Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Adams Arms - upper or conversion

Wanted to get input from anyone who has any experience with the Adams Arms gas piston system uppers for the AR-15?!

I am looking to build my first AR, and the Adams Arms complete upper was highly recommended by a co-worker.

From the research I have done so far it looks real good.
What do you guys know??

Unless you are currently working as a PSD driver in a high-threat environment and actually need a 10in barreled AR, a piston upper is a bad idea, especially some off-brand no one has ever heard of. The piston upper, to steal a line from COL Cooper, is an excellent solution for a non-existent problem. They add NOTHING but weight, cost, and a reduction in accuracy.

I would also recommend you go with a DI gun instead of piston. Whatever your budget I think you will end up with a superior AR by skipping on pistons.

Lots of 416s sitting in arms rooms now days.

I built four uppers using the Adams Arms piston unit in b oth 5.56 and 6.5 Grendel calibers and have nothing but praise for it. Disadvantages are it does cost more, and adds a little weight. Advantage is that the gun stays cleaner. I do not see any difference in accuracy compared to a di upper.

One Grendel upper, a factory made di unit has had reliability problems,whereas my identical sized Adams Arms, home built upper has been totally reliable.

If Osama Been Leaden could talk, he would have said the SEAL's piston HK 416 sure hurts a lot.

Piston driven ARs do still get dirty. They simply get dirty in a different place. Piston guns do typically stay cleaner in the chamber area though.

Contrary to popular belief, a piston gun is not going to run a suppressed weapon that much cleaner in the chamber area. Much of the fouling from suppressor use actually comes back down the bore. Of course, this only applies if you intended to use a suppressor. I merely mention it because many suppressor users are duped into thinking the piston systems solve all problems with blow back and they very much do not.

Piston guns still require maintenance. They add more moving parts to the firearm and some of these are wear parts.

Some piston systems have a slightly more pronounced felt recoil. This is similar to what you see/feel in AKs. Some piston systems also feel a little more front heavy, but not too bad IMHO.

The Adams kits are very nice and typically run very well. I've installed and used quite a few with excellent results. If a piston is your thing, the Adams is a good place to look. The kits come with a pretty well done video that steps you through the upgrade process. If you've never installed a kit like this before, I suggest you watch the video all the way through once and then start on the upgrade using the video as a reference as needed. But it really is a simple process.

Best of luck to you.

Mark