I’m starting to build my first AR and I was wondering, does anyone make an upper receiver without the forward bolt assist?
Thanks,
Bob
i believe the Vltor uppers are available without it… those also have a the picatinny top rail for optics/sights whatever you like
nodak spud makes retro style AR uppers with a carry handle and no FA http://www.nodakspud.com/AR%20Lowers.htm
you could also pick one up surplus.
What does the forward assist do for you that cycling the charging handle can’t? You don’t need it. I can’t remember the last time I used it in the last 15 years.
Exactly. I think it detracts from the looks of the rifle and I hear that using it can create more problems than it can solve. Mind you I have no experience to speak of and have only shot a couple of examples.
I carried an AUG for several years. It didn’t have a forward assist; it didn’t need it. Neither does a modern AR. If an upper comes with it, so be it, they are ubiquitous, live with it but you don’t have to use it.
DPMS and Sun Devil also make uppers without forward assists. the sun devils are billet. the DPMSs don’t have ejection port covers either, i dont think.
What’s missing in the marketplace, and that I’m hopeful this lightweight barrel trend will spawn, is a true pre-A1 style upper with a flattop instead of the carry handle. All of the other non-FA flattop uppers available that I’m aware of actually weigh more than the standard M4 upper.
I could take or leave the dustcover, but would prefer that the provision to install it at least remain.
Just to be clear, what I want is this in a flattop
do a build with… not a big fan of the foward assist button…
Not the same thing.
First it’s missing the dustcover provision. Second, it’s “reinforced” which means thicker which means heavier.
I never used the forward assist in combat. Now ya’ll got me thinkin’.
If you need light weight and you’re not afraid of plastic, you can use a Bushmaster Carbon-15 Upper. I used one on this super-lightweight build and it works well (admitedly, I only have a few hundred rounds through it so far so I cannot comment on its long-term or severe-duty endurance).
Any better source than BM to get the stripped upper for a reasonable price? I’m not terribly enthused about them but I might be willing to try one on a current project.
http://www.lesbaer.com/223parts.html
I don’t know anything about these or where you’d go about getting one, but at least it’s a forged aluminum upper. I see it does have the shell deflector though, so it’s still not quite what you had in mind.
Thanks!
Upper Only: Flattop Upper w/out provision for Forward Assist With Port Cover $ 129.00
Wonder if they have M4 feedramps…
I looked at no FA on my little build a few months back. A 9MM upper with the extra machining to accept the gas tube does it. Some 9’s have a full sized ejection port and cover and come complete. With the Adco shop labor it came in at about $180 from what I could quickly source online.
That’s a $80 premium over a commonly available one. I’m sensitive to paying more for less. I didn’t see it as a viable alternative. The basic commodity price of a FA upper is cheaper than dirt right now.
Rob’s comment on rifle stocks and the cost/benefit ratio they have comes to mind. A lot of items are pricey for what little they offer. I’m trying to put money in the basic operating system rather than the accessories. The economic fact such as FA uppers being cheaper means accepting some things you don’t want, to spend money on things you do.
For example, I see a side charger upper from ASA as a better and more affordable option than a piston in any configuration. No FA, too. I can play with the numbers to justify it, but it actually comes down to what do I have to leave off to afford it?
We all make those little decisions in a build, it does affect the result. Some focus on the drivetrain, others the body work. Where do you put the money? Hmmm. . .
For me, at least, this has nothing to do with economics. Outside of the carbine I shoot virtually all the time every other rifle is an experiment, or a collection of experiments. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t be assembling a new carbine at all.
My methodology is largely to have one go-to gun and a series of test-bed guns. If a part or accessory works out on the test-bed gun then it may make it’s way to the primary. If it doesn’t then it gets boxed, or sold, and something else is tried.
I guess I share the same concept as Rob. I have my main gun, I call it my “Social Carbine”, and a few others that get parts swapped as test beds. My main has thousands of rounds through it while the others are in the hundreds.
FWIW. The Les Baer link posted is most likely modded DPMS parts, as he uses mostly parts from that man. for the LB AR platform.
I have two of the DPMS slick side, and had to grind the lugs on both to properly fit into a lower without resorting to banging it closed and prying it open.
Also have the billet Sun Devil and it does not have M4 ramps for those that care. Neither does that DPMS for that matter.
The LB upper was merely a suggestion. I’d rather try one of those over a composite receiver if I were looking to experiment with such things. That said, Rob, if you happen to buy such a receiver, please post your experiences with it here or on your website.