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

[jaylinzee]

I've owned a Stag Arms Model 8 for about a year now and can't give an accurate count (hundreds and hundreds) of rounds I've sent through it. It works great, consistently, and has tight shot groups. Difference in cleaning time is huge! Some carbon DOES get in the receiver but it's almost nothing compared to gas impingement. Most collects around the front sight post.

Check out this article and watch the videos: http://gunblast.com/Stag-Model8.htm

I'm prior Army 11B and have had my fair share of experience with "standard" gas impingement. Both standard and piston drives work great but I paid attention when I read that special ops uses pistons.

My Stag was about $1,250 after tax and Cali background (riflegear.com).

Best of luck.

[Zippiot]

I've owned a Stag Arms Model 8 for about a year now and can't give an accurate count (hundreds and hundreds) of rounds I've sent through it. It works great, consistently, and has tight shot groups. Difference in cleaning time is huge! Some carbon DOES get in the receiver but it's almost nothing compared to gas impingement. Most collects around the front sight post.

Check out this article and watch the videos: http://gunblast.com/Stag-Model8.htm

I'm prior Army 11B and have had my fair share of experience with "standard" gas impingement. Both standard and piston drives work great but I paid attention when I read that special ops uses pistons.

My Stag was about $1,250 after tax and Cali background (riflegear.com).

Best of luck.

Thank you for the response! Ill have to check the link out a bit later.
If you had to redeploy would you take a piston or DI system or is it an non-issue?

[SOCAL-PRINCE]

Zippiot, I have a stag M8 and an LWRC m6a2 and they are by far the best AR's I've owned. I've used the DI system in the Army for 8 years and although it did its job, I would much rather have been issued a piston AR. IMO, it is definitely a big improvement over DI. Cleaner, reliable, and simple to maintain.

Like others have said, the proprietary parts suck but get extra parts just in case. Also, if you get a retrofit piston kit you can always change it to DI if you don't like it. I doubt that though....Just my .02

[TwoAsoapbox]

Stagg M8 problem

For those of you guys that have Stagg M8s, my buddy has one and is having issues with it. He had a good shooting sesh but after disassembling it and cleaning he is having problems. It will shoot one round then only cycle part way before closing again not ejecting the spent case completely and not picking a new round up from the mag. I dont have any piston guns and Ive never personally experienced a failure like this so Im not sure whats wrong with his gun. Im assuming that he must have re-assembled it wrong after cleaning but he assures me he didnt. Any thoughts? Kinda concerning really for it to shoot well then start having failures on every shot.

[MrPlink]

I guess it works

it does, faster twist is for the really big boys or tracers

[stormy_clothing]

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.

lies

The stag /cmmg rifle aka with or without sights is made by the same quality manufacturer that sells to law enforcement. The same mil spec that goes into 10's of thousands of ar15's they produce every year.

I've shot more rounds through that particular rifle than any other one I have had. I can't recall a single issue, not one ftf or double feed or even light strike and I use the cheapest ammo I can find. There likely has been something at some point but it is so infrequent I can't remember it.

I maintain them by cleaning them after every trip to the range like I do with anything else but that's it.

Only my ak's rival the consistency of function in rifles.

As an alternative for additional money you may look into adcor especially the bear elite - it's 1500 bucks but they are very well built and have a sweet non recip forward charging handle and have been durability tested well beyond even lwrc for much less dinero.

That MOE bushie is not GP though would personally stay away from 1/7 twist barrels unless all you shoot is 70+gr rounds.

[Zippiot]

lies

The stag /cmmg rifle aka with or without sights is made by the same quality manufacturer that sells to law enforcement. The same mil spec that goes into 10's of thousands of ar15's they produce every year.

I've shot more rounds through that particular rifle than any other one I have had. I can't recall a single issue, not one ftf or double feed or even light strike and I use the cheapest ammo I can find. There likely has been something at some point but it is so infrequent I can't remember it.

I maintain them by cleaning them after every trip to the range like I do with anything else but that's it.

Only my ak's rival the consistency of function in rifles.

As an alternative for additional money you may look into adcor especially the bear elite - it's 1500 bucks but they are very well built and have a sweet non recip forward charging handle and have been durability tested well beyond even lwrc for much less dinero.

That MOE bushie is not GP though would personally stay away from 1/7 twist barrels unless all you shoot is 70+gr rounds.

