New Vltor Billet uppers

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

Recently heard some talk about a machined billet upper from Vltor & another manufacturer. After looking for a couple of days, a picture was released on another site. It’s reportedly called the M.U.R. & very nice. Pretty much the receiver portion of the VIS with threads for a normal barrell and handgaurd of your choice instead of the monolithic rail. Sorry, but I’m not very picture savvy. Has anyone around here heard of them or have any idea on a release date & pricing?

Vltor, if you can chime in, I can’t wait to hear more about the new upper receiver.:smiley:

2

mtdawg169

Vltor has the MUR, a reinforced billet upper receiver.

I will see if anyone else wants to add to this, but if not I can throw some pictures of it up and give you a little info on it. It is the sole effort of Vltor but is designed to interface with all of the conventional barrels, handguards, doo-dads and junk just like any of the upper receivers out there now.

What I can say is that the MUR is not an ubber tight, must be hand fit upper receiver… it is made to the exact design specifications and held to those specs – Without pissing on anyone’s parade, there are very few uppers that are really held to spec and more than a few that are just reverse engineering.

Simply put, anyone can download a CAD/CAM file from the internet and machine receivers… but how close they are to actual specs is a shot in the dark, or you can measure the hell out of a handfull of Colt uppers and run what you guessed – also, if someone works with the published specifications, they can play with tolerences and make the receiver easier and cheaper to make. The MUR is none of these…

3

Looking forward to getting some in to play with, after looking at the VIS at SHOT. Unfortunately I didn’t find out about these at SHOT but shortly after :eek: Been patiently waiting…lol.

4

Talked to VLTOR for a while about these earlier. These will save me a metric ton of measuring, truing, and cursing.

These are, quite possibly, the only uppers I’ll be using from now on for high end builds.

They’ll be a nice departure from the “$70 uppers” that are on the market at current.

5

So… what you’re saying is that Vltor has designed the MUR to it’s own specs & it should be compatible with exiting lowers, barrels, rails or are you getting at something else in regards to specs (Colt vs. others)? Sorry, I’m not quite as spec / dimension savvy as some of the pros around here. From what I understand, many upper receivers are not quite true and the Vltor should eliminate problems due to tight tolerances & machining. Basically a better platform to start building from.

BTW, does anyone have a clue what price point we should expect?

6

Quite the contrary… The Vltor MUR’s critical dimensions are held to the correct specifications for a “mil-spec” upper receiver, quite unlike many products that are made to “in house” specs – obviously the external profiling is different, but this should make the MUR more rigid and at least look different. And there is the modular concept to the starboard side of the unit there.

The correct (real) specifications for these parts are sort of an interesting bit of internet lore… there are those that claim that you must submit to genetic alteration of your DNA at the super secret bio-engineering lab located deep beneath the dry desert sands of southern Arizona (not to be confused with the super secret lab that I have hidden in the crawl space of the abandoned military buildings around my house) – but the real deal is that the people that need them, have them.

I am not going to talk about manufacturing techniques, last time I did… it was not purdy (as they say in Tejas), but the MUR will most likely live up to what most expect from Vltor, no carnival music or catchy Hollywood movie title names, no dogs, no ponies, no blue plastic combs or can openers… just a solid, straight and true upper receiver.

7

Thanks for setting me straight KL. That is very good news indeed. I saw some pictures of the upper & the right side looks like the VIS, allowing some options for deflector & forward assist. I can’t wait to see these released, since I’m starting a new Recce / precision upper build.

That is just plain funny.:smiley:

8

Pics? Estimated date of availability?

9

The MUR (Modular Upper Receiver) and the VIS (Versatile Interface Structure) are both ideas I had back in the days of working at Knight’s Armament.

