AR Upper advice

[tombogan03884]

 Now that you mention that, I remember it was remington. Since I'm building this as a General purpose blaster, not a precision rifle it sounds like 1:9 is what I want, I thought so but wanted to be sure.

[fightingquaker13]

Good idea with sticking to 5.56 for now - you can always change uppers later as time and money and availability improve. 1:9 is fine for the 5.56, gives you a range of 52gr through upper 60 grains, like 67 or something like that. You just can't use the "heavy" 70 gr and higher weight bullets.

I have a Stag upper, and it is very nice. Can't go wrong with Stag. I remember MB talking a couple years ago about shooting a Stag rifle out of the box, no cleaning or anything, and was shooting tight groups, and the gun ran flawlessly.

Go with a flat top, Tom, you can always get a removable carry handle if you decide you want one. I have a DPMS with the handle permanently mounted, wish I had the flattop. The handle screws with optics mounts rather badly. Even with a Z-mount for the optics on the handle, they are way high for me.

Agreed, honestly who uses a carry handle anyway? I would spring for an upper that has built in buis, otherwise its an extra $150. Likewise make sure it has a sling mount or you're out more dollars. Modularity is a plus to the AR, but it can nickel and dime you to death if you don't do your research first (I am exhibit A). I let myself get stampeded into a deal, and now I will spend some money getting it where I want it. I still will have paid a fair price, just not as cheap as it first appeared. Measure twice, cut once.
FQ13

[twyacht]

Good call on the 1:9, agree also with a flat top, handles can always be added/removed.

16" barrel perfect for general use, although a slightly longer one would result in a little "reach out" effect.

Stag are good out of the box ready, DPMS has a 20" A3 upper 416 stainless bull barrel 1:9 also.

Cheaperthandirt, has a DPMS AP4 Contour 16"barrel, front sight and gas block, 1:9, threaded muzzle AISI chrome moly, barrel is not chrome lined for less than $300.

Lots and lots of options out there.

[m25operator]

I had a big reply with pics, did not go through, gods way of saying shut up 

My advice is a flat top, A3, DPMS has what they call a Tri rail, get the lowest one, it has and A2 sight plus 3 rails to attach goodies to. I have 6 complete AR's all but one are Hbars, if you can be happy with 1  1/2" at 100 yards go with the lightweight pencil thin barrel, if you want to shoot little groups, go with the heavy barrel. The light weight is much fun to carry.

The TRi rail.

http://www.alscustom.com/shop/images/49896.jpg

Here are a few of mine, the 2nd from the left is my go to lightest rifle, it just works and is a good package, no longer has the Eotech, but an aimpoint comp ML2 with 2 minute dot.excellent combo.

[1911 Junkie]

http://www.alscustom.com/shop/images/49896.jpg

Hey, I know Al. He is a great gunsmith, cut the Bomars in on my first Para.

Tom, if you have any AR related questions, give him a call or e-mail.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

I like the look of the second from the left, and I like the looks of "Original" style front sight rather than the flip up type.
Since I can't see at longer distances with out my glasses and I can not be sure I will always have them with me I'm planning on 100-200 yard target plinking, not benchrest type accuracy so it sounds like the flat top with Aim point is just the ticket.
The last question that comes to mind is the "medium contour" barrels, Are they a happy medium between the light and heavy or is there some draw back I'm not aware of ?

I realize that some of these questions may sound odd coming from a former unit armorer, but I plead 2 mitigating circumstances,
First, we used what Uncle Sam handed down to us, with no choice, second they were all 20 inch barrels, no Carbines, so the M4gery is a fairly unknown article to me.
Thanks for all the advice, it has narrowed my selection greatly, I will keep my options open now with a reduced group of suppliers until I get the money saved, I am still interested in the Gas piston system so I will keep an ear out for that but  most likely, based on availability at the time I will choose either Stag or Rock River, if they are both to far behind I will go DPMS
and the flat top  because the optics are more appropriate to the type of shooting I want to do. If I want the retro CAR look as has been stated they have detatchable carry handles  

[fightingquaker13]

Tom
I would definatly hit www.ar15armory.com. There are probably some BS artists there, (caveat emptor as always), but for the most part, they seem like very helpful gun nerds who are into the nuts and bolts of the rifle. These seem like the kind of guys you ask when you don't just want to know "what will it do"? But rather, "How does it do that". Take it with a grain of salt, but do surf the site.
FQ13
PS The eyesight is a serious issue. I can't use the carry handle peep rear sight at all inthe small 'precision" setting. It wasn't an issue when I was 20, but it sure is now. Even the larger apperature through a carry handle takes a second (a valuable second) to adjust and thats in the show room, God knows what it would be like in the dark when I'm scared spitless. I prefer not to find out. Carry handles are out for me. I will go with my eotech and when I get the cash a "V" style buis. Both are good enough for a sub 250 yard "blaster" as you put it. To quote Clint "A man has to know his limitations" and small iron peep sights are mine. My eyes aren't so bad that I need "This Side Towards Enemy" written on the muzzle, but bright scopes and eotechs are definately my friends right now.
FQ13

[kilopaparomeo]

Here's my advice based on my likes / dislikes based on my own collection and use.  



