LMT- DI or piston?

[stemikel]

Recently saw LMT defender at LGS. Price is fair in today’s market. Piston model costs more. Does this system justify the cost (approximately $800 more)? Defender seemed to be built like a tank and LMT seems to be well regarded here. Looking for workhorse 5.56 to shoot out to 200 m. Mostly target, maybe coyotes, and maybe tactical if the SHTF.
Thanks

 

[RyanScott]

No, the piston is pointless.

 

[M8541Reaper]

LMT is a workhorse man and you’ll be fine either way. That said, buy the DI model. If the piston model is all that’s left when to go back, just pull the barrel and bolt and swap em for a DI setup. That’s one of the great things about the LMT system and takes less than a minute to do so.

 

[ScarlettRed]

I just bought a 12" piston upper. If I were buying 16" or more I think the di would be better due to weight and having a di bolt carrier for future barrels. We'll see how I like the piston as I have a few non AR piston guns already. I would just get what you can due to the circumstances and add a piston barrel in the future if it piques your curiosity.

 

[stemikel]

Thanks fellas. You saved me some cash.

 

[M8541Reaper]

Thanks fellas. You saved me some cash.

Don’t think of it as saved cash, but rather the diversion of allotted funds in order to buy other awesome items to fulfill the desire to maintain adherence to the ABC principle.

 

[thehun]

LMT shines in DI...their piston leaves a lot to be desired...they created it to compete with all the AR piston rage back in the day...

Now, the Estonia guns are piston...so we shall see if they made improvements to it...

 

[Powder_Burns]

DI all day. My hangup with piston setups is the proprietary parts to make those systems work...everyone has gas blocks, gas tubes, and regular bcg’s if you ever needed parts to make a gun run.

 

[RyanScott]

LMT has a proprietary gas block and tube. When my key hit my tube the upper needed to go back to Illinois.

 

[stemikel]

LMT has a proprietary gas block and tube. When my key hit my tube the upper needed to go back to Illinois.

What exactly happened to damage the LMT?

 

[jeffl838]

My LMT Ar10 was super overpassed and would burst fire with a suppressor. Idk if the AR15 is the same, but I think a piston (ideally just less aggressive or tunable gas...) might have helped with the overgas/suppression issue.

 

[hellishot]

LMT direct impingement is on top of their game. However if you decide to go the piston route, I would suggest either PWS or HK as they have a superior piston systems on ar15/ar10 platform.

 

[thehun]

My LMT Ar10 was super overpassed and would burst fire with a suppressor. Idk if the AR15 is the same, but I think a piston (ideally just less aggressive or tunable gas...) might have helped with the overgas/suppression issue.

LMT MWS is notorious for being overgassed...and has been documented well online that you need to tune it...if you have a MWS...I HIGHLY recommend you get an adjustable gas key like the Rubber city offering...

You can't put a different gas block on because LMT has angled gas ports.

 

[jeffl838]

LMT MWS is notorious for being overgassed...and has been documented well online that you need to tune it...if you have a MWS...I HIGHLY recommend you get an adjustable gas key like the Rubber city offering...

You can't put a different gas block on because LMT has angled gas ports.

That was my point. Most people buy factory guns because they want it to be near-perfect for them out of the box. The LMT DI for anyone that wants to use a higher blowback suppressor might not be.

 

[RyanScott]

What exactly happened to damage the LMT?

The colt carrier key hammered the gas tube. Key and tube were trashed