Has a replacement for the M4 been found?

reply to post by bowtech


Don't get me wrong here...
I'm a long time die-hard fan of rugers... and while I've yet to handle a SR 556 there are a few things I'm wanting to know about their uppers...

In reality, piston guns certainly run cleaner and cooler, but their superiority in terms of more reliable operation remains unproven. That a gun with a piston-based operating system should have better potential reliability than one built around a gas tube that dumps carbon directly into the bolt carrier seems to be self-evident. Generally, that may be true, but when you replace the AR-15’s gas tube with a piston without a lot of testing and development, you can create more problems than you solve.

The trouble centers around the AR-15’s bolt. Its weight and other design elements are optimized for best reliability in combination with a gas tube. If energy is transferred to the bolt indirectly by means of a piston or tappet rod rather than directly through a gas tube, the weight of those components can rob the bolt of the energy necessary to cycle reliably. That is not to say that a piston AR can’t work, just that converting an AR into a piston gun is a lot tougher than it looks.... if it pans out it could solve a lot of the current complaints about the M4

reply to post by DaddyBare


That thing looks bulky, heavy, and all around crappy. It looks like somebody put an Erector Set together in their garage and put a rifle in it. It looks like a prop from a low budget sci-fi movie. All that metal junk hanging off of it looks like it would snag on everything that touched it.

Troy and Vltor both produce modernized stocks for the M14/M1A rifle, except they turn out finished products that look like weapons instead of scrap metal.

I've never shot any of the three, but there's only two out of the three that I'd ever be interested in shooting. The Sage EBR stock looks like tetanus waiting to happen.

[edit on 18-4-2010 by mattifikation]