M14 Forum

mercman · February 13th, 2012, 08:43 PM

Yeah, my 9mm upper didn't work very well and when the AWB came down it was one of the guns that I let go. I have two Olympic Arms AR's in my collection now and they both work well, although they are early Oly's.

ICANHITHIMMAN · February 14th, 2012, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzard

Mercman, thanks for the report. I hope to heck that the DI rifles our troops are using are better than that Olympic! You are definitely right: that it is a blow back design! My bad! I detested that ill conceived and unreliable upper so much I guess I had wiped out some critical info from my memory. Thanks for setting me straight. Buzzard

OLY arms is bay far the worst AR maker ever!

boomer1983 · February 14th, 2012, 08:50 AM

for a budget piston build its hard to beat the HK416 upper

P.E. Kelley · February 14th, 2012, 09:58 AM

Turtle,

If you really want this for the Game of 3Gun (as you said in your post) then I would (as a long time 3 gunner) suggest the DI system.

Every major match in the country has been won with a DI gun and is the overwhelming choice of the country's top competitors.

Patrick

bonamico · February 14th, 2012, 11:07 AM

I run a 5.56 LWRCI M6A3 16" and she is sweet. However I am having a hard time finding the best ammo to shoot out of her. I get my best grouping using steel russian crap and I am talking super sub-MOA. @ 100yrds. If I go to a heavier and pricier bullet the groups open up and are not that great at all.
Best group was 5 shots smaller than a quarter in size using 55gr Herters Steel.
Worst group was 5 inches using 75gr HPBT AZPm. (local AZ new brass loads)

1 in 7 twist my only thought is that the heavier loads will work better farther out past 200yrds.

Anyway- zero issues with the weapon. solid mil spec all the way. very happy for the money.

bj1126 · February 27th, 2012, 05:10 PM

I just recently, as in last week, purchased a LWRC M6A2 SPR. I've been lurking on this board a long time wanting to buy an M14 but when it came down to it I decided my first rifle should be an AR variant. The main reason why I chose to get a piston driven AR was because I wanted to suppress it and I've seen in person enough dudes with soot covered faces to know that I didn't want to suppress a DI gun. I figured if I was going piston I would go with one of the best.

I however am not someone who thinks that the piston system is the best thing since sliced bread or makes my rifle some unstoppable magic machine. Well made piston systems do have their advantages in less than pristine conditions and in a wider variety of configurations. However in the civilian world if you work a DI gun to its breaking point it's probably a very very bad day(week?) for you.

Here's the pros and cons as I see them.

Pros:

1. Enhanced durability/longevity (How realistic this is will vary depending on manufacturer.)
2. More forgiving in alternative configurations, SBR, suppressed, etc.
3. Easier to maintain. (This is a matter of opinion but for me it is easier to pop the rail covers and clean off the barrel and piston cup than try to dig around in the receiver.)

Cons:

1. Heavier (Unavoidable with the hardware for the pistons.)
2. More intense recoil impulse (Again an unavoidable matter of physics that has already been addressed in this thread.)
3. Incompatible with steel cased ammo. (Not something my LWRC suffers from but I've seen a lot of anecdotal evidence that indicates the cheaper steel cased ammo is not friendly with the a lot of the piston systems. This is probably a timing issue. Just know that training may or may not be more expensive for you.)

Cons number 1 and 2 are why piston guns take a back seat to DI guns in the competitive world. Especially since the extra weight is out on the front of the gun. If you are going to keep it clean and are serious about 3 gun I'd head over to JP and pick up one of their sweet sweet guns.

Bonamico,

I've heard similar problems from folks with LWRCs. With the wrong type of ammo they will get 3 MOA or worse but with the right kind they tighten up to 1/2 MOA but there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to which ammo does the trick. I'll be interested to know which ends up working best for you.

