Piston Ar Vs. Di Ar Pic Heavy

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jstevens

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
170
Reaction score
9
Location
Oklahoma City
HELLO ALL, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF MY EXPERIENCES THAT I HAVE HAD WITH AR STYLE RIFLES. FIRST OFF THIS THREAD IS GOING TO FOCUS MORE ON THE GAS PISTON AR THAN THE DI, DIRECT IMPINGEMENT, STYLE AR. ABOUT THIS TIME LAST YEAR MY BUDDY PICKED UP A POF PISTON RIFLE. I SHOT IT SEVERAL TIMES AND I LIKED IT. ABOUT THE TIME OF THE 2008 ELECTION I HAD DECIDED THAT I WANTED A POF UPPER FOR A LOWER THAT I HAD RECENTLY BOUGHT. WELL YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT FOLLOWED POST OBAMA 08. I COULD NOT FIND ONE! JANUARY CAME AROUND AND AFTER ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF I FOUND ONE ON GUNBROKER. I PICKED UP THE POF WITH THE 9.25" BARREL. I HAD MY PAPER WORK IN THE MAIL TO SBR MY LOWER, AND THE POF IN THE MAIL. MY STAMP ARRIVED IN MAY AND I WAS READY TO ROCK. WELL THE FIRST TIME OUT I WAS VERY DISPLEASED. THE UPPER WAS NOT EXTRACTING THE SPENT BRASS. AFTER AN HOUR I JUST QUIT MESSING WITH IT AND MOVED TO ONE OF MY DI GUNS. I ASKED AROUND AND FOUND THAT I SHOULD TRY USING A SOPMOD O-RING. I PICKED ONE UP AND WOW IT STARTED WORKING. FAST FORWARD TO SEPTEMBER 12. I WAS PULLING MY GEAR OUT TO GET READY FOR THE MAGPUL DYNAMIC CLASS THAT WAS ON SEPT.26-27. I FIELD STRIPPED THE UPPER AND I OBSERVED A VERY LARGE CRACK ON THE TOP OF MY BOLT CARRIER JUST ABOVE THE FIRING PIN. AGAIN VERY DISPLEASED. I CONTACTED POF AND I ADVISED THEM OF MY PROBLEM. I HAD BEEN TOLD THAT THE POF CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS NOT THE BEST. I TALKED TO A GUY NAMED CHRIS AND HE WAS VERY HELPFUL. I TOLD HIM ABOUT MY PROBLEMS, AND MY CLASS THAT I WAS ATTENDING IN THE NEAR FUTURE. I SENT THE UPPER TO THEM, AND IT WAS BACK TO ME IN 4 DAYS WITH A NEW BC AND OP-ROD. I ATTENDED THE MAGPUL CLASS AND I BROUGHT TWO RIFLES WITH ME. THE DI GUN THAT I USED HAD AN LMT 14.5" M4 STYLE UPPER WITH A ROCK RIVER LOWER. AIMPOINT COMP M FOR THE OPTIC.
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_LMT1.jpg


I ALSO BROUGHT MY POF.
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF1_1.jpg


I DIDN'T TRUST THE POF DUE TO ALL OF THE PROBLEMS THAT I HAVE HAD WITH IT SO I SHOT THE LMT THE FIRST HALF OF THE DAY. AFTER LUNCH I PICKED UP THE POF AND I USED IT THE REST OF THE DAY. I DIDN'T HAVE ONE PROBLEM WITH IT. THE DI GUN HAD SEVERAL MALFUNCTIONS DURING THE MORNING TRAINING. THEY WHERE NOTHING BIG, JUST SOME DOUBLE FEEDS. I HAD TO CLEAN THE SNOT OUT OF THE DI GUN WHEN I GOT HOME THAT EVENING. I FIGURED I PUT APPROXIMATELY 400 ROUNDS DOWN THE POF. I DID NOT CLEAN THE POF, AND I NEVER LUBED IT PRIOR TO USING IT. THE NEXT DAY I USED IT AGAIN DURING THE SECOND HALF OF TRAINING. AGAIN I NEVER LUBED IT OR DID I CLEAN IT. I SHOT APPROXIMATELY 500 ROUNDS THE SECOND DAY. THE ONLY MALFUNCTION THAT OCCURRED WAS DUE TO THE MAGAZINE NOT BEING FULLY SEATED IN THE LOWER AND A TAP RACK BANG FIXED THE PROBLEM. ANY WAY TOOK IT HOME AND I TOOK SOME PICTURES OF HOW DIRTY, OR LACK OF BEING, IT WAS AFTER 900 ROUNDS.

