Hi, just wondering if anyone runs a Stag 8H upper, thinking about switching over to a piston upper and so far its looking like a pretty good choice. I fondled one at the Marlborough show and like it a bit more. Likes/Dislikes?
Thanks
Thanks
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Stag Arms 8H piston upper? Looking for input!
- Thread starter xx240gxx
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Do you have an AR currently?
What do you wan the gun for?
If you looking for a range toy just get a DI and save some money,
If you looking for a hard hitting reliable rifle i would stay away from Stag. If you dead set on a piston gun i would look at LMT and spend the $2K for the upper.
What do you wan the gun for?
If you looking for a range toy just get a DI and save some money,
If you looking for a hard hitting reliable rifle i would stay away from Stag. If you dead set on a piston gun i would look at LMT and spend the $2K for the upper.
I own one and honestly am not so far very impressed. I am admittedly a novice and have no idea how to tweak the thing to be more reliable. Looks great, shoots straight, but right now dealing with several FTE and FTF. I have been trying to figure out how to make it run smoother and cant figure out why the bolt carrier group sticks out the back of the upper when you mate upper to lower, other than to believe there is some kind of adjustment I need to make. Get with someone who knows about them BEFORE you buy it and it will probably go alot smoother.
The bolt carrier may stick out a little because there are no gas rings to hold the bolt in the forward position in the carrier like a DI setup.
I have a POF setup that has been reliable with everything, including aluminum cased Wolf ammo. YMMV.
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The bolt has a spring that helps to eliminate cam pin wear. It is designed that way. Just push the bolt carrier group in with your finger as you put the upper and lower together.
What ammo are you using with it?
I use an Adam Arms complete mid length upper and haven't had any issues.
One time a friend tried using some junk Russian surplus steel cased ammo and it short cycled but I am attributing that to low powered ammo.
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Out of curiosity, what are the benefits of a $2k LMT upper?
I know a guy that has one and runs it real hard w/o problems.
It has a 1/9 twist, aka, the fudd twist, which = " why bother?" I'm wondering when these vendors are going to work that disease out of their system. Then again I'll admit my bias here... if the gun can't stabilize 75 gr Hornady TAP or 77gr SMKs, I don't want it. This might not matter to most, especially if you're just using it as a range toy.
Piston uppers are overrated, and if you're that set on buying one, last thing I'd buy is a cheapo piston upper, which is what the stag 8H is. On the other hand, you can get a BCM DI gas upper and bolt carrier group for about the same amount of money and you'll probably be far better off in the end.
-Mike
Piston uppers are overrated, and if you're that set on buying one, last thing I'd buy is a cheapo piston upper, which is what the stag 8H is. On the other hand, you can get a BCM DI gas upper and bolt carrier group for about the same amount of money and you'll probably be far better off in the end.
-Mike
beaker
NES Member
I would recommended an Adams Arms mid length upper. Ranier Arms and Midway sell them. $600-700. I'd stay away from stag. The spikes heavy buffer setup is perfect for the Adams piston.
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dcmdon
NES Member
So you're saying you need a $2000 upper for it to be reliable.
Sorry, but thats bad advice.
First, stag arms makes decent stuff.
Second , if your stag arms piston upper is having trouble, give them a call. They have great customer service. GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO MAKE IT RIGHT.
Third, a standard DI LMT upper is also very nice. For about $500!!
Fourth, BCM will sell you an A4 Upper for $489 and a BCG for $139. Thats some serious best bang for the buck in a custom made combat ready upper.
If your tastes run to target shooting, take a look at Rock River Arms (let the flaming begin). Their stainless bbl guns are very accurate for the money.
Don
Don't put words in my mouth.
Why don't you wait till the OP at least answers what the gun will be used for before you give an opinion.
A quality gun will not have an issue with Russian surplus steel case ammo
Cool. This thread has drifted just far enough.
S&W uses the Adams Arms kit for their factory piston gun. I figure good enough for them, good enough for me. I'm going with Adams Arms for my piston upper.
S&W uses the Adams Arms kit for their factory piston gun. I figure good enough for them, good enough for me. I'm going with Adams Arms for my piston upper.
dcmdon
NES Member
Supermoto. I've not had any trouble with stuff like wolf. But its pretty low powered stuff.
I've heard stories of people with Colt and LMT guns (with gas ports sized for 5.56) short stroking with this low powered stuff. In one case the gun was sent back to LMT and they reamed out the ports a bit.
I'm not sure if its Internet legend or what. But my 10.5" LMT runs fine on wolf and my 18" MRP (DI) also ran great on wolf.
I'm one of those people who uses motor oil on his AR so maybe thats it. I also use a chamber brush on a regular basis. I don't actually clean my 10.5" gun very often at all. Just bore snake, oil and chamber brush. (Its purely a toy)
Ive been looking at the stag 8H over the last couple of days myself.
This seems to be the best price at $785 http://www.m4store.net/index.php?p=product&id=335
I like the idea that the MI flip up sights are included.
I would like a rail that would extend to the front of tha gas block. thats the only drawback for me. Not sure if someone makes an extended rail that connects like a carbine handguards.
This seems to be the best price at $785 http://www.m4store.net/index.php?p=product&id=335
I like the idea that the MI flip up sights are included.
I would like a rail that would extend to the front of tha gas block. thats the only drawback for me. Not sure if someone makes an extended rail that connects like a carbine handguards.
