Piston vs DI Dilemma: "The AR-15 Gas Choice" by Nutnfancy

Direct gas impingement AR-15s suck. Wait a minute, maybe that's piston driven AR-15s suck. Now that I have your attention I'll say they're both good and each has its own pluses and minuses that need your consideration. Long proven in many battles, the DI (direct impingement) M4/M16/AR-15 series are very reliable if maintained and lubricated properly. If it were not so it never would have lasted this long in US military service and many of the "it's broke, its needs replacing now" arguments ring hollow with me. That's not to say it cant have its problems and is failure-free. In the DI design by Eugene Stoner, the introduction of cyclic gas into the receiver makes things dirty and heats up critical components. That heat can accelerate wear and possible parts failure in extended full auto fire and makes cleaning a chore. Also running shorter barrel lengths on a DI gun is taxing to the system and it often needs heavier buffer, spring, and maybe even port adjustments to ensure reliability. Count on some tweaking. Also running a suppressor off a DI gun can cause debris and powder to be blown back into the users face, even with charging handles that incorporate deflection channels. The current piston AR-15s, like the Ruger SR-556 shown, promise to cure many of these problems. They transfer the heat and dirtiness up front at the regulator/piston mechanism, keeping the bolt cooler and cleaner. From my experience at this point, piston ARs will foul in the piston/regulator area and require similar cleaning to a DI gun in this area. But they function consistently with or without short barrels and/or suppressors and promise longer intervals without lubrication or service. But it's too early to tell if they are indeed the superior system. Some early designs have shown design weakness like spring failures in the piston transfer mechanism after high round counts. Other show carrier tilt resulting in shaving of the buffer tube. But the designs are being perfected and have measurable benefits in some POUs. So far however in most like comparisons, most have not been able to surpass the DI guns in terms of light weight. As a result, most DI guns usually have a faster swing and more manageable carry weight when similarly equipped. This leads to better mobility. In POUs requiring only semi-automatic and unsuppressed fire, maybe the DI is still the best choice and I predict it will remain popular and will never go away. If the user can take the added weight of a piston driven AR-15 then many will enjoy the cleaner bolt, promise of better durability, and taking the heat out of the receiver. But if weight and perhaps accuracy is your most critical attribute, a quality made DI AR-15 will still serve you well. //////////////////// Music: From artists Torley Wong and Jimmy G. Most images are TNP originals. A select few are from PhotoBucket.com whose posters have specifically agreed to worldwide, unpaid distribution of their pictures by agreement to that websites Terms of Use and by selecting such distribution in their account preferences.

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[WiRefoXe]

How about an update vid since this one is 2 yrs old. Unless you feel the same Nutnfacy

[kneedeepinzombieshit]

Great video. Thanks for clearing the two up for noobs like myself.

[marcman5109]

The reason the gas block gets so much hotter on a piston gun is it takes more gas and its closer to the front of the gun and the burning powder di guns are similar temp up there too

[CCWInTraining]

Nutnfancy i can fire a auto as fast a full auto

Slide fire stock FTW

[Shmeegol1]

Very helpful video. I'd like to see a video about automatic vs revolver video.

[JUKEBOXX1990]

@oeyesea good point but people with money are lazy and like the "cleaner" piston system

[oeyesea]

If you're shooting for civillian or law enforcement reasons then a piston gun is really an unneccesary expense. You don't have to shoot magazine after magazine on full auto until the lubricant is burned off the BCG & the need for a surpressor isn't as high. Simply put since a DI is acceptable as a military weapon for 40yrs+ it will serve your purposes in the nonmilitary world.

[vanderleibf3]

Ar 47 or ak 15

[quentin132]

Both piston and DI systems have their own problems, but arguments over piston designs are (I feel) extremely exaggerated because of the general public's inertia to changing systems. The FNC, SKS, Tavor and many other rifles the world utilize short-stroke pistons (albeit being positioned differently). Carrier tilt is a manufacturing issue, if the tolerances arent high enough then suffice to say tilt will become evident, and heat is easily solved by different material heatsinks (i.e ceramic).

[Kylef7735]

@NYCrulesU Robinson arms XCR, he has a complete review on it, look it up.

[lonetreetechy]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like, out of the box (factory built), either system is fine depending on your style. But, customizing from one system to another is a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing.

[harrisonu]

@NYCrulesU

Its a robinson arms, kinda pricey but an amazing peace of kit