The MUR, with its modular Shell Deflector and Bolt Assist, is similar to an idea that I incorporated into a SR25 Match rifle. At that time, the SR25 didn’t have a shell deflector. The KAC engineering staff developed a couple of options and in the long run, KAC ended up with a bolt-on shell deflector, which mounted to the Picatinny Rail. Besides the shell deflector issue, the SR25 had another design flaw, the removal of dust cover door, which required the removal of the barrel nut. In other words, the dust cover door pivot shaft could not be removed rearward, which allows access of the door or related components.

For one of my SR25s, I prototyped a shell deflector that fits into a dovetail track, machined on the side of the upper receiver. Better yet, the shell deflector was held in by the dust cover pivot shaft, which can be removed rearward for easy repairs.

Over the years, I and many others have seen the good and bad points (mostly bad) of the conventional forged flattop upper receiver. Our goal was to develop an Upper receiver, with precise specifications, robust construction, eliminating chance of flexing.

The MUR is nothing more then an upper receiver with correct MilSpec dimensions. It’s not any tighter in spec then any other upper receiver; we just pride ourselves in making a receiver that is within milspec.

All MURs will be made of 7075T6 aluminum, hard coat anodized and with a dry film lube bore.

The MURs are offered in two configurations, one with a Bolt Assist and Shell Deflector and one with a Shell Deflector only. All MURs come standard with a dust cover door.

Currently we are finishing the first 400 units, with more on the way. Delivery of the first MURs will be within the coming day. We are trying to perfect the Dry Film Lube process. At this time it’s a loosing battle, but in the long run, we’ll win the war!

The retail price for the two options are as followed:

MUR with Bolt Assist and Shell Deflector is $229.95 (part number is MUR-1A)
MUR with Shell Deflector only is $199.95 (part number is MUR-1S)

Eric

10

Eric,

First & foremost, thank you for taking the time to post & update us on the progress of the project. Thanks also for giving us some insight into the design & history surrounding the MUR & VIS. Personally, I think the thing is a work of art & cannot wait to get my hands on one.:smiley: It’s not often that we have a chance to get information from the horse’s mouth, which is why am glad we have a forum like this. Thanks again for the insight & taking the time to respond… Now comes the waiting.

11

Eric,

Thanks for the info! :smiley:

I’m impressed that you guys went with 7075-T6! The MUR looks like a very high quality piece of art!

Now all you need is a matching lower…

12

very cool. Thanks for the info.

13

I’ve got a very special build planned with one of these :wink: I’ll post pics when it all comes together.

14

  1. Will these fit in a standard receiver block for mounting barrels, will alterations be required, or will it need an all new beast.

  2. Thankyou for not making the price obscene, I know you could have, and you still would have sold them by the box.

15

Is there any chance that we could see a Vltor lower to go with these uppers in the future?

16

Can I have a free one to beat up? :smiley:

17

me first!:stuck_out_tongue:

18

Eric,

Thanks for taking the time and posting the pics; but more than that, thanks for giving us a viable upper! Unfortunately the masses want quantity over quality, but there are a few of us that appreciate the extra effort and expense that it takes to design/manufacture to specifications for those that depend upon performance.

Regards,
Aubrey

19

Eric,

Thank you for posting the info and the pics those uppers look good, looking forward to getting one.

20

Many thanks to those that offer kind words. M4C.Net is the first forum I’m officially a part of. I look forward to many future posts with those that appreciate great topics.

Regarding a possible Vltor lower:
Many have asked that questions, especially after the introduction of the VIS. My take on lower receivers is not to offer the same old thing, but to offer something totally different. Unlike the VIS or MUR, I’ve had an idea for an improved lower receiver design, since the days I worked at Gun World Magazine. Man, I feel old… That was 15 years ago!

To answer the question, Yes, I plan to offer a lower, but I’d rather offer a complete firearm, instead of just lowers. Who knows, when the time comes I may change my mind.

Stick:
The installation of the barrel can be performed with the use of the DPMS “Panther Claw” upper receiver mount (as seen in the first picture). You could also use the old fashion way (the way we installed most of the SR25 barrels), by sandwiching the upper in between two blocks (as seen on the lower picture). Both ways worked well for us.

Eric