Thinking about a decent priced complete upper and I am looking at the following companies. I would also get the BCG as part of the set and prices are close.
Sionics Patrol 3 16 inch
Larue Tactical Match Grade
PSA premium upper with FN barrel
The rifle would be for HD and range…
Appreciate everyone’s comments and suggestions…
Of the three, Sionics hands down.
This and not even close. I have an older ones from back when they were using Centurion handguards, it a great upper. That said, why wouldn’t you just get a BCM upper? Pretty much endless options and their BCG is excellent.
I have BCM complete uppers on BCM complete lowers, just trying to get a little more cost effective complete upper and try another brand. Unless BCM gets a plane jane middy in stock …
If those are the three choices, Sionics is yet another vote without question.
I would take even Sionics over BCM. Sionics hands down.
Of those 3 LaRue, i will add i have no knowledge of Sionics… Larue makes top notch gear i love mine.
My initial thought is Sionics, but… It depends on how it would be used at the range. Does range use primarily involve fast offhand shooting while moving at less than 25 yards? Does range use primarily involve shooting little groups at 300-600 yards from the bench or prone? The presumption is that you don’t live in a war zone, so 99.9 percent of the time, it will be "used’ at the range, and if the range use case is the second scenario I mentioned, then an AR geared more towards precision would make a lot of sense. If range use will typically be the first scenario, then the Sionics would be the logic choice.
The LaRue’s still a 16" AR with medium-ish weight barrel, so it won’t be unwieldy for home defense use. Sionics have a pretty good reputation for their barrels, so it’s not like you’ll probably end up with a 3 MOA upper, with match ammo, in case perforating small targets at distance is occasionally part of your range time.
I haven’t shot my Match Grade Upper for groups yet, but I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t do at least 3/4 MOA.
I also have an old PSA Premium upper with FN hammer forged barrel. It’s been completely reliable, but i haven’t shot it in probably 7 years. It’ll probably be 7 more before I do again, and it’s way near the bottom of what I’d grab if the SHTF.
Another vote for sionics. I have three of their uppers. Plus, they have great CS.
Cheers, Steve
I will admit to, on occasion, being a LaRue fanboy, but I would vote Sionics.
LaRue seems to be on a crazy wait for everything right now. I don’t like waiting.
Another content Sionics shooter.
Sionics
If the OP already has more than 1 complete BCM carbine, then it’s unlikely that this upper will even be needed for home defense, unless they’re configured in some highly specialized way.
Get whatever you want to use for the range shooting you prefer, and don’t worry if it’s not ideal for home defense….you’ve likely already got that covered (probably with a spare).
I like having back ups to back ups… to back ups. Plus having another quality upper is a good thing.
Both the LaRue and Sionics are quality uppers. They’re simply intended to be used in different situations. Colt SOCOM barrels are quite popular for home defense/general use, so the LaRue upper won’t put you at a disadvantage in a gunfight. You didn’t answer the range use questions?
Range would be 100-200 yds at max…most likely zero and usage at 50 yds with an RDS . I don’t precision shoot but want to have a decent grouping if I use an LPVO
It sounds like a Sionics would be a great choice. My Sionics uppers are both 10.5" RGP mid-weights, so I don’t have any info on how well they group. Actually, I haven’t even shot the most recent one yet, which came from the EE.
Sionics is getting good recomendations here. I may have to try one
Amen to that!!
Any of those are “bullet proof” But if bang-for-buck is the leading prinicpal …wait for a daily deal on the palmetto premium. I have 2 FN barreled uppers with PSA, both are 1.5 moa ( in my hands, probably better with more capable eyes) both with at least 1k rounds down them over the years…not a single hiccup. I just make sure and red loc tight, stake the gas block screws as I change out to adjustable gas blocks anyway