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762x39 piston upper?

9H_Cracka

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 15, 2005
2,792
11
WAY off base (COS CO)
Yea Yea I know this is not BARF.com but I don't want to go over there.

Bottom line - who makes a reasonably priced 762x39 piston upper, preferably mid-length? CMMG has turned the piston option into a few check boxes on the web order for 223, but I called them today and they plan to bring their x51 uppers to market next rather than a x39 upper.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

I don't know if it would be cost effective. Most people get the 7.62x39 ARs to save money on ammo, so dumping another couple of hundred wouldn't seem to logical. Unless you get an upper and get the CMMG piston conversion which costs around $250. And I do like piston uppers. My LMT piston upper is by far my favorite AR ever, so don't think I'm dogging piston ARs.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

Not an upper but a full piston 7.62x39 Robinson XCR with Elite Iron Bravo 1 can.
This is the results at 100 yd. Several shooters got same results. Temp 65, light wind from 3 o'clock. scope is a Leupold vx2 3-9. best 4 shot group was 1.59. avg. under 2moa

5nn2g9.jpg

33ojr6h.jpg
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

I see it as quite logical - add some reliability, that is try to bring it (the AR) up a notch from where it is in the direction of the AK, while keeping the AR platform.

Good point seeing if CMMG will sell me the upper receiver and piston assembly. Model 1 Sales has barrels and bolts. Problem is I really don't want a carbine length gas system if I can avoid it but that is gas gun thinking not piston gun. Let me give the idea some thought.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NineHotel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I see it as quite logical - add some reliability, that is try to bring it (the AR) up a notch from where it is in the direction of the AK, while keeping the AR platform.

Good point seeing if CMMG will sell me the upper receiver and piston assembly. Model 1 Sales has barrels and bolts. Problem is I really don't want a carbine length gas system if I can avoid it but that is gas gun thinking not piston gun. Let me give the idea some thought. </div></div>

Honestly, if you are worried about reliability, there no difference between a good DI and a good Piston upper, unless you are shooting thousands of rounds in a desert environment. The one thing that it will do is cut down on the cleaning time, which was a big selling point for me as I hate cleaning my ARs.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

Sounds like the beginning of yet another great AK vs. AR debate.

I want a gas piston upper, therefore I NEED a gas piston upper.

Gas piston upgrade in the CMMG world is only $100. I think it is worth trying at that price, if I can get it to work in the 762x39.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NineHotel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yea Yea I know this is not BARF.com but I don't want to go over there.

Bottom line - who makes a reasonably priced 762x39 piston upper, preferably mid-length? CMMG has turned the piston option into a few check boxes on the web order for 223, but I called them today and they plan to bring their x51 uppers to market next rather than a x39 upper.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. </div></div>


I mean the following in the greatest respect: Why?...There is no point to this in an AR.

I'm going to assume this is not for work/service. The 7.62x39 does not have the best reputation in the AR platform with bolt breakages, lack of chrome-lined barrels, and lack of hi-cap magazines due to the round's profile.

And a piston AR plinker is just plain pointless. The ones I have used/owned have more recoil than standard DI guns. The parts are more expensive. I have also seen where the aftermarket piston kits affect accuracy. So it's like paying money for a less accurate gun with more recoil.


If you want 7.62x39 and a piston, get an AK
If you want a piston AR, get one in an AR caliber
If you want a 7.62x39 AR, get a Colt or an Armalite upper

Bottom line, i'm not sure of your intended purpose for this rifle, but I'm 100% sure there is a better option than a piston AR in 7.62x39.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jp_colt</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Not an upper but a full piston 7.62x39 Robinson XCR with Elite Iron Bravo 1 can.
This is the results at 100 yd. Several shooters got same results. Temp 65, light wind from 3 o'clock. scope is a Leupold vx2 3-9. best 4 shot group was 1.59. avg. under 2moa

</div></div>

Its definately not the cheapest solution but its the best that I have found, I picked up my XCR for 700 cause a guy needed cash and I plan on buying the x39 conversion for it and proceed to beat the shit out of it. Ill let you guys know how it goes.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

i have a sar-1 ak and i love the shit out of it. it is fairly accurit to 100 yds. mind you i said fairly. ha ha but my friend did this conversion to his dpms and hates it! i like the 556 for the accuracy but i like the 39 for the penetration and knock down. nothing like seeing a coyote damn near do a flip ha ha. but all in all you gotta do what will make you happy. you are the one that has to live with this gun not us.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

problems with the 7.62 x 39 AR conversions.

light Primer strikes from hard surplus primers. seating depth on surplus/russian ammo can vary also adding to setting depth issue. some people are modifying the back end of there bolts, some are modifying the firing pins to allow a little deeper primer strikers. There is one company out there that has a 7.62x39 bolt/firing pin that is supposed to take car of this. I have not personally tried this product yet.

Mags..........big issue. standard AR mags will only hold and feed reliably a limited number of rounds. C-product mags need tweaking (mine did).

In my opinion, M4 feedramps are needed on this caliber upper. especially if you want to use a soft point bullet for hunting. My upper would run with FMJ, be iffy with hollow points, and forget soft points.

These issues plague the DI guns and will carry over to piston ARs also. work these issues out first.

now, US made ammo will not have the same issues as the surplus ammo (mostly just mag related). but any gun designed to shoot the surplus ammo will not be a precise weapon due to the looseness of the chamber to allow the use of the surplus ammo.
 
Re: 762x39 piston upper?

Thanks for the input folks. Someone really wanted my ARS AK and I am sitting on a bit of ammo, plus I really like how hard the AK round hits and delivers its energy at moderate distances. I spend quite a bit of time with an A2 type AR so the full length handguard/16" barrel option for the 7.62x39 round has me interested.

Yes maybe making it a gas piston gun gets me further down the project path than I would prefer after some research.

I'll do a flattop with A2-style removable front sight so that I can play A2 irons with it and SPR with it to see how it compares to those two rifles. My friends and I frequently experiment with different combinations of rifles, optics, variants of each, and see how they stack up. This project will be just one more thing to experiment with.