Been eying to make an SPR with an 18" barrel, and was looking at getting a matched upper and lower. My question is, is it worth the extra bucks, or should I get a quality lower, but get a good upper receiver and just go with it?
Thus far I am looking at a Rainer arms matched upper/lower.
Noveske 18" SPR or Rainer if they are gone by the time it comes to the barrel.
Not sure on the rail/tube system?
Either a VLTOR A5 stock, or a Magpul UBR (should I go the rifle extension or the carbine is the real question)?
Not necessary. Cost more for matched set as you’ll get a more precise fitting. If a wobbly upper bugs you then go for it. Some brands are more precise than other.
So long as you are buying from one of the top quality manufacturers, you should not have any issues with uppers and lowers matching up.
I now have 2 Vltor uppers mated to PSA lowers - 1 year apart and they are both piss perfect.
My first one now has a little over 4k rounds through it and 2 training classes, and has just a little play. Nothing I am worried about. Everything on the top is all that matters - so long as the hammer hits the pin.
I have three sets of Noveske matched upper/lowers…one complete Noveske rile and two SBRs I built. None of the uppers will fit on any of the other lowers. Likewise, my Stag upper will only fit on one of those Noveske lowers. Now…none them rattle in the slightest but based on my experience I’d have to say that buying a matched set might lose you some flexibility. At Noveske at least, it appears that matched means really matched.
I’m doing basically the same thing using a Mega upper and lower. Just built the lower last night. Did a lot of research on this site when it comes to the extension. From what I understand a carbine will do just fine. You may need to play with the buffer to get exactly the right combination. A lot of people are using a carbine buffer with no problem.
As for the barrel, I’ve personally decided to go with the either the DD midlength or the Ranier Arms select 18" in black oxide.
The Ranier Arms upper and lower are built by Mega so you will be basically building the same setup as I have. BTW the upper and lower fit perfectly.
I have a matched upper and lower from Noveske and the fit between the two is tight and solid. The rifle (10.5") is no more accurate than my 11.5" BCM. For the type of shooting I do (offhand) there is probably little, if any, measurable benefit from having a matched upper and lower. For something as extreme as competitive bench rest shooting, then it may be more beneficial.
I always thought that one of the really nice things about the AR was that it was designed to such specifications that one could take any in-spec upper and fit it to any in-spec lower.
Really, it’s just a Noveske thing. They make top-notch rifle, b ut they are historically known for being tight as hell. You’ll see all sorts of stories about ridiculous take-down pin tensions, mags not dropping or seating, etc.
To me, they are the Kimber of the carbine world. Great stuff that annoys me.
This gives me something to think about also. I have a Noveske SBR and I was going to purchase another SBR upper for it. Looks like that may not be possible.
This is funny, though it is only the lower, but my Noveske N2 lower (first batch) mates very loosely with my LMT MRP. I don’t see an accuracy issue, but boy is there a little “slop”. Nice in one aspect of stuff able to fall out (unless it involves parts of the rifle).
Just ordered the Rainier matched set and waiting for them to email me so I can get the FFL crap going.
I think ‘worth it’ is going to be totally subjective. For me, I’d rather buy them separately at the lowest prices possible. (While keeping quality a priority, of course.)
If you’re skimping somewhere to get a matched pair of receivers, a kitten should be sacrificed. Since it appears you’re not in the least, go for it.
I personally would just buy and run the Noveske completer upper with a separately sourced FFL Gen2 lower, and build the lower myself. Then again, the Chainsaw GenII’s only came stripped.
I’ve built a few Noveske AR’s from different suppliers and they all fit real tight. The take down pins took a few thousand rounds to be removable by hand but they are perfect now. Never any problems with mag well being too tight or not seating. Most of my others are loose compared to the Noveske but the accuracy is not affected (other than the barrel quality) with the non-bench rest shooting I engage in.