Monolithic upper? pro/con

M

Mikeyman

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Hi guys, so I have built my first AR lower, got a crate of ammo and an ACOG now I just need the upper. I am super excited about the new NEA AR :canadaFlag:Go Canada! and I have decided on a carbine length 14.5in upper.

Now I just have to decide if the monolithic upper that these fine folks have coming out is for me or not. I have googled it and am more confused than when I started. I have no plans to do any competition or anything if that helps. Does it increase accuracy in theory? They definately look cool but wondering if it is worth the extra price and weight. Thanks AR gurus...
 
They have a slight advantage in keeping the settings of sights, removal and remount, and they look cool. No other functional advantages so it depends how much you value the coolness factor, really. For casual range use, I would not pay extra for that feature and I would put the extra money on other parts or, even better, on ammo to shoot and practice.
 
Anything that takes pressure off the barrel improves accuracy....so yes, a monolithic upper will make some difference if the design is correct. Nobody has seen NEA's mono upper however, so I can't comment on that unit.



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2 "advantages":
~continous optics rail with no deviations
~free floated barrel

2 "disadvantage"
~Regular AR uppers take most of the abuse: takedown holes egged, thin rail section below ejection port cracked ect.
~most "add on rails" KAC ect. get beat up when the guns actually get used (watch the EE for "sand trap" returns...). Front corners scuffed & chipped, optics positions crushed, chipped and dinged. Now imagine not being able to change that section out.

To my way of thinking Monolithics are mostly LCF. Everything they can do is already being done in a modular format.

Do you want to replace a dinged KAC/DD/Larue RAS, or a whole upper?
 
Some very good points Mr. Enfield never thought of it that way. I don't think I would be banging it up like you describe but definately good points to consider.
 
mrsmitty said:
One disadvantage of monolithic uppers is weight they tend to weigh more than regular uppers with RAS installed.
Click to expand...

Do you have any facts to back this up?

http://545ar.com/calc.html

14.5" with Vltor VIS 7" is 6.84lbs
14.5" with KAC M4 RAS is 6.95lbs
14.5" with LMT MRP CQB is 7.09lbs


Monolithic upper also cools down the bolt quicker... theoretically prolonging life of the bolt.
 
mebiuspower said:
Do you have any facts to back this up?

http://545ar.com/calc.html

14.5" with Vltor VIS 7" is 6.84lbs
14.5" with KAC M4 RAS is 6.95lbs
14.5" with LMT MRP CQB is 7.09lbs


Monolithic upper also cools down the bolt quicker... theoretically prolonging life of the bolt.
Click to expand...

Not empirical evidence no but I noticed my Noveske 14.5" with vis and even my Noveske 10.5" with vis were heavier than my 16" KAC SR15. Mind you I believe they were 10" VIS.
 
mrsmitty said:
Not empirical evidence no but I noticed my Noveske 14.5" with vis and even my Noveske 10.5" with vis were heavier than my 16" KAC SR15. Mind you I believe they were 10" VIS.
Click to expand...

Not to change the subject but I thought you compared it to "regular uppers with RAS installed" NOT your SR15 which is a completely different setup altogether...??? :HR:

SR15 has URX II which has integrated front sight and gas block, does your Noveske 14.5 and 10.5" have similar setup???

AFAIK Noveske uses thicker profile(heavier) stainless barrels which adds weight. Play around with the calculator link and you'll see.
 
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