TheTurtle · February 27th, 2012, 06:25 PM

This was a long time ago and I had scrapped the thought. Ended up getting a Sabre Defense 16" mid length upper. Troy 10" MRF-MX rail. The "3-gun" matches in my area are in more of a tactical set up and don't need all the fancy crap.

Gun is almost finished. Will be done next week.

bj1126 · February 27th, 2012, 06:28 PM

I saw that in another thread after having commented on this sorry. Spikes is just down the road from me actually. They make some nice looking rifles.

24kshooter · March 2nd, 2012, 06:41 AM

Ruger make a couple of nice options. If you have a lower - just over 1k will get you an upper with rail, mags, case and sights.

ICANHITHIMMAN · March 2nd, 2012, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomer1983

for a budget piston build its hard to beat the HK416 upper

LOL thats a good one

Mski11 · March 23rd, 2012, 06:47 PM

There is a new company out of Ocala, Fl called core-15. From what I heard from the guy at shoot straight in Fl was that one of the top guys from Bushmaster left. Well, a company that makes air boats or something like that fronted him the money to make rifles and he's making gas piston rifles.
I would've liked to have been able to afford an LWRC or POF but couldnt really. I was in Fl for training and was at shoot straight that has some higher end rifles like LWRC and the clerk told me about the Core-15. It has a quad rail, magpul buttstock, magpul sights, magpul rail covers, magpul grip, and one Pmag. Out the door for 1,560. only have a few hundred rounds through it but no problems.
I figured with the election season coming up, I may as well scoop one up. Plus, I have an Acog thats been sitting around with nothing to do. If you want to spend extra money for LWRC or POF there's nothing wrong with it, they're are great weapons. However, maybe you should look at Core-15.

Dredsen · March 23rd, 2012, 07:01 PM

That para DI system without a gas key and with op rod instead is awesome i bet thats way more reliable.

Lionseye · March 24th, 2012, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mski11

There is a new company out of Ocala, Fl called core-15. From what I heard from the guy at shoot straight in Fl was that one of the top guys from Bushmaster left. Well, a company that makes air boats or something like that fronted him the money to make rifles and he's making gas piston rifles.
I would've liked to have been able to afford an LWRC or POF but couldnt really. I was in Fl for training and was at shoot straight that has some higher end rifles like LWRC and the clerk told me about the Core-15. It has a quad rail, magpul buttstock, magpul sights, magpul rail covers, magpul grip, and one Pmag. Out the door for 1,560. only have a few hundred rounds through it but no problems.
I figured with the election season coming up, I may as well scoop one up. Plus, I have an Acog thats been sitting around with nothing to do. If you want to spend extra money for LWRC or POF there's nothing wrong with it, they're are great weapons. However, maybe you should look at Core-15.

I hope you enjoy the Core rifle. They are using the Adams Arms system to build piston AR's off of like various other manufacturers. Smith & Wesson, Sabre Defense and Huldra Arms to name a few more. It's an excellent system and you should love running. I run mine just like an M14, on mostly grease.

Being a former POF owner and a good amount of experience using other people's LWRC's over the years, I personal find neither a better system than the Adams. LWRC and POF make some nice barrels and do some nice coatings, but overall in my opinion you get more for you're money and a rifle system that is every bit as well built and reliable with more versatility in handguard choices and parts/customer service support with an Adams system rifle.

Mski11 · March 24th, 2012, 12:00 PM

Great. I hadn't heard much about the Core-15 and took a gamble on it, so it's nice to hear I made a good call. I figured for the price it'd be worth it. Plus with election season approaching the demand is most likely to go up. Figured I'd jump on it while I had the chance. Like I said, only a few hundred rounds through it so far but I'm expecting good things from it.

What are you are you greasing on your rifle?

coulter6 · March 24th, 2012, 12:43 PM

Take a look at Primary Weapons Systems (PWS) piston rifles.
http://primaryweapons.com/store/pc/v...?idCategory=15

I own a MK114 and really like it, very lightweight and pretty soft shooting.