FIRST IS THE GAS PLUG AREA. I FOUND SOME CARBON BUILD UP AROUND THE BOTTOM.
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF2.jpg


NEXT IS THE GAS PLUG, GAS PISTON, AND OP ROD. NOTICE THE CARBON ON ALL OF THE PARTS. THEY ARE CHROME LINED.
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF3.jpg


THIS IS SOME CLOSE UPS OF THE OP ROD
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF4.jpg

ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF5.jpg


THIS IS A SHOT OF THE GAS BLOCK.
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF6.jpg



THE BCG
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF7.jpg


THE SIDE VIEW OF THE BOLT
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF8.jpg


THE FACE OF THE BOLT.
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF9.jpg
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF10.jpg


THE REAR OF THE BOLT
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF11.jpg


THE CHAMBER
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF12.jpg


THE CHAMBER AFTER ONE SWIPE WITH A Q-TIP
ai653.photobucket.com_albums_uu253_jeran_stevens_POF13.jpg


THE QUESTION I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL TIMES ON THIS FORUM IS " IS A GAS PISTON WORTH IT?" YEAH I THINK SO, BUT IT WAS A VERY LONG AND ROCKY ROAD TO GET MY RIFLE TO THE POINT OF TRUST THAT IT IS NOW. I DO TRUST THIS RIFLE WITH MY LIFE NOW, BUT FOR HOW MUCH THEY COST I SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAD THE PROBLEMS THAT I HAVE HAD. I DON'T KNOW IF I WILL EVER BUY ANOTHER, HECK I JUST BOUGHT A NEW DI UPPER THAT COST THE SAME AMOUNT. WITH THAT SAID THEY ARE A LOT EASIER TO CLEAN. HOPE THIS HELPS SOME OF YOU WHO ARE ON THE FENCE.
 

jstevens

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
170
Reaction score
9
Location
Oklahoma City
I Would Like To Let It Be Known That Pof Customer Service Is Some Of The Best Out There. I Don't Think That I Stressed That Enough. They Kind Of Have A Bad Rep On Customer Service, And I Do Think It Has Changed For The Better.
 

Ignored Member

Sharpshooter
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Messages
6,421
Reaction score
2,554
Location
Oklahoma City
i know some of the di ar's have some problems with reliability with a short barrel installed.. are you able to regulate how much gas is directed to the piston to be able to get better reliability from the short barreled uppers on the gas piston ar's?
 

RustyZX9

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
2,839
Reaction score
0
Location
Moore
I run my 10.5" Noveske DI with a 9mm buffer and it's been a no BS 100% from the word go, I almost hesitate to say this out loud for fear of jinxing things. lol... My first SBR was a 9mm so that lower has been doing double duty and works very well with both the 5.56 and the 9mm.

I've thought a couple of times about trying out a piston system but I can't justify the cost to myself for my AR needs. I don't currently find myself running a gazillion rounds in a single sitting.
 

HKCHEF

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 2, 2008
Messages
779
Reaction score
1
Location
Obendorf
I run my 10.5" Noveske DI with a 9mm buffer and it's been a no BS 100% from the word go, I almost hesitate to say this out loud for fear of jinxing things. lol... My first SBR was a 9mm so that lower has been doing double duty and works very well with both the 5.56 and the 9mm.

I've thought a couple of times about trying out a piston system but I can't justify the cost to myself for my AR needs. I don't currently find myself running a gazillion rounds in a single sitting.

Nice write up. Also a piston believer.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom