What's a good piston-AR for around 1k?

[Zippiot]

I would like it to run 5.56 and have a 1:7 twist but thats not always an option...

I spotted the Smith and Wesson M&P15 gas piston for $1100

http://www.impactguns.com/smith-and-wesson-mp15-811022-556-30-022188139396.aspx

Bushmaster MOE $1040 (I really like the MOE stuff)

http://www.impactguns.com/Bushmaster-m4-a3-gas-piston-moe-black-90825-604206129727.aspx

CMMG M4 for $900

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/2CMMGM4LEPII-1.html

Are the Sig 556's considered an AR?

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/57650

Stag Arms $1020

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/2SA8L-1.html

Any others? Could always do a build to get a bit more choice in parts.

[dieselpower]

well you first have to pick a system and know that you are married to that system for life. each manufacturer has their own way to do it. pick the one you feel will still have parts around in 30 years.

as for me, I see no reason to buy a fake AR15, if I was going with a piston system I wouldn't be going with an AR15. The Sig is close to what I would go with. Thats just me.

[Zippiot]

I had an M&P 15 and had no issues with it. I shoot direct impingement all the time, then i got to play with a 416 and loved it! But no reason to drop that much on something I would only use at the range

[PolishMike]

Why do you want a piston?

You can get a quality DI AR for around a thousand. You CANT get a quality piston AR for a thousand.

I would much rather have a good DI AR versus a bottom barrel piston AR.

[dieselpower]

I had an M&P 15 and had no issues with it. I shoot direct impingement all the time, then i got to play with a 416 and loved it! But no reason to drop that much on something I would only use at the rane

agreed. If you have the urge to go piston, get a piston, not a re-design of a DI into a piston.

Sig551-a1

look no further

[sonnyt650]

Two pins and a cheap upper later you are back to an as-designed AR, so I'd go for any of the standard AR pattern rifles myself. That options are available at all indicates that somebody thought an improvement was in order, and personally I'm grateful to those folks so I can roll my rifles to suit me instead of the other way around. If you can sink a spare hundred dollars on the proper tools you can even assemble your own piston upper (say with a high-end match barrel) as you see fit.

[dieselpower]

Two pins and a cheap upper later you are back to an as-designed AR, so I'd go for any of the standard AR pattern rifles myself. That options are available at all indicates that somebody thought an improvement was in order, and personally I'm grateful to those folks so I can roll my rifles to suit me instead of the other way around. If you can sink a spare hundred dollars on the proper tools you can even assemble your own piston upper (say with a high-end match barrel) as you see fit.

this is true, the upper is the only variation from the platforms benefit. It just seems to me,... I (I) would be happier with a real piston rifle. If I was forced into buying a piston AR system, my choice would hinge on the reputation of the company and its longevity in the firearms market. I want to be able to fix my upper with OEM parts. If in 15 years I have to buy what amounts to a whole new system made by someone else, I have done myself no real justice in picking the original system. I dont see CMMG, Stag or S&W in the AR15 piston game for more than 10 years. If they do, then the design will change requiring me to buy possibly a new barrel (gas port) or other things. I know Sig and HK will be in the game well past my lifetime..and the FAL/FN has been around a long time.

just my 2 little pennies... YMMV

[Zippiot]

Isnt Bushmaster having a lot of trouble manufacturing their rifles now?

[dieselpower]

Isnt Bushmaster having a lot of trouble manufacturing their rifles now?

Bushmaster is closed. They went out of business and the Freedom Group LLC bought the roll mark and moved production to another facility. It will be a few years before the Armorers get the hang of it. I dont know how many of the Bushmaster Armorers moved to the new location. I know it was in another State, so who knows.

You'd think it wouldnt effect the line, but it does.

[EvoXRiley]

i have a SIG556 SWAT, its a 1/7 twist and for the price its a a great gun, it shoots everything i put in it from steel case to cheap brass reloads.

the piston system on it is very similar to an AK style system but parts have been moved around and such.

super easy to clean and maintain,although i havent cleaned it yet as im trying to see how far it will go before cleaning. as far as accuracy i cant tell any difference on it compared to my DI gun. Id assume only a match shooter, shooting from a bench could see a real difference, but for me it goes bang everytime and take down of the weapon is easy.

[Zippiot]

A good friend here is an armorer maybe he has the tools I would need to build an upper. Might as well build a .22lr upper while im at it

[Striker]

I would like it to run 5.56 and have a 1:7 twist but thats not always an option...

I spotted the Smith and Wesson M&P15 gas piston for $1100

http://www.impactguns.com/smith-and-wesson-mp15-811022-556-30-022188139396.aspx

Bushmaster MOE $1040 (I really like the MOE stuff)

http://www.impactguns.com/Bushmaster-m4-a3-gas-piston-moe-black-90825-604206129727.aspx

CMMG M4 for $900

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/2CMMGM4LEPII-1.html

Are the Sig 556's considered an AR?

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/57650

Stag Arms $1020

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/2SA8L-1.html

Any others? Could always do a build to get a bit more choice in parts.

If it were me, for a piston AR, I would look at HK and Colt first. Maybe new LWRC. If you don't want or can't afford any of those, I would look to either an AK-74 in 5.45 or a DI AR. Just my opinion.

[goodlookin1]

I would like to ask this to those who say a gun with a drop in kit is a bad thing: What is the difference, when looking at, say a HK416 upper, and an upper with a drop in kit? When you really look at the differences, there really arent any. They all function the same, only some have more parts than others. Some have gas adjustments, some have other springs here and there, bushings, and whatnot. But is an AR patterned rifle "that was designed as a piston from the ground up" really any functionally different than the rifles with a drop in piston?

In my opinion, no, they are not. They are short stroke systems with the same shaped carrier (either a one piece or a bolt on "piston" key) that vent gas at the gas block instead of inside the receiver. Sure, there are minor changes here and there that make them "different", but the end result is the same: Short stroke piston. I think it's a cop out to say that drop in piston systems are inherently inferior "because they werent designed for it". You might say I have a vested interest in saying this because I have one of those systems.....but no, I dont care what people think of the drop in piston kit I have...I know it just works. Every time.

And dont mistake me for someone who thinks the pistons have no drawbacks: They certainly include proprietary designs, extra weight, sometimes extra parts (depending on manufacturer), and ever so slightly decreased accuracy. But I would like to see the anecdotal evidence that supports the conclusion that short stroke "built from the ground up" pistons are better/different than "drop in" piston kits. I simply havent seen this to be true. I think if anything, reliability problems are born from incorrect installation rather than inherent design problems.

Just my own opinion though. And it's not worth anything

[EvoXRiley]

I concur goodlookin1.. the adams arms system is a great system for the price, and the only failures i see is from incorrect installation.

[dieselpower]

Just to be clear on what I am saying ( @ goodlookin1), I am not saying they are inferior, they are not. They are merely (in my mind) less likely to take hold within the firearms market and I could possibly own a firearm I can not fix, repair or shoot for fear of a broken / worn out part that can not be replaced easily. The limited supply thing is great to collectors...an AR18 is awesome sauce for the collecter...just not me. YMMV.