how come ARs never use a piston from the start?

[Lloyd Smale]

the ar was desinged to be a no frills cheap to build reliable rifle. It met those criteria without the added cost of a gas piston. Im sure theres some benifit to it but bottom line is they work well without it and if you figure all the ars out there in service around the world right now and add a 100 bucks a gun to make them gas piston it would add up to a big chunk of changes.

 

[DMK]

Awesome post Tirod. I hadn't thought about a lot of the physics involved.

 

[goldie]

its always been said that the ar180 was designed by stoner to fix the faults of the ar15, but was never adopted. i guess there were never any faults to begin with,or that it was found the DI was as good as a piston design anyway....

 

[briansmithwins]

its always been said that the ar180 was designed by stoner to fix the faults of the ar15

By whom?

My understanding is it was more an attempt to get around the patents Colt held on the DI gas system and have a design that didn't require the ability to manufacture precision aluminum components. Lots more place are set up for stamping heavy gauge sheet steel than forging aircraft aluminum.

BSW

 

[Quentin]

Awesome post Tirod.

I agree, very well stated.

 

[noob_shooter]

wow.. thanks for the input guys.. like my name, i am still a noob hahahahhaha