Since receiving my beautiful Texas Special Edition lower receiver, I've been itching to get the upper to complete the base that the rest of my AR-15 will be built around.
I am not a war fighter. I am not military or law enforcement. I do not foresee myself in a situation where I would need to slam a mechanical piston into my bolt carrier group to force it forward and seat a stubborn round (and most likely either inset the bullet in the case or cause an even worse jam). As such, I decided that I wanted to go with an upper with no forward assist to save some weight and reduce the cost in parts by a small amount. Luckily enough, Aero Precision makes just the upper! It has provisions for a dust cover, includes a shell deflector, but has omitted the forward assist.
Shell deflector, provisions for a dust cover, but no forward assist!
Now here is where things get interesting. I originally saw the upper for sale at Brownell's, but what stood out to me the most was that there was an American flag laser engraved onto the upper, just above the charging handle area. I'm quite happy to be an American, but I wondered if there was an upper without the laser engraving that was cheaper to buy. Sure enough, after spending much time and effort behind Google, I found some being sold between $65 and $70. After assessing about three different online retailers on their tax and shipping costs, I was stunned to find that the cheapest upper would not be a stripped upper, but one that comes with a standard milspec dust cover already installed. Granite Ridge Outfitters had their upper on sale for $69.95 with free shipping and no tax cost to me. Other retailers has uppers without dust covers selling for $65 flat, but their shipping costs brought their total cost to around $75.
Packaging looks familiar..!
The lower with no forward assist!
Now that I have an upper with a dust cover, this presents an interesting opportunity for me. When I buy the replacement cover, I will measure the weight of both of them to see how much heaver the standard dust cover is. Granite Ridge also threw in these three stickers that are very cool, thanks!
Brownells
- Criterion 16" Hybrid Barrel w/ Headspaced Bolt - $374.99
- VG6 Epsilon Muzzle Brake - $68.65
- Odin Works Gen II Extended Magazine Release - $17.86
- Odin Works O2 Lite Rail - 15.5" M-LOK - $174.49
- MAGPUL M-LOK AFG - $22.76
- Mission First Tactical Battlelink Minimalist Stock - $45.08
- Strike Industries Enhanced Ultimate Dust Cover - $11.60
- Patriot Ordnance Factory Anti-Tilt MilSpec Buffer Tube - $41.16
- Superlative Arms Adjustable Piston System - $248.55
- Phase 5 Tactical Extended Bolt Release - $48.07
- Bravo Company Gunfighter Charging Handle - Small - $47.57
- Bravo Company Gunfighter Trigger Guard Mod 0 - $6.65
- Bravo Company Gunfighter Grip Mod 0 - $24.82
- CMMG Gunbuilder's Lower Parts Kit - $45.40
- DPMS CAM Pin - $3.90
- DPMS Firing Pin Retaining Pin - $1.56
- DPMS Firing Pin - $6.91
- DPMS Castle Nut - $2.86
- D.S. Arms Carbine Buffer - $9.