This is the same reason I held off in buying one - until I found a shop in GA who had the exact model I wanted (10.5-inch M6A1). I had the upper 3 days after I found out they had one (due to shipping and a delay in my committing to buying it). After almost 1,000 rounds through the gun, most of which suppressed, I have only had 2 malfunctions.
The first is a failure to feed with the very first magazine I ran through it - this was operator error. In my excitement to shoot the upper, I forgot to lube up the BCG. The second malfunction was also a failure to feed and happened with an old aluminum magazine I have had for more than a decade. This magazine has been through at least 4 Carbine Courses and is due for an upgrade (although I might keep using it at the range in order to induce malfunctions for IADs). I have been extremely happy with my LWRC upper and am planning on using it at the Larry Vickers class I will be attending in South Hill, VA in July as well as the Pat Rogers class I am planning on attending in PA in August.
LWRC’s delivery delays are currently being addressed with their “partnership” (NOTE: I’m not sure if that is the correct term) with Matec. Once they establish their production line in their new facility (not sure where it is), they hope to catch up to their backlogs. We’ll just have to wait and see if they do. However, I cannot say enough good things about the guys at LWRC. Not only are they very innovative, they also provide excellent customer service. They will answer any question that you may have in a timely manner. YMMV.
I hope LWRC gets their act together. They have a solid product that is way above average in terms of AR15 piston designs.
At one point I wanted nothing to do with LWRC. Everyone here knows the history I am sure, but the product won me over.
However, there are still some shenanigans and mismanagement in place which keeps me from supporting them.
I’m hoping Matech sorts them out. Their CHF barrels and single piece carriers in the works shows they are committed to building a better product. If only they can fix the company now before HK comes out to play, because as solid as LWRC carbines are, I’d rather own HK
I have the Ares kit on a 12.5" SBR. It is mounted to a standard taper pinned FSB with the correct handguard cap in place. Over the course of 300 rounds, the roll pin holding the system to the FSB has not moved, bent, or sheared.
The Ares kit is designed to work with the handguard cap; omitting this vital component leaves a gap between the piston housing and the FSB. This gap, in turn, forces the roll pin to bear all the stress of the system in operation. Given this type of setup, it is inevitable that the roll pin will fail. With the handguard cap (or equivalent thickness of metal) in place, the roll pin is relieved of having to bear all the stress of the piston and op rod slamming back into place. Based on the accounts I’ve read of Ares kit owners, I’m willing to bet many if not all the roll pin failures occur on rifles that don’t have a handguard cap or equivalent thickness of metal in place.
I am, however, concerned about the accelerated wear on two components: the buffer tube, and the cam pin. The buffer tube shows wear marks which are the direct result of carrier tilt. I’ll have to see if the wear marks stabilize over time, or if they get worse. The cam pin has had most of the finish worn off after 300 rounds, and I believe this is the direct result of two things: the cam pin hole in the bolt carrier having a sharp corner (sharper than the other DI carriers I have), and the bolt not having gas rings to buffer its movement in the carrier. I will watch both items to see if wearing gets worse over time.
Recoil on the Ares-modified SBR is definitely sharper than any DI 5.56 I’ve shot; it’s pretty close to what I feel shooting my 6.8. Still, nothing to be worried about. The Ares system does greatly reduce blowback when I shoot my SBR suppressed, and that alone is worth my continued testing of the system. If, ultimately, I decide the Ares is a no-go, it is a simple matter to convert my SBR back to DI operation.
no problem friend, just wanted to give a heads up advance notice to those who want to jump at the first thing available on the shelf…, i’ll keep all further info to my self till i am ready to post.
I too have a POF 16 inch . what i really like about it is the ease of cleaning . due to the coating and lube everything wipes off . i dont have the new barrel but the cleaning process is the same as a regular m4 . my rifle did take 6 months though to reach me . that being said i recently bought aLM
T MRP in anticipation of the LMT piston .
I have another 150 rounds through this SBR. I have resolved the short stroking issue: it was the DD Omega rail. It had not been clearanced enough by the vendor so the piston was dragging along the inside of the rail. The vendor is now going to clearance the Omega rails a bit more to ensure piston drag does not occur.
Accuracy testing at 100 yards revealed this SBR to hold a reliable 2-3 MOA shooting PMC .223 ammo and 1-1.5 MOA shooting Hornady 75gr TAP .223. For what I intend this SBR to do, this level of accuracy is just fine.
Overall, I am cautiously optimistic about the Ares kit on this SBR. I have 1500 more rounds of PMC to burn through before I declare the Ares kit suitable for classes, home defense, etc.
On to the pics.
The SBR.
The SBR with Surefire can attached.
The Ares kit installed showing the DD Omega rail before additional clearancing (note drag marks).
The DD Omega rail after additional clearancing.
The piston system butted tight up against the handguard cap - the roll pin has not moved so far.
Non-standard wear patterns on buffer tube due to carrier tilt.
The firing pin, cam pin, and bolt after shooting 50 rounds suppressed – not bad! Note the wear patterns on the cam pin. BCM bolt, Colt cam pin.
why not leave an OLD set of gas rings in place on the bolt to steady its movement inside the carrier? i cant see the small amount of drag added by the rings being any issue. but i CAN see it stabilizing the bolt and reliving any wear hotspots.
With the Ares kit, you get a new, purpose-built carrier with an integral “key” for the op rod to push against. The carrier will not let you insert the bolt with the gas rings installed. Ask me how I know…
The second malfunction was also a failure to feed and happened with an old aluminum magazine I have had for more than a decade. This magazine has been through at least 4 Carbine Courses and is due for an upgrade (although I might keep using it at the range in order to induce malfunctions for IADs). I have been extremely happy with my LWRC upper and am planning on using it at the Larry Vickers class I will be attending in South Hill, VA in July as well as the Pat Rogers class I am planning on attending in PA in August.