All good info but newbie question...... what is "GP"

I was going to dump a lot more on my AR project but decided that for 600 bux I can get 2k rounds of ammo. Thats a lot of range time that I cannot turn down, and since its not my service rifle "very good" is a good enough rating for me

[Arnelcheeze]

got about 3000 rounds through my Stag 8, mostly XM193, some Tula/Wolf, never had a single issue. cleaning is a breeze, but honestly i have only cleaned it about 4 times.
With all the hoopla about possible op-rod failure (with its simple design,I don't ever see it failing but you never know), by all the piston haters, I contacted Stag and a replacement op rod costs $60, so i ordered one along with an extra piston spring which was a few dollars just to have in my parts bin, extra parts is always a great idea for everything.

[mcpain]

I am new to guns in general and im interested in purchasing the best AR15 I can for under 1500 bucks... DI or piston, What are my best options for manufactors?

[Hoop]

I am new to guns in general and im interested in purchasing the best AR15 I can for under 1500 bucks... DI or piston, What are my best options for manufactors?

What sort of AR do you want? A carbine, varmint rifle, do-everything-rifle, what kind of accuracy are you hoping for, etc etc etc............

[Hoop]

Filthy 14 has over 40,000 rounds through it on the original barrel and most of its original parts...Oh yeah, its a DI gun.

Lies all lies. DI guns don't work the internet says so!

[TwoAsoapbox]

I am new to guns in general and im interested in purchasing the best AR15 I can for under 1500 bucks... DI or piston, What are my best options for manufactors?

I say build your own. It only takes a little research, a few tools and of course time and money. When you build your own it will be unique and exactly the way you want it...plus its really fun and you will intimately know your rifle.

I built mine for around $1200-$1300 (including the optic). The lower is a Stag with a Stag LPK (lower parts kit), ambi safety, anti creep pins and a Magpul ASAP for mounting my 1-2 point sling. The furniture (butt stock, pistol grip and hand guard) are all Magpul MOE in OD green. The upper, BCG (bolt carrier group) and charging handle are all BCM (Bravo Company Manufacturing). The upper is a carbine length DI (direct impingement) gas system and the barrel is a pinned 14.5" light weight profile. I topped it with an Eotech 512. It is the fastest pointing, lightest and most enjoyable AR I have ever shot.

I have already made my opinions on DI vs piston very clear on this thread so I wont go there.

Like Hoop asked above you need to figure out what type of rifle you want. After that, stick to quality companies and you wont go wrong. For $1500 you can build an awesome gun and put some really nice optics on it. Also, ask a lot of questions.

Good companies include: BCM, Stag, Larue, Spikes Tactical, Daniel Defense....and many others.

[mcpain]

Thats a great question.... Since I am so new to this Im really not to sure. This would be my first AR so I should probably go with a all around type... Although I must admit.... The tactical set ups have caught my eye! With me being a firefighter in San Diego County I have close friends that are Law Enforcement and Force Recon Marines, and they all tell me different things! Haha. So another friend told me that all my answers can be found on calguns! So here I am! I am just looking for a tough, reliable firearm that is gonna enable me to go out and have fun and protect my family.

[mcpain]

I say build your own. It only takes a little research, a few tools and of course time and money. When you build your own it will be unique and exactly the way you want it...plus its really fun and you will intimately know your rifle.

I built mine for around $1200 (including the optic). The lower is a Stagg with Stagg parts, ambi safety, anti creep pins and a Magpul ASAP for mounting my 1/2 point sling. The furniture (butt stock, pistol grip and hand guard) are all Magpul MOE in OD green. The upper, BCG (bolt carrier group) and charging handle are all BCM (Bravo Company Manufacturing). The upper is a carbine length DI (direct impingement) gas system and the barrel is a pinned 14.5" light weight profile. I topped it with an Eotech 512. It is the fastest pointing, lightest and most enjoyable AR I have ever shot.

I have already made my opinions on DI vs piston very clear on this thread so I wont go there.

Like Hoop asked above you need to figure out what type of rifle you want. After that, stick to quality companies and you wont go wrong. Also, ask a lot of questions.

I think that that would probably be my best bet! I would love to learn how these awesome machines work anyways!! Seems so weird how a 33 year old can become so intrigued with firearms in such a short amount of time.
I have been doing some research the last few days and have found that there are a lot of opinions on a lot of different manufactures. I will say that the ones I have read on Stag, Magpul, and BCM were great! So ill dig a lil deeper on those products!!

Thank you for the info! I appreciate it!

[Zippiot]

Picked up a black Spike's Tactical Lower (stripped) and am starting the build/parts soon. Ill get some pics up