Piston kits

JPitts0117

Regular Member
This may have been discussed already and I just couldn’t come up with the proper keywords for the search function, but are drop in piston kits worth the money? Im playing with the thought of a piston system and was looking at whole rifles, but have heard that companies like Adams Arms makes a drop in piston kit however I don’t personally know anyone who has used one that can give me a real account of its reliability. Are they worth the time and money or should I just purchase a piston rifle or upper for my existing lowers
 

Kain

Member
I think. Think, might you. That the bennies of a piston, that being a rifle designed for it, are better reliability in FA and surpressed shooting. Maybe if you going short. With those too. Or a combination of all the above.

If you aren't doing FA fire surpressed then I may question it. There is going to be a weight penalty, and propritary parts. And with the drop in units there the question of how well they may work.

Now, if it, I want a piston because I want. Go ahead and play with that shit. But I woukd be dubious of precieved benefits over a properly build DI AR.
 

JPitts0117

Regular Member
It’s going to be suppressed 99% of the time. I was going thinking of going piston due to the suppressor. I’ve always been told piston guns run better with a suppressor than a di gun does. That said I’ve also been told a mid length gas syste gun is the way to go with a di gun for suppressing. I’m new to the suppressor world
 

user12358

Regular Member
A couple of quick things. Yes, mid length is a good way to go for 14.5"-16" guns. Obviously that advice does not ring true for shorter or longer guns.

A piston gun will get less carbon fouling in the receiver then a DI gun, all things being equal, but you can still run a suppressed 10.3" DI gun well into the thousands of rounds with doing nothing more than adding lubricant. Not a best practice but certainly doable. As far as running better with a can there isn't much of an advantage with a piston gun and there is a price to pay in recoil impulse with the mass of the piston.

The piston will have less blowback onto the shooter by virtue of not having gas coming back through the tube but the majority of the excess gas is actually coming through the barrel because the suppressor is maintaining a higher chamber pressure for longer. There are many ways to tackle these issues such as adjustable gas blocks (or properly made barrels such as the Hodge FN barrels with a correctly sized gas port), certain carriers such as the LMT enhanced, more buffer weight such as H2 system, and longer buffer systems such as the VLTOR A5 system. All of which can be mix and matched to create a very smooth shooting and reliable weapon without shoehorning a different operating system into the AR-15.

Something else to keep in mind is different suppressor designs will have different amounts of blow back with some being more notorious than others (AAC M4-2000's and SilencerCo Omega 30's being prime offenders.)
 

JPitts0117

Regular Member
I’ll be running a dead air sand man L. My rifle will be a 16 barrel until I can bring myself to spend the time and money on another tax stamp for a sbr like the DD MK18. This is why I came here with my questions because the dealers here will and have all told me I need a piston setup, which I knew didn’t seem correct
 

user12358

Regular Member
You are as set up for success as as possible right now. First, you have a 16" gun which means you won't have to deal with all the over gassing issues that shorter barrels tend to have. Second, the Sandman series of cans have a baffle stack designed for minimal blow back and it is over bore for the caliber that you are going to be shooting through it.

Your dealers are either woefully misinformed or are trying to scam you into another sale.
 

Gypsy EDC

Regular Member
Can't speak for the Adams retro kit, but my PWS piston guns are much cleaner suppressed or un-suppressed than my DI guns, I also like the adjustable gas block. My 10.3 DD is over gassed, however my cousins 11.5" bcm isn't.

You certainly don't have to go piston to run suppressed that is a really odd opinion, and I would be leery of additional advice.
 

Pat Tarrant

Custom testicles
Staff member
Moderator
You don't see many professionals running aftermarket piston kits in ARs.

That's what a much more famous Pat might call a clue.

Its doubtful you'll see a performance gain with a pston, even a purpose built piston gun, with a 16" barrel. You may be better off spending your money on a barrel intended for suppressed use (things like reduced gas port barrels).

What you may see with a piston, though, is that it could be easier to clean, but heavier and possibly increased felt recoil.

My advice would be that if you think a piston system's pros outweigh the cons, look for a rifle or upper that was designed to use a piston (HK, LWRCI, PWS, etc) rather than slapping an aftermarket kit on.
 
Hi,

First post - hope I'm not violating any introduction rules, but I wanted to share my experience with this.

I have a 10.3" barrel to which I fit a low profile Adams Arms Piston kit. It was originally a DI gun. The first thing I noticed was a significant weight increase, as with any piston gun. I later picked up a suppressor. My experience in shooting it suppressed is that it has run 100%, and I can turn the gas down to a minimal level and decrease the recoil. Whether by weight of the kit, weight of the suppressor, turning down the gas - I have almost zero shift due to recoil. The impulse is slightly delayed compared to DI, and the gas is not much of an issue. The Adams Arms kit has a coating on it that wipes clean super easy.

I, more recently, have put together a 11.5" DI gun to shoot suppressed as well. It had a smaller gas port hole compared to some others (can't remember the exact measurement). It was definitely lighter overall. When shooting it, I definitely noticed a more direct shove to stock and gas. In using a normal BCG, a few shots indoors definitely kicked up more gas to the face than I was used to. This was after using the silicone gasket seal to the charging handle and shooting indoors. I have since, picked up a Bootleg adjustable carrier. The Bootleg didn't reduce the gas, per se, but vented more of it off of the carrier.

So... for a range gun that I want to shoot a lot suppressed and blast away, I will reach for my piston gun. For something I am going to haul around and where fatigue is a factor, I am reaching for my DI gun. Hope that helps.
 
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