McNeil Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 Years ago, when I was New to Three Gun, I ordered a Bushmaster .223 upper and had them do some customizing for me, I chose the BBl length, comp, forend and so on. I want to build or buy a new one. I could go to DPMS. Jp, PRI. They all claim to make the best stuff. what I think I want, after shooting a bunch of rifles, is an A2 flat top, medium weight 16" barrel, low maintenance like my Bushmaster chrome lined? with either a Michulek or Cooley comp and a Precision Reflex Inc. long forend. PRI has a comp that looks in many ways to be similar to the above comps, but I haven't met anyone who has experience with them. Are there any gunsmiths that can pull this off for me or does anyone have any experience pulling together an upper. I would like to keep the weight in line with what I shoot now, a 16" .85" to.75" full profile barrel with a Mini y comp and a hogue rubberized tube. Lighter would be OK, but I want to avoid getting too heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 If you are dead set on a PRI guard and comp then just have MSTN build it for ya' http://www.mstn.biz/ Otherwise, I would just go with a ready to rock JP15 upper for $1095 (cheap at the price). Building up your own may be good fun and a good learning experience and you will save some money too, but I am also certain you will not get the exact same quality result in a DIY upper as you will in one built up by JP, or MSTN. There is a learning curve in building up high end AR's and your first effort at this will not be your best result unless you are already a highly qualified smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacMan Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 what I think I want, after shooting a bunch of rifles, is an A2 flat top, medium weight 16" barrel, low maintenance like my Bushmaster chrome lined? Not quite sure what you mean by 'low maintenance', but all barrels will shoot dirty, albeit not as accurate. Chrome lining is ok, but not necessary in our sport. The most high maintenance item in all ARs is the bolt/carrier, this parts group need good maintenance practice for reliable operation of the rifle. A big reason to go with custom upper from JP or MSTN is the inherent accuracy that comes with their barrels. But if you have the time & don't mind buying a few basic tools, you could build an upper that will shoot just as well by investing in a good barrel to start. This path is not difficult and a lot more fun IMO. I've done it more than a few times. I just finished an 18" with SPR-profiled barrel and this bad boy consistently does .5 -.75 moa 5-shots groups - more than good enough for 3 gunning with 4x scope. I would like to keep the weight in line with what I shoot now, a 16" .85" to.75" full profile barrel That's easy enough with a call to MSTN if you're stuck on PRI tube, otherwise JP is an outstanding unit. If you want to build it yourself, get the barrel from JP and put it in your choice of upper & tube. 16" precludes you from running JP's LMOS system, so you'd be stuck with the standard weight carrier. 18" barrel allows the option of using JP LMOS or standard carrier. PM me if you need more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 (edited) Build it, you'll have fun and save some money. You can build a complete AR for a lot less than some uppers. I'm not a fan of 16" med to heavy contour barrels mainly because you can have a 18 to 20 inch that weighs the same with all the performance bonus of the longer barrel. The 20" gas system is more dependable than the 16" ( Hung alluded to this ) and I know I'll hear, my 16" runs and runs yes I have one that runs also but not as consistently as the 20". The main benefit of building your own is you understand how the rifle works and are able to diagnose problems when they do occur. Edited January 2, 2006 by Bronco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cking Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 I liked the outcome from my builds. I had Frank White of Compass lake build a custom barrel on a Douglas stainless blank. My first one was a 18 inch with mid length gas tube of heavy contour. Later I decide to build a stag lefty upper so again back to CL but this time I wanted a light barrel, so I had one turned to .750. It is just as accurate as the heavy barrel and points faster. So do your research and get what you want. The assembly of upper is very easy. If you want a good book get Derrick Martin book from Accuracy speaks. It is pretty much a step by step book. I keep loaning mine out to people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacMan Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 ... The 20" gas system is more dependable than the 16" Yes I forgot about that part, even my 16" upper is sporting a mid-length gas system. The 18" uses a rifle length gas system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickster Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 question for cking. After you had your barrel turned down to .750 did you have to get it cryo treated? I was talking with a smith about turning my DPMS bull barrel down and he told me after doing it you have to have it cryo treated because the heat of turning it down does something to the molecules and that is what screws up the accuracy. "Even if I only turn down forward of the gas block?", I asked. He said yes. Was he just trying to sound knowledgable or is there something