Other than Sig and Adams Arms, who else makes and sells piston uppers?

off the top of my head..

barret
stag
lwrc

PWS or LWRC would be my choice.

POF
LMT

I was going to say Rock River Arms.

But a check of their site and it appears they no longer make any piston driven rifles or uppers.

I know they did in the past.

https://www.rockriverarms.com/...isplay&category_id=6

quote:

Originally posted by Mike S:
PWS or LWRC would be my choice.

Same here.

quote:

Originally posted by ARMT Guy:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike S:
PWS or LWRC would be my choice.

Same here.

Ditto. Plus LMT.

Thanks guys, those all are great suggestions. Does anyone know if Colt offers them? My Google-fu isn't too sharp tonight and all I see is a 6920 variation.

HK

Colt DID offer a piston AR but discontinued it. Hence a decent number of Colt lowers marked “PISTON AR” on the market.

I think that the 5.56 piston AR market is a dead end, except for niche weapons (HK416) and purpose built weapons.

S&W also made a piston AR for a short time,

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
I think that the 5.56 piston AR market is a dead end, except for niche weapons (HK416) and purpose built weapons.

Uncertain with this, but I think there is a much bigger market for DI AR-15s.

I have one piston upper, an LWRC that I won in competition. I strongly considered selling it, but decided to keep it. My thoughts were to use it as a high-volume training upper, for close-ish distance drills while suppressed. After a lot of ammo accuracy testing, that's exactly what this upper will be good at. The piston system is great for keeping the BCG clean.

The LWRC piston system produces a little sharper recoil than my DI rifles. Not a huge difference, but enough that I notice it in accuracy from barriers and unsupported positions. At first I found it bit more challenging to keep sights exactly on target all the way through the recoil cycle. I'm pretty certain my AR shooting technique has improved -- in order to shoot the piston system as well as my DI systems.

LWRC has a reputation for accuracy, but in all honesty my 14.5" 1/7 twist fluted barrel is way more finicky with ammo than any of my three 16" barrels from Wilson combat. The retired Wilson had a 1/9 twist, the current ones are 1/8 twist. I never did find a 73-77 grain factory load that shot up to my standards in the LWRC. I really only obtained great accuracy from loads with 69 grain SMK bullets -- Federal, Aussie Outback, and Copper Creek. However, once I realized the 69 SMK was good to go, I have a high-volume beater upper that shoots well to 500 yards. FGMM 69 has produced 5-round 100-yard groups from .65" to 1.15", with six of those groups under .95". Copper Creek's range from .53" to 1.52", with four groups .96" or less. This is from a 2-10x scope, not an uber-powered Hubble-class optic.

I can't see myself buying another piston AR-15 upper. I just don't think they're in the accuracy league of my DI uppers. While the piston uppers certainly require less cleaning and lube, I have never had my DI uppers malfunction in practice, training, or competition.

For most shooters, I think a piston upper should work just fine. Cleaning is definitely a plus. Downsides include a little more weight to the upper (for most models) and generally a proprietary operating system. Probably a little higher cost, too. Marginally more difficult to shoot with precision & accuracy.

Sig's MCX but finding one as an upper is difficult if not impossible.

quote:

Originally posted by 808:
I was going to say Rock River Arms.

But a check of their site and it appears they no longer make any piston driven rifles or uppers.

I know they did in the past.

They still do.

https://www.rockriverarms.com/...splay&category_ID=19

I have had a CMMG piston (CMMG M4LEP PISTON AR-15 QUAD RAIL) for 9.5 years. I don't see piston uppers or complete guns on CMMG's site today.

 
A bit off the subject of piston uppers only, who makes a good 6.8 SPC II SBR upper (8"-12") that will work with my LMT CQB Defender registered lower? I find most of the 6.8 uppers to be in 16" (or longer) bbl length. LMT has one in the CQB line, I know, but it is pricey.

PWS would be my choice.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
PWS would be my choice.

Do you have a link? I don't see a single upper (or complete rifle) in 6.8 SPC on their site.

Wolf