Don't have a piston Stag but do have 5.56 and 6.8mm Stags. I can tell ya Stags are very nice AR's despite what some "experts" here will try to tell you. If you read ANY reviews on them you will see that those reviews are different then what you will read here. Stag has been around for somewhere around 30 years and started out making parts for other companies. I get a laugh when I read people telling others to buy a Bushmaster instead of a Stag since Stag makes the lowers for Bushmaster.
dcmdon
NES Member
Here's the history. Continental Machine and Tool has been making AR parts for other people for 30 years. I can't confirm it, but its generally accepted that they made a lot of stuff for Colt. I don't know the founders name, but in 2003 his son came up with the idea to make their own rifles. It made perfect sense since they were already the OEM for some of the best names in the business.
The son is left handed, which led to them being one of the few AR makers to offer mirror image uppers.
I apologize, I wish I had names. Anyway, Stag arms and CMT are still closely related since its a father and son thing and Stag essentially assembles CMT parts into assembled rifles. A quick check of their respective web sites shows CMT at 533 Downey Drive and Stag at 515 Downey Drive. Plug the addresses into google maps and you see that they are two adjacent buildings.
Here's a link to the gmaps view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=515+downey+drive,+new+britain,+ct&daddr=533+John+Downey+Dr,+New+Britain,+Connecticut+06051&hl=en&geocode=FXTOewId5tup-ymVtP0sALPniTGXKLn648-hqg%3BFSDRewIdntup-ylT8WfU_7LniTExMoBHGA0PsA&mra=pd&sll=41.723841,-72.665484&sspn=0.122356,0.256462&ie=UTF8&ll=41.668492,-72.754354&spn=0.002352,0.006035&t=h&z=19
I hope this helps shed some light on who and what Stag Arms is.
Don
The son is left handed, which led to them being one of the few AR makers to offer mirror image uppers.
I apologize, I wish I had names. Anyway, Stag arms and CMT are still closely related since its a father and son thing and Stag essentially assembles CMT parts into assembled rifles. A quick check of their respective web sites shows CMT at 533 Downey Drive and Stag at 515 Downey Drive. Plug the addresses into google maps and you see that they are two adjacent buildings.
Here's a link to the gmaps view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=515+downey+drive,+new+britain,+ct&daddr=533+John+Downey+Dr,+New+Britain,+Connecticut+06051&hl=en&geocode=FXTOewId5tup-ymVtP0sALPniTGXKLn648-hqg%3BFSDRewIdntup-ylT8WfU_7LniTExMoBHGA0PsA&mra=pd&sll=41.723841,-72.665484&sspn=0.122356,0.256462&ie=UTF8&ll=41.668492,-72.754354&spn=0.002352,0.006035&t=h&z=19
I hope this helps shed some light on who and what Stag Arms is.
Don
And making stuff for Colt to be used in Gubment contracts required them to make and test to proper specification. Now that they are their own company they can make and sell there rifles in any configuration they want to, hell they came even sell and ship rejects from Colt. Fact is look at there guns and you can see they cut corners that deviated from the spec especially on the M4 style.
Does that matter for the recreational shooter plinking 20 rounds a weekend? Probably not, for me i want a gun that shoots all ammo, didn't say accurately, just shoots. I had a stag and it was picky on ammo but as soon as i got a gun with the proper extractor spring and buffer from Daniel Defense that problem went away.
This is why it is important to find out what the OP's intent for the rifle is.
Thanks for everyone's input first off. My intent for the rifle is mostly recreational. I do like to practice hard, yet don't have any experience with a piston rifle. I would love a POF, LMT or the likes but I haven't found anyone giving them out for free yet.
I currently have a Daniel Defense upper that I have yet to even throw on yet, maybe I will stick with that for a bit. I was contemplating selling it and using the money for the Stag. Once again, I appreciate the input.
Thanks.
I currently have a Daniel Defense upper that I have yet to even throw on yet, maybe I will stick with that for a bit. I was contemplating selling it and using the money for the Stag. Once again, I appreciate the input.
Thanks.
Thats why I said to read reviews and see if you can find a bad one. I or anyone I have met that owns a Stag (and a couple of my co-workers bought some after me) has never had a problem with thiers. Even with owning two different model and calibers I have had zero problems. Just saying, dont believe those that favor another brands storys about how they know someone who met some one that had one blow up. My local dealer is a Stag dealer and sells lots of them to satisfied customers. I have no idea where this ammo that Madball13 gets comes from but it would be good to know because I sure havent found any my Stags don't like.
If you have a DD upper and a DD BCG you have a gem of a rifle and i don't think you should change it. DD is right up there with Colt, BCM and LMT. Your upper is made and tested to correct specification and should be problem free for you.
I maybe late on this and you have probably seen it already but the Stag site has alot of review links and videos. Jeff Quinn of Gunblast has a quick one on the piston model and he is pretty knowlegable.
dcmdon
NES Member
I agree 110%
You also raise a good point around the fact that just because they CAN make top notch stuff doesn't mean that is what they use in their stuff.
As far as your gun that was picky. I'd have been curious to know he size of the gas ports.
Its funny, I think DD has only been making ARs for a couple of years, but they've gotten a very good rep in just that short time. I guess it doesn't really matter how long you've been building them, since there is an enormous amount of docunmentation on the what, why, and how.
Don
dcmdon
NES Member
I love the gunblast site. But all of the Quinn's reviews are positive. Have you ever seen a negative review on gunblast?
![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
dcmdon
NES Member
Agreed. Just keep the chamber clean and the bolt wet and it will run reliably. (Both of those services take about a minute together. We're not talking about much)
When shooting my LMT upper with a suppressor, its pretty messy and since I'm left handed its even worse, but its fun and reliable.
When shooting my LMT upper with a suppressor, its pretty messy and since I'm left handed its even worse, but its fun and reliable.
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Wow, way to hijack the thread . . . that is a awesome rifle!
Wow, way to hijack the thread . . . that is a awesome rifle!