You can't go wrong with a flat-top 16" M4-gery.  Get one and play around with it to find out what you like before you start cluttering it up with lots of accessories.  What I would recommend are the following things:

• Get a 1:8 or 1:7 twist.  Everything that I have read and my own experience shows that 55 and 62 gr bullet are fine in these faster twists.  They don't "overstablize" and are accurate.  The faster twist allows you to easily shoot 77 gr bullets as well.  Again, nothing wrong with the 1:9 but I like the faster twists better
• Skip the chrome lined barrel unless you absolutely must have it because you will be slugging the rifle through the jungles of Vietnam and firing the rifle on full auto.  Nothing wrong with it per se but it degrades accuracy and is more expensive.  ar15.com wannabees have created this mania that demands chromelined barrels
• Get a free floated handguard.  Third best thing after a good barrel and good trigger for accuracy
• Get a standard flat top and put a simple optic and BUIS on it.  Save the extra rails and crap for the handguard (and limit them to only the accessories you absolutely need...IMO that is a weapon light and maybe a VFG...nothing else)
• Get the M4 feed guides for reliability
• Personally I like a slightly longer barrel...the 5.56 is disadvantaged anyway and its killing power depends on fragmentation.  That severely degrades under 2700 fps when limits range.  If I can reach out an extra 50 yards by adding 2", I want that.  The AR that is 5th down from the top is set up just like I want it
• Keep your optics as low as possible while still co-witnessing.  You do NOT want them sticking way up.  That will destroy any cheekweld you have.
• Keep the rifle light.  One of the advantages of the AR system is its light weight...I'd target absolutely no more than 7 lb unloaded with optic.  People tend to get heavy barrels and hang all kinds of crap on them and pretty soon they are no longer a handy carbine.

I think the best deal going is the DS Arms M4 upper.  It is $275 and DSA makes high quality stuff.  Add a good Bolt Carrier Group (BCG) to it for around $125 + optics/BUIS and you are good to go .  That is $400 for a very high quality set up.

http://www.dsarms.com/DSA-ZM4-Forged-7075T6-A3-AR15-Upper-Receiver---DSZM4CBU/productinfo/DSZM4CBU/





As for AR stuff, Midway, Brownells are all good places.  I've recently become enamoured of Bravo Company.  Good quality parts, good prices and very fast shipping.

[tombogan03884]

 KPR, I thank you for your input, I had looked at the DS upper on line but the other companies advertise that their complete uppers (W/ bolt carrier group) are head spaced and test fired, that is one step I would prefer to have handled by trained Pro's in a fully equipped shop.
I agree about the accessories, I have a coffee maker in my kitchen, I don't need one on my rifle, (cup holder might be handy though    )
Another question, my goal with this rifle is to be able to throw it to my shoulder a put  hits in a paper plate at ranges inside 200 yards, most of the rifle ranges around here are 100 yards and being heavily wooded shoots in the field would be in that same range.
All these Optic sights, seem to be much better for QUICK target acquisition than Iron sights, but I have no experience with them. The 3 main types seem to be Aim point style red dots, ACOG, and the EOtech Holographic sight .
Other threads have put my mind to rest about battery life, but I would like to hear the pro's and cons of the different types.

[kilopaparomeo]

I wouldn't worry about the "headspaced and test fired".  If you buy from a quality maker that follows milspec standards, the bolt will be fine.  I've built from scratch 3 of my 7 ARs (e.g., individual parts, not slapping an upper on a lower) and have never bought a bolt barrel combo for those.  In each, headspace gauges show that they are in spec.  The only 2 one that I've not done this way are the 6.8 SPC (because I needed a new bolt with the barrel and WOA was offering it) and my WOA DCM rifle.  Needed max accuracy.  ARs are like legos...they go together.

As for red dots, given you needs, a 1X should be fine.  I prefer the EoTech over the Aimpoint because I find it faster to acquire.  The big 65 MOA ring draws you in for fast shots, the 1 MOA dot is for more precise work.  Aimpoints have the single larger dot which I personally find less useful.  They are an excellent sight though.  Aimpoint will give you longer battery life than the eoTech.

You also might consider a 1-4X tactical sight with a CQB optic.  They have a lot of advantages if you will find a need for longer range shots (>100 yards)