AR upper reciever, does brand matter?

Greyhunter

New member
I'm trying to put together an AR and need a complete flat top upper reciever to mate with a lightweight bushy (r-15) barrel. Just need the complete upper reciever, minus barrel etc.

As far as "In Stock" goes, I have found Bushy uppers complete in the $140 range, and no name "mil-spec" uppers in the $95-$100 range. I hear it said all the time that the brand of a lower makes no difference, so does the brand of upper matter at all to you? Fit and finish is important to me.

Also, in regards to M4 feed ramps, IIRC you can use a non-M4 upper with an M4 ramp barrel, but not vice-versa. Correct? I dont believe the barrel I will be using will have the M4 ramps.

Thanks'
Joel
 
Nope. Uppers are all the same too. Except for the price.LOL
DSA has a sale right now on uppers(flat tops). They are mil spec.
Jerryboy
 
DSA = Double Star Arms? Got a link?


ETA: I love my RRA rifles, so if anyone knows where to get a RRA upper reasonable that would be my preference. Havent seen many reasonable prices on RRA stuff lately though.
 
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Check out Tony's Custom Uppers. Tonyscustomuppers.com
I have two of them and they are great. He can make you anything you need or sell you the parts to do your own.
Check out Tony. You won't be sorry.
ohn
 
It matters in quality like anything else. The threads for the barrel nut and
the face for the barrel extension contact are critical and need to be perfectly
square. I wouldn't hesitate to spend an extra 20 or 40 on a custom that has
been lapped and checked for trueness. The other item is on the flat tops if
the rail is picatinny or weaver. I have an rra that is weaver and my good rings
won't go on it. My iron sights are adjusted way to the right in the rear to make
up for the offset. Hard to find any info from the manufacturers what they
put out as well. US Optics makes rings that tighten from both sides but they
are pricey and as far as I know all of the one piece mounts are one size fits
all, meaning they are offset on a weaver.
 
bigwheeler,
I think you may have one of the older RRA uppers that was out of spec. There was a big to-do over that a few years ago.There has never been a Upper made to weaver specs. They were just out of spec P rails. RRA tryed to say it was made somewhere between P and weaver but it wasn't accepted by the masses. No one bought it.
Most of the uppers are made in the same building on the same machines by the same people. I have a new Double star arms kit build that has all the forge markings of all the other top brands.The key hole forge mark,the whole bit.

Greyhunter; Check AR15 d o t com and the equiptment exchange board. Then the uppers and used section. DSA arms(they specialize in FAL/AK parts) is having a sale on M4 uppers.$70 I think.But you will need the dust cover assembly and forward assist assembly. too. I think they have all the parts to finish the upper too. On the sales board,you can expect to pay $120-$140 also.
Jerryboy
 
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Uppers matter. That is where the accuracy is at. If you use a lesser quality upper it may not be as accurate. As far as fitting if its mil-spec your set. Just try to find that when researching. Either mil-spec or fits to standard lowers.
 
The recoil lugs on true Picatinny scope rings are much larger than Weaver style rifle scope rings to better fit the dimensions of MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) rails. The recoil groove on Picatinny rails is .206. Not plus or minus, but .206 if the manufacturing was done correctly. Weaver base recoil slots are plus or minus .180, again, depending on the manufacturer, and with a certain amount of leeway.

So, Weaver scope rings will fit on Picatinny bases, but Picatinny rifle scope rings will not fit on Weaver rails. That's how it's supposed to work. Unfortunately, manufacturers and consumers interchange the monikers, occasionally resulting in non-compatible components.

For instance, Leupold recently changed their superb Mark 4 rifle scope rings to fit Weaver bases, so they are no longer true Picatinny due to the reduced size of the recoil lugs under the rings. In another example, Burris XTR rings are marketed as Picatinny but they are not. They are Weaver. In another Burris twist, they label the XTB bases as Weaver mounts, but they are Picatinny mounts. Aimpoint is on the ball and calls a spade a spade. They offer scope rings for their top quality reflex sights in Weaver AND Picatinny.

Slowly manufacturers are starting to make all rifle scope bases Picatinny and all riflescope rings Weaver style to insure compatibility with all newly manufactured items.

"Uppers matter. That is where the accuracy is at. If you use a lesser quality upper it may not be as accurate."*****

All the upper does it give the bolt carrier rails to ride on. I don't see how price or "cheap" effects that.
Accuracy depends on a few things IMHO. BBL being first,trigger second,Bullet consistancy,consistancy of the load/brass and shooter. Has anyone ever seen an upper that wasn't squared?

Jerryboy
 
All the upper does it give the bolt carrier rails to ride on. I don't see how price or "cheap" effects that.
Accuracy depends on a few things IMHO. BBL being first,trigger second,Bullet consistancy,consistancy of the load/brass and shooter. Has anyone ever seen an upper that wasn't squared?




Right on. The point I am trying to make is the barrel. I beleive we all know the factors that affect accuracy. I didnt mention being squared. When I mention "cheap" we are talking accesories and other options that can be added to an AR. Lower price or "cheap" barrels do affect accuracy after many rounds have been fired. I am not insuating that they are made improperly, but you can get what you pay for. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
chefpierre, I am talking about stripped uppers, not barreled uppers. I agree that the barrel does matter, just trying to save a few bucks on the project where I can.
Thanks for the opinions.
 
Quote:
DSA = Double Star Arms? Got a link?


ETA: I love my RRA rifles, so if anyone knows where to get a RRA upper reasonable that would be my preference. Havent seen many reasonable prices on RRA stuff lately though.



Here's the link you requested. J&T and DSA are one and the same. MI VHNTR

http://jtdistributing.com/index.html
 
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