Advice

[BPTactical]

Again BP, I usually bow to your excellent advice... personally though, I wasn't overly wowed by RRA. Fired and field stripped one and just something about it didn't sit well with me. Bushmasters are good, I used an M4A2 in the Army made by Bush and they're decent, just not the biggest fan of DI, I'd rather have a piston system.

Never claimed RockRiver had a "Wow" factor, when a new one would come in it was more of a "Meh" factor. They are a halfway decent rifle and the best thing about them was being able to pretty much order any configuration. The upcharge of 40.00 for a chrome lined bore was BS though.

I like piston guns just fine.
That's why we have AK's and FAL's.

I can't think of one piston AR that has not exhibited bolt tilt or battering that I have seen.

[Ronin13]

I like piston guns just fine.
That's why we have AK's and FAL's.

I can't think of one piston AR that has not exhibited bolt tilt or battering that I have seen.

Wait, so you're saying I'm going to get bolt tilt and/or battering on my POF someday? Uh oh, that's a lot of money I have invested in that weapon.

[BPTactical]

Wait, so you're saying I'm going to get bolt tilt and/or battering on my POF someday? Uh oh, that's a lot of money I have invested in that weapon.

You may. All I can attest to is the piston AR's I have worked on have shown signs of bolt tilt, battering or otherwise unusual wear.
With a G-I rifle the gas impulse is evenly distributed to the bolt carrier/bolt and is a rapid although smooth impulse. It is also directly in line with the bore which helps keep recoil managable.
On a piston rifle the entire recoil impulse is focused on the top of the bolt, where the gas key usually resides. This results in bolt tilt and battering of the impact area of the carrier. It also causes the recoil impulse to be about 3/4" above the bore centerline. This can contribute to muzzle rise.

I am just not a big fan when folks go about trying to re-invent the wheel. Eugene Stoner was a mechanical genius similar but no equal to John Browning. Everytime somebody thinks they are smarter than the original designer and deviate too much from the design the results are usually less than expected.
YMMV.............................................. .....