with this become your problem alone, sucka. Maybe you'll find someone on the web with your exact same problem to commiserate with. If the problems you have are unsupported by the manufacturer, you're a pioneer in the wilderness.
5. Just go buy a rifle that was designed with a gas piston in the first place if you have something against direct impingement. Keep your AR inexpensive and common. Thank me later.
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