$1,299 Colt LE6940 Piston AR

tomandjerry00 · Nov 19, 2014

I paid $1,880 (after taxes) for my LE6940 gas version at the height of the scare. This is a smoking deal for the piston driven version!

http://www.deguns.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LE6940P

llkoolkeg · Nov 19, 2014

Just out of curiosity, why do people put pistons in AR's and AK's instead of just buying an FAL? I personally prefer having all three in their original formats and calibers. It kinda reminds me of buying a nice sedan and then putting all sorts of ground effects and spoilers on it to try and make it into something it wasn't designed to be. Yes, I understand that Colt makes this one like that from the factory, but I imagine it's in response to demand. Do some types of ammo just not feed reliably in a regular old 6920?

tomandjerry00 · Nov 19, 2014

llkoolkeg said:
Just out of curiosity, why do people put pistons in AR's and AK's instead of just buying an FAL? I personally prefer having all three in their original formats and calibers. It kinda reminds me of buying a nice sedan and then putting all sorts of ground effects and spoilers on it to try and make it into something it wasn't designed to be. Yes, I understand that Colt makes this one like that from the factory, but I imagine it's in response to demand. Do some types of ammo just not feed reliably in a regular old 6920?

Well this gun is considerably more accurate than a FAL and shoots .223/5.56 instead of .308. In addition, people love the AR platform. Already have all the tools, accessories and knowledge to use it. Many argue piston is more reliable and needs less cleaning. Nice to have the option in a familiar platform.

Just check out this accuracy test:

http://looserounds.com/2013/06/13/accuracy-of-the-milspec-ar15-carbine-barrel/

llkoolkeg · Nov 19, 2014

tomandjerry00 said:
Well this gun is considerably more accurate than a FAL and shoots .223/5.56 instead of .308. In addition, people love the AR platform. Already have all the tools, accessories and knowledge to use it. Many argue piston is more reliable and needs less cleaning. Nice to have the option in a familiar platform.

Just check out this accuracy test:

http://looserounds.com/2013/06/13/accuracy-of-the-milspec-ar15-carbine-barrel/

I can see your point but think there is value to be gained from learning how to use multiple platforms effectively rather than modifying the tool to conform to the knowledge of its user. I think the 6940 is a gorgeous gun and looked into them before going with a 6920 but imagine the same shooter with the same ammo and conditions used in your link above would likely find any accuracy difference between them negligible and within a standard deviation. If you can only have one gun/caliber, however, I completely understand wanting to make it as good as it can possibly be and comfortably customized for its unique owner.

tomandjerry00 · Nov 19, 2014

llkoolkeg said:
I can see your point but think there is value to be gained from learning how to use multiple platforms effectively rather than modifying the tool to conform to the knowledge of its user. I think the 6940 is a gorgeous gun and looked into them before going with a 6920 but imagine the same shooter with the same ammo and conditions used in your link above would likely find any accuracy difference between them negligible and within a standard deviation. If you can only have one gun/caliber, however, I completely understand wanting to make it as good as it can possibly be and comfortably customized for its unique owner.

Not saying there isn't value from learning multiple platforms.

But I will say you will get better accuracy from a 6940 vs a 6920. The 6940 has a free-floated barrel resulting in more consistent barrel harmonics and greater accuracy. Furthermore, its a monolithic upper which allows great optics flexibility.

Lastly, there was debate as to whether a piston-driven AR was still legal in the state.

BradMacc82 · Nov 19, 2014

**From someone that has owned piston-driven uppers and D.I. uppers.**

I have yet to exceed the accuracy from a D.I. upper with a piston upper. My personal best with the D.I. upper came in at JUST under .3" at 105 yards. At the same distance, with the same ammo, with the same optic - my best with the piston upper was .41".

As for reliability, it can be argued. The AR15 was never DESIGNED to be piston-driven. When you convert one to piston, there are issues that need to be addressed.

Cam pin drag - common on all of them, my piston upper excised material out of the upper until it removed enough material to not drag.

Carrier tilt - to a varying degree, still an issue with most, if not all of them.

I ran the dog-shyt out of that piston upper. After 3800 rounds, I got rid of it. The hype is just that - Hype.

*I'm not even going to get going on proprietary parts.

***ETA: I'm not trying to sway anyone's buying, just putting my own experience out there. If you want a piston upper, it's your money and your choice.

ViperRy · Nov 20, 2014

I had the same experience as BMacc,

The only advantage I saw when comparing my piston gun to DI was that it ran cleaner. However, I've ran DI guns dirty as hell without issues.

Another difference that I noticed which was not mentioned below was that when comparing the piston gun back to back with the DI gun, utilizing the same exact ammo, A2 birdcage muzzle device (as well as battlecomps on both guns at a different period of time), I came to the conclusion that the piston gun definitely had more muzzle rise.

One has to also think about the proprietary designs of these various piston ARs. If one of the manufacturers goes out of business in the future, good luck finding replacement parts.

I sold my piston AR and have no plans on purchasing another.

BradMacc82 said:
**From someone that has owned piston-driven uppers and D.I. uppers.**

I have yet to exceed the accuracy from a D.I. upper with a piston upper. My personal best with the D.I. upper came in at JUST under .3" at 105 yards. At the same distance, with the same ammo, with the same optic - my best with the piston upper was .41".

As for reliability, it can be argued. The AR15 was never DESIGNED to be piston-driven. When you convert one to piston, there are issues that need to be addressed.

Cam pin drag - common on all of them, my piston upper excised material out of the upper until it removed enough material to not drag.

Carrier tilt - to a varying degree, still an issue with most, if not all of them.

I ran the dog-shyt out of that piston upper. After 3800 rounds, I got rid of it. The hype is just that - Hype.

*I'm not even going to get going on proprietary parts.

***ETA: I'm not trying to sway anyone's buying, just putting my own experience out there. If you want a piston upper, it's your money and your choice.

iceet · Nov 26, 2014

The 6920 is tried and true, and I believe it more after reading this article:
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/03/07/6000-rounds-later-review-colt-6920/

Unfortunately it's too late to get one in Maryland.

BossmanPJ · Nov 26, 2014

iceet said:
The 6920 is tried and true, and I believe it more after reading this article:
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/03/07/6000-rounds-later-review-colt-6920/

Unfortunately it's too late to get one in Maryland.

Yeah it really sucks. It would go great with my 6721.

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