I don’t mean this thread to degenerate into a “piston vs DI” thread, so here’s hoping…
I’m looking to do a SBR build and I think I’d like to go the piston route. I’m looking at a couple of options and welcome any input.
I haven’t found much on here about Midwest Industries SS Series handrails which are very much like the Troy TRX rails but made for “most” piston setups. I love how light these things are and I don’t need the quad rail setup like on a DD Omega rail.
There’s also Mega’s monolithic MTS upper built for a piston setup. Couple that with a tailor made Adams MTS mod made for Mega and you have an upper and handrail that’s about the same weight as the Midwest Industries handguard and seperate upper.
Then there’s DD Omega piston rails, which I can’t seem to find a weight on. They seem to have great reviews but again, I don’t need all the rails, which I’m guessing adds weight.
And then there’s going the route of a complete LWRC upper. Good quality, lots of good reviews. I’m just not sure how heavy that setup is w/ their stock rail. I’ve held a LWRC 6.8 SBR (for about 60 seconds) in a local gun shop and was surprised how heavy it felt, but I have no idea if there was anything extra added (other than the T-1 on the top rail).
A can may be something I add down the line, but for now it’s not on the table.
What’s your budget, and what do you want to do with it?
If you’re not planning on a can at any point in the near future, then a 11.5" or 12.5" hammer forged DI setup will work just fine. Smartgunner’s Daniel Defense deal is hard to beat.
My budget is to build something that’s quality and will last but not be retarded with things I don’t need (like a laser…really? A laser? I can use those for my day job). This would be a range and carbine class gun.
If you’re not planning on a can at any point in the near future, then a 11.5" or 12.5" hammer forged DI setup will work just fine. Smartgunner’s Daniel Defense deal is hard to beat.
I have no doubt a DI gun would be cheaper and work just as well. I was just looking to do a piston gun and possibly a can down the road. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, but one thing at a time.
11.5" seems more about what I’m trying to do. A 12" w/ a compensator gets close to a 14" which is starting to get close to not being worth the NFA drill (to me, anyway). I’m not ruling out LMT, but I’ve read there are people seeing carrier tilt, though the wear seems to stop after a while. I just haven’t found any long-term reports for the LMT’s (but welcome them from folks here…or at least more than “I’ve shot mine a bunch and it’s great.”).
I kind of mentioned it in option 2, but I wasn’t totally clear. I guess the two main options would be an Adams Arms w/ the various handguard dilemmas or a stock LWRC complete upper (again, with the question of weight).
Again, I see plenty of long-term LWRC rave reviews by owners, but just haven’t seen a ton of LMT piston system long-term reviews, which is not to say people don’t like them, I just haven’t seen a lot of substantial info written other than “mine runs great for x number of rounds.” Admittedly, my research was focused more on LWRC though because (danger…internet knowledge here) they “seem to have solved the carrier tilt problem.” That may be a bogus claim, it’s just what keeps getting repeated on the interwebs.
I have no doubt that it would be “awesome.” But what I’m asking is not about LWRC and it’s rep (which by most accounts is “awesome”), but how the handguards I mentioned w/ a conversion kit compares to something like a LWRC (or LMT).
Thanks. I think I may just be leaning towards a LWRC now, I just need to figure out if it makes more sense to SBR a lower first or buy the whole weapon at once. The price is nearly the same, but would some custom stuff in the lower (G&R LPK, etc).
I’ve used two SS-series rails in builds and I find them to be well made and light. Simple mounting, with a barrel nut and jam ring. Loctite is recommended and included with the forearm. I did strip out the anti-rotation bolt in my first handguard - it was an early production model. Recently bought the second and it seemed to be a little thicker and the bolt didn’t strip out of this one.
The stock LWRC rails are indeed heavy. My main complaint with them. But Daniel Defense makes an Omega rail that’s compatible with the LWRC system (only 7 inch though). I would go that route for a piston SBR.
I actually just started looking at those. The piston rod looks kind of spindly, but based off the very few (so far) reviews I’ve looked at, the people seem to like them.
That’s good to hear, though I think I’m leaning more towards an Adams Arms or maybe now a PWS. Just seems to be a better price/performance, not that the LWRC doesn’t sound like a great weapon, just pricey, especially when you have to buy anothe rail.
I completely missed your post. Thanks for the info on the MI gear.
So I think I may have narrowed down my choices (as I wait for my stamp) and looking at:
LMT 12" Piston
or
Mega monolithic MTS 220 w/ an Adams Arms system.
What I can’t find is an actual weight for the LMT upper. I’ve found the weight of the whole gun on their site, but not just the upper. I don’t need a quad rail, so I’m trying to see how much heavier it would be compared to the Mega for something I don’t need.
I’d probably go with a DD, BCM, or Centurion Arms 11.5" LW barrel for the second option, but I need to continue learning more about barrel types.
Lastly, anyone have the Mega MTS (round) and care to comment if it gets hot when shooting? Again, I’m not killing Al Quaida single-handedly, just a range and hopefully course gun, so I know heat is relative.
I shoot a 12" LMT piston with approx 4000 rounds through so far, not one malfunction, mine is unsuppressed. My brother in law shoots the same 12" LMT piston with AAC m4-2000 suppressed with approx 1500 rounds, not one malfunction and has never cleaned the piston. As disclaimer, we sell LMT so take it for what it’s worth, but we also shoot LMT ourselves. ALSO I just saw in their new price book, they make a gas piston plug with normal and suppressed mode instead of the standard On/off gas plug. This should make shooting suppressed even smoother. With this system, you can swap carrier and barrel to have a DI 10.5" in the same gun, or 16" stainless DI gun in the same gun (and on and on and on!). My 2 cents- buy the LMT, you won’t regret it.