to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Been turning down barrel's for awhile. Hav'nt seen any accuracy loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McNeil Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 I really appreciate all the help, I am overwhelmed with options so far. At the moment, I am considering a JP 18" barrel and I would really like to use the PRI tube. will that combination work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacMan Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I really appreciate all the help, I am overwhelmed with options so far.At the moment, I am considering a JP 18" barrel and I would really like to use the PRI tube. will that combination work? It should since the JP 18" is a rifle length gas system, thus the gas block will be outside of the PRI tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 I,ve got the exact setup you describe, (16" M-4 Colt chrome lined 1x7) except the handguard ( full length ) is a lightened, vented Armalite free floater. You can see a photo of it in the classified section, it,s down a page or two. KURTM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3GunF1Guy Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Brownells has a special on a JP upper with a tank brake and 5 20 rd mags for $891.00 They must be selling them at cost. Scott P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Merriam Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Build your own if you have the time and B*lls. I am very happy with the turnout....my first three gun and Chris Tilley himself came back from the targets praising my head shot groups at 1" from a hundred yards with the clock running. I could have bought the upper from JP but I would not have gotten exactly what I wanted. I already had a Wilson Combat UT 15 carbine with a sweet JP trigger.....so I just built an upper for 3 gun. DPMS Lo Pro upper, Briley Carbon Fiber FF tube, JP 18" mid weight barrel with Cooley Comp and Adj gas block, Low mass stainless bolt with black teflon finish and low mass buffer. Again I could have bought it cheaper especially if you factor in the tools to do it right. As for the b*lls part...you need to crank the ff tube pretty good to get the gas tube holes to line up and the whole thing to stay together tight. I think half of being a smith is knowledge, finess, and brawn in harmony. So get the parts you want and build that dream rifle....AR's are not a complicated as you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Build your own if you have the time and B*lls. I am very happy with the turnout....my first three gun and Chris Tilley himself came back from the targets praising my head shot groups at 1" from a hundred yards with the clock running. I could have bought the upper from JP but I would not have gotten exactly what I wanted. I already had a Wilson Combat UT 15 carbine with a sweet JP trigger.....so I just built an upper for 3 gun. DPMS Lo Pro upper, Briley Carbon Fiber FF tube, JP 18" mid weight barrel with Cooley Comp and Adj gas block, Low mass stainless bolt with black teflon finish and low mass buffer. Again I could have bought it cheaper especially if you factor in the tools to do it right. As for the b*lls part...you need to crank the ff tube pretty good to get the gas tube holes to line up and the whole thing to stay together tight. I think half of being a smith is knowledge, finess, and brawn in harmony. So get the parts you want and build that dream rifle....AR's are not a complicated as you think. (re)built mine as well and learned alot...is that a JP ta-01, or the standard one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Brownells has a special on a JP upper with a tank brake and 5 20 rd mags for $891.00 They must be selling them at cost. The website had the special listed, but said it was discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Merriam Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 TA31 standard...I have a problem with scopes having a long eye relief....plus this on gives you more field of view. Black out the front for up close stuff so BAC doesn't get me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaseyJ Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 DPMS Lo Pro upper, Briley Carbon Fiber FF tube, JP 18" mid weight barrel with Cooley Comp and Adj gas block, Low mass stainless bolt with black teflon finish and low mass buffer. So you got the briley hand guard? how is that working for you I just ordered one and don't know much about it. Does it come with a ff tube nut for mounting to your barrel? how long is it? the briley website does not specify any of this info and I want to know figured you could help Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 The Briley handguard is one piece, it does not have a seperate nut..... the nut is built in. You half to use a pipe strap wrench or something similar to torque them down correctly as they won't take a normal AR wrench. Nice and light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaseyJ Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Hmmm that makes me worry. I planned on hiding the gas block under the hand guard but with this one it seems like i won't be able to.... Unless i cut holes in the handguard so that I can access the necessary pin holes. but even then how would i take the blasted thin apart?> hmmmm Makes me little brain go in to warp speed mode to try and compute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now