All posts tagged Bushmaster Upper Receivers

Building or Buying AR15 Complete Upper Receivers

Right now it’s a buyers market, we’re seeing a huge drop in buying of parts because so many people are getting complete AR15 carbines for dramatically reduced.  I recently was told by a few customers that they were getting Ruger 556 complete firearms for $450 from some dealers.   Well, welcome to the complete and total reset of the gun industry, it was all politically driven and the free ride gun stores have had for the last 8yrs is over.   Last month there was a 25% drop in background checks across the Country and it’s back to normal soon.

The one thing we’ve know is building AR15s is still going to increase and eventually it will be the majority of all AR15 sales.   Buying a stripped lower receiver and putting it together is something you can learn pretty fast, and once you’ve practiced it a few times it will forever affect the way you shop for an AR.   Buying an AR15 Complete Upper Receiver is still fairly common because it takes a little bit more skill to put one together, but still not very difficult.   The buyers market is still going on but it’s going to reset very soon.   Some companies are already laying off and only the best will be around a year from now.

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Firearms may become easier to get, but parts is another issue

AR15 complete upper receiversI spoke to several of our Reps for that work and various high end gun manufacturing companies and they told us that they are no longer taking orders for upper receivers, only complete firearms.  We pretty much figured that out when we saw the panic buying and the surplus of gun parts just disappeared.  I was involved with a company called Section 8 Tactical several years ago and we sold an M4 parts container kit that I would love to revive again someday.  I would hold a bolt, extractor and all of the parts you need if something on your bolt carrier group goes down.

If you snoozed for the last 4yrs and didn’t get a spare parts kit, you might have issues for several more months and possible years trying to acquire them.   Trying to find AR15 Complete upper receivers in a climate like this is going to be difficult but keep your eyes open for reasonable deals.   Prices will eventually come down to some degree but trying to get the good stuff is going to be difficult.  Some of the higher end products tend to not be made in high volumes so those waits are probable close to 1yr if you are lucky.

 

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Gas piston uppers instead of a new gun?

Put me down as someone that didn’t have a clue as to what the differences were between my LWRC M6A2 upper I purchased in comparison to what else is out there, I basically just went by word of mouth and looked up a few sources online for reviews.   The notion of having a cleaning running rifle was appealing to me and for the number of times I’ve seen AR15 rifle jam and go down, I was always looking for something better than what is out there.   The truth of the matter is all machining, lubrication and quality control for AR15 guns has dramatically improved.  The DI guns that are being made now are not the DI guns from 15yrs ago.  Magpul Pmags have greatly improved the reliability of the gun and there just aren’t the problems that there use to be.

LWRC is still the cream of the crop although they have evolved from their original designs for a short stroke piston gun.   The machining of the Noveske uppers and the Daniel Defense are also outstanding DI guns but the new competition for piston uppers isn’t POF pistons, it’s the Adams AR15 complete uppers that are for the most part under $800.   The Adams 556 upper receivers are a really nice gas piston upper and if you already have a lower, this is probable the best step up if you’ve been running a Bushmaster or a Olympic arms guns for the last 15yrs.  We recently have been testing the Slip 2000 product line with these guns so stay tuned.

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Are you having a hard time finding the AR15 upper that you want?

After seeing about a 4yr increase in sales of firearms, we’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that certain .380 pistol magazines, gun holsters and firearm accessories are going to be hard to get for a few more months.   Much of what is going on is an increase in firearm sales due to the social and political problems we are facing.  We have elected individuals to higher office that do not have traditional patriotic values and seeing them gain power is disturbing to anyone that understands the Constitution. Runs on emergency food storage and ammunition were the next things to go prices have increased with the demand.  We’ve seen more sales of higher end firearms and accessories because the cheap stuff was all gone.

We have backorders for AR15 uppers going back to November for Spikes Tactical, Daniel Defense, Smith & Wesson and many more.  The real issue is that many of the manfacturers are selling more complete guns and making AR15 upper receivers for sale is not something as important as selling a complete gun.  Many gun shops would rather sell guns than uppers.  If you having a hard time getting the uppers make sure you put your email in the “email me when back in stock” option on our website.  We do get in many uppers but the quantities are small and come in sporadically.   It’s a hard time for people building AR15s because there are some waiting periods if you know what you want.

 

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AR15 upper receivers sold out

I guess the less expensive stuff is what most people seem to go for and right now that is everything from Spikes Tactical.  The funny thing is these guns are so well made for the price that they were in high demand even before things heated up in the Country.  The AR15 is the primary firearm in the United States and transitioning from Civilian to Military with it is an easy step.  Many people forget that the original intent of having an armed population is so that the population could be called to arms at any moment to defend their Country.

Now that so many people own the AR15 changing the guns to something longer or shorter or to MOE can be as easy as pushing 2 pins out.  There are definitely some big differences in the durability of the firearms, but the lower end of the spectrum for AR15 upper receivers is pretty darn good.   Mismatched parts and bad assemble isn’t something I heard about too often anymore.   The poorly run companies seem to have been cleaned out and there are some really good guns being made.  We’ve sold lots of gas piston AR15s this year and the pool is getting competive.

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Too much to think about or lots to think about ?

After watching many Youtube videos about what is coming out in 2012 I was mostly bored out of my skull trying to understand why I would bother spending another $2000 for an AR15 that is slightly different than what I already own.   Sure there are improvements but spending $2000 on something that is 5% more of a gun than an AR15 that you already own doesn’t justify the cost.   I am a big proponent to upgrading what you have.   There was a really good article in Swat magazine years ago about improving what you already own and the small things you can do to improve your AR15.   Replace extractor springs, stake screws, lube your gun right and you’ve just improved your gun for less than $150.

If you are looking to make your Carbine a firearm that you can rely on, make sure you don’t over think the configuration and setup.   I understand why people spend $2000 on AR15 upper receivers that have folding front and rear sights, but if you have folding front sights keep in mind that you have one more step to getting your firearm up and running and that is something to seriously think about.   I am a firm believer that people need to adapt to weapons and gear and not always expect to adapt the firearm to them.  Fixed front sights have been around for a long time and I don’t think changing that another thing that needs to be folded or screwed on is worth the liability.

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