upper recievers

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Bryan Carvalho

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Hey fello black rifle nuts. I'm fairly new to the ar game and after lots of play with them I've decided to build one to my configuration. My question is regarding the difference between upper recievers. I'm looking at a vltor mur-1a compared to a standard let's say bushmaster. Wondering if there's really a noticable difference? Thanks for any and all advice.
 
That really depends on what you want it for. If you coddle your guns and don't put a lot of rounds through them, then maybe not. If you want to build something for action/competitive shooting in the States or other punishing activities, then maybe.
 
It all depends on what you can afford/are willing to spend. A $500 complete upper would do just fine at putting lead down range, but it all comes down to what you want to do with your rifle. Top shelf components = top shelf price
 
Bryan Carvalho said:
And to add to that if its really worth the difference in price.
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Are you going to be putting a large number of rounds down range in a competitive environment, or are you going to casually put a couple of rounds down range at your local club?

If competing, get the best equipment you can afford. If plinking casually, get whatever you find fun and cool. :cool:

That being said, the barrel and BCG are, IMHO, more important than the base upper.

Also I should add that as you approach top tier equipment (KAC, H&K etc.) the price increases at a disproportionate rate to quality.
 
If you buy ANY milspec upper, regardless of what some will say, it will last almost forever if maintained. In an AR15 the upper only serves as an optics mount, something to screw the barrel to, and a guide channel for the BCG. At the moment of firing, the bolt is locked directly to the barrel extension and if your upper was made in spec out of 7075-T6 aluminum and Type 3 hard coat anodized, it frankly will not matter who made it, whether it started as a forging or a billet or any of the other KoolAid stuff.

IF (and I doubt this applied to you) you shoot a lot of full-auto or with suppressors, you might want to make sure you get an upper with M4 feed ramps (and matching bbl extension) and you should probably run something like a PRI gasbuster with the upper.

At the end of the day, I have yet to see anything to prove that a $300 VLTOR stripped upper will shoot better or last longer than a $115 Aero Precision stripped upper.

The Canadian and US militaries run standard milspec A3 or M4 type flat-top forged uppers no different than the $115 AP upper I just mentioned and those guns see more rounds between rebuilds than you will ever shoot in your lifetime.

Just keep the sand out of it as much as possible and run the bolt sloppy wet with CLP and you'll have zero issues for the life of the rifle.
 
One person drives 15 km to work in Toyota Tercel every day, another person in the same office drives about the same amount of distance to work in an Audi A4 on a daily basis, is it worth the price difference between the two cars?:p
 
hbean said:
One person drives 15 km to work in Toyota Tercel every day, another person in the same office drives about the same amount of distance to work in an Audi A4 on a daily basis, is it worth the price difference between the two cars?:p
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Hell yes! For just 15 km in good weather and using the vehicle just as an appliance, Tercel will do but so would a scooter for much less money and fuel costs. Add longer trips and rain, sleet and snow and the A4 is worth every penny.

P.S. yep, I have an A4 and love it! :)
 
Claven2 said:
If you buy ANY milspec upper, regardless of what some will say, it will last almost forever if maintained. In an AR15 the upper only serves as an optics mount, something to screw the barrel to, and a guide channel for the BCG. At the moment of firing, the bolt is locked directly to the barrel extension and if your upper was made in spec out of 7075-T6 aluminum and Type 3 hard coat anodized, it frankly will not matter who made it, whether it started as a forging or a billet or any of the other KoolAid stuff.

IF (and I doubt this applied to you) you shoot a lot of full-auto or with suppressors, you might want to make sure you get an upper with M4 feed ramps (and matching bbl extension) and you should probably run something like a PRI gasbuster with the upper.

At the end of the day, I have yet to see anything to prove that a $300 VLTOR stripped upper will shoot better or last longer than a $115 Aero Precision stripped upper.

The Canadian and US militaries run standard milspec A3 or M4 type flat-top forged uppers no different than the $115 AP upper I just mentioned and those guns see more rounds between rebuilds than you will ever shoot in your lifetime.

Just keep the sand out of it as much as possible and run the bolt sloppy wet with CLP and you'll have zero issues for the life of the rifle.
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This is somewhat along the lines i was thinking but just wanted to hear from other people. I was thinking of going with a bushmaster as i get a great deal on them. I plan on building a 16" hbar carbine for plinking, punching paper, service rifle matches(which will lead me to another question on which optic 4x and under)etc. I dont plan on it being a true safe queen but a well loved somewhat accurate go to service rifle. in terms of accuracy, any suggestions on great quality BCG's and barrels?
 
Bryan Carvalho said:
This is somewhat along the lines i was thinking but just wanted to hear from other people. I was thinking of going with a bushmaster as i get a great deal on them. I plan on building a 16" hbar carbine for plinking, punching paper, service rifle matches(which will lead me to another question on which optic 4x and under)etc. I dont plan on it being a true safe queen but a well loved somewhat accurate go to service rifle. in terms of accuracy, any suggestions on great quality BCG's and barrels?
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For barrels, do you want chrome lined or non-chrome lined? For 14.5" and up, I use ATRS as a barrel source. For shorter, I'm waiting for NEA barrels.

As for a BCG - the best quality BCG at a fair price right now is a Stag from Armseast. Milspec FA BCG's are on sale for $175 this month. I run two of these and they are great.

For an optic in that range, options are limited if you want something decent.

Basically, you have Elcan, ACOG, Accupoint, Leupold MRT, Nightforce or a consumer grade hunting scope in the 1-5X range.
 
I was contemplating a 16" HBAR as it seems to be the longest while still keeping it a carbine. I'm trying to dig up an article I had a couple months ago that compared all companys m4 carbines side by side and ended up with a list from bottom to top. Stuff like colt and lmt were at the top and it was interesting to see stag sitting on the bottom. I see a lot of love for them on this site. Not trashing them just interesting to read. A stag bcg is 175 and an "enhanced" lmt fa bcg from questar was around 350. Would someone have a noticable accuracy difference?
 
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