[HAFBSP]

I was on the fence about picking up a new AR or Mini 14. Decided to build an AR to save a little but now I'm more at the budget be damned point. Now my hang up is if I should go for a gas piston design or not. I've seen a lot of pros and cons and would like to see you guys weigh in.

I'm going for a pistol configuration. 7 1/2 barrel with an extended rail system and A3 type stock rather than the short pistol buffer only. So if I go the piston route I'm not sure if it would be better to go the way of a factory built upper that already has a gas piston system rather than building my upper. My lower is complete. I have experience from my military days in building ARs from M-16s to M4s to GAUs, but never built or worked with a gas piston system other than working on AKs here and there.

[fsted2a]

If you are determined to get a piston upper, I would say just get one that is factory built. Some of the drop in piston kits for pistol length really have jamming issues, as they don't have a spring in the linkage to slow the cycling action a bit. That is the problem with AR pistols in general, DI or piston. The shorter the barrel, the more stoppages you generally have. The entire cycling action (to include the gas system and buffer) was designed from day 1 to work with a 20 inch barrel. That gives the gases time and room to dissipate the pressure and heat. I could go on, but I have strayed too much as it is. Just my .02. There are actually some AR pistols that work quite well because everything is matched