Thread: Best Complete Upper Under $600

So heres what im looking for,

-im looking to spend around 600 or less, if theres something awesome for 650 thats fine
-must be flat top, no sights unless there folding
-no stainless barrels(bull barrel prefered but not a must)
-prefer handguards with rails

Any reccomendations, suggestions, or if you have an upper you'd like to sell pm me.
Thanks

Among these pics are a rock river elite, cmmg, cmmg and a stag

Bravo Company has a couple just North of $600:

BCM Standard 16" Mid Length Upper Receiver Group w/ Troy Standard TRX 11" Handguard

Originally Posted by rayd8

Bravo Company has a couple just North of $600:

BCM Standard 16" Mid Length Upper Receiver Group w/ Troy Standard TRX 11" Handguard

While that's not a complete upper, I would second BCM.
BCM 16" Mid Length Upper Receiver Group
Couple that with the BCM carrier and bolt, add some Magpul handguards and you should still be under $600.

3rding BCM

I have the bottom one you posted.
Hopefully this weekend I can check the accuracy at 1 and 2 hundred yards.
It has functioned just fine though.

Anyone here have any experience with the cmmg uppers? I really like the 2nd pic that i posted and i've heard some good things about cmmg.

Can't go wrong with rock rivers except there a bit spendy

Pk Firearms sells the RRA ones a little cheaper along with many others. Here is one for $624 PK Firearms | Online Store

cant you get a mega for under $600, and I do believe they are a local company. I know noveske had some 14" uppers for around $700 a few months ago, just have one of the pig flash suppressors welded on and your legal.

any one belive bull barrel is better than the regular barrels? I think it looks cooler but is it actually better

LMT sells thier complete upper for less than $600, quality MilSpec upper from a great company. Weaponparts.com has a complete LMT 16" M4 upper for $529 (I bought mine from them). I've heard that BCM sells nice stuff, however I've never drank from the BCM cool aid container.....lol.

I would not get RRA for a number of reasons.

1) their gas key staking is sub-par
2) 4140 barrel instead of 4150 or B-11595E mil-spec
3) barrels and bolts are not individually high pressure tested or magnetic particle inspected
4) bolts are not shot-peened
5) they don't put the finish on the barrel until after the FSB is installed

RRA is definitely a lower-tier AR manufacturer. BCM or LMT are top tier.

CMMG is okay, but last time I checked they only individually MPI their barrels. Bolts are done by the batch, as is the HPT on the barrels. CMMG bolts are also not shot-peened. Given that BCM or LMT are not significantly more expensive than CMMG, I'd go that route.

Originally Posted by NUCLEARMJ

any one belive bull barrel is better than the regular barrels? I think it looks cooler but is it actually better

Bull barrels (heavy or med-con) are neither better nor worse, it depends on what you intend to use the rifle for. If you want a precision rifle, the bull barrel will be better because it takes longer to heat up which minimizes group stringing. For an all-around carbine, I prefer pencil profile as it is lighter and handier. Gov't profile is a compromise between the two.

If you aren't getting a stainless barrel, I don't know why you'd care about it being heavy profile as stainless will make a greater difference in accuracy. If you do want a precision rifle, I recommend a Noveske stainless barrel (all are bull barrels, mostly med-con iirc). They last nearly as long as chrome-lined barrels (more than most people can afford to buy the ammo for) and are incredibly accurate. This will cost you a lot more than $600 for an upper though...

Another use for heavy barrels in the military at least, is on machine guns. If you've got a transferable M16 lower receiver and want to do lots of mag dumps with it, then maybe I'd consider the chrome-lined heavy barrel profiles. Otherwise, I don't think the extra weight is worth it.

I'd have to vote LMT.

go to aim surplus and look at their deals on spikes uppers

Adco now has a good deal on semi-custom Daniel Defense uppers. DD is another top-tier AR manufacturer.
Adco Custom MID Upper Kit for the Tactical AR15 at ADCO Firearms <-- link

RRA parts are used by many custom builders of competition rifles. They (RRA) use wilson barrels and are accurate. For NRA High Power, the best are Compass Lake Engineering (CLE). The Krieger is the ultimate no compromise barrels. White Oak uppers and barrels also do extremely well. Adco has RRA and White Oak barrels and uppers at discount. Many barrels will shoot great at 100 yards but not so at the 600 yard line. I have owned and shot matches with barrels from White Oak, CLE Kreiger, Armalite, DPMS, RRA, Bushmaster and Colt.

Originally Posted by Rix

I have the bottom one you posted.
Hopefully this weekend I can check the accuracy at 1 and 2 hundred yards.
It has functioned just fine though.

Ok, so I took it out yesterday with plinker ammo (surplus ammo and arms) and a bushnell 4-10 or 4-12 walmart special scope, and I was able to hold groups under 2 inches at 100 yards.
Now keep in mind...... I am NOT the steadiest rifleman around.
I'm pretty sure if I was steadier in the aiming department, the thing would do one inch groups or better.

Had good luck with LMT and CMMG. If I had to choose only one it would be the LMT, but thats just me

dont pass up shopping at OLYARMS, they are up in Olympia, make all their own barrels and are great folks to deal with, I highly recommend them Oh and did I mention they are the only manufacturer that puts a lifetime warranty on their rifles, great company great product and great quality for a decent price.

Originally Posted by SKIPPER99

dont pass up shopping at OLYARMS, they are up in Olympia, make all their own barrels and are great folks to deal with, I highly recommend them

I love living local, but Olympia couldn't even make a good beer... Arg, OLY....