which ar should i buy?

[dcobra]

I am trying to decide between a used LMT piston ar and a ruger 556. Give me some input. They both feel great and the LMT is slightly cheaper. They both have quad rails chrome lined barrels and folding sights. Its a hard choice!!!!

 

[Smitty506th]

The Ruger is nice. I have a Colt LE6920 and I have used many an M16 and M4, non piston. The Ruger is a nice rifle and will hold up for a good long time. You might be able to get a better deal on a low gas system (such as the one I have). I doubt you will put enough rounds through it to foul it to the point of no return, with proper cleaning that is.

I do like the Rugers though.

 

[samot]

Colt 6920

 

[PeacekeeperMX]

I'm no expert but you might want to check into bolt carrier tilt with the AR gas guns. I think LMT made a change to address this on the rear portion of their gas gun bolt carriers. Saw something about tilt causing wear in the buffer tube a while back.

 

[Sanguine Samurai]

I was wathching a YouTube review of the Ruger SR556 and they too have addressed the bolt carrier group tilt issue by widening it by the base. I vote ruger.

 

[451_Detonics]

If you want a piston gun buy one that was originally designed as a piston gun, not a converted gas system gun. No matter what is done the continual hits off the center of the mass of the bolt is going to cause issues sooner or later. There is nothing wrong with gas impingement systems...the only place the piston system has a slight edge is in full auto SBRs.

[DefenseReview received the following post-interview via email from John Noveske: "Also, we should mention the poor choice of platform for the piston conversion on a round receiver bore as found on the M16/M4 system. All other piston type systems out there utilize a railed receiver design, like the M14, AK-47, M249, FAL and so on. The round receiver bore design used on the M4 is only acceptable for the standard op system. The carrier and bolt expand on axis with the bore under the normal gas impingement cycle, but on a piston gun, you run into off center impulse issues with carrier tilt and incorrectly designed carrier contact points. Some designs attempt to address the carrier tilt problem with over sized carrier tails and rollers. I do not believe the receiver extension should be used in this manner.

Understand that even if you outfit an AR-15 carbine/SBR with a gas piston/op-rod, which the AR-15 wasn’t designed to utilize in the first place, you still have a round bolt carrier group moving/reciprocating inside a tight round tunnel in the receiver, instead of on rails, which is how it really should be done. So, you’re really only solving half the problem, if there’s even a problem to begin with–and that’s highly debatable. If you’re going to utilize a gas piston/op-rod arrangement, it’s best to design the gun for that system from the outset, rather than modifying or converting a direct-gas-impingement (DGI) gun to gas piston/op-rod operation. Check out a Kalashnikov rifle/carbine (AKM, AK-47, or AK-74) sometime, and see how the bolt group runs (slides back and forth) inside the weapon.

 

[LPMan59]

pistons are for AKs

i always recommend the colt 6920 ('cause i have one). but i would buy the LMT since Bill Ruger hated civilians owning "assault weapons."

 

[Nsw550]

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/86455-ruger_sr_556_lots_of_pictures.html

I can't say enough about how amazing my Ruger is. Reliable, accurate, easy to maintain, and a great value.

 

[atkinson3069]

i am sure they are both very nice rifles but if it was me and i was gonna spend that kind of money i would by a colt

 

[hickuleas]

NOVESKE.

 

[baldmax]

Sig 556.

 

[loony1]

NOVESKE.

this

 

[sertboy354]

I have an Oly works great and not hard on the pocket book

 

[sig1473]

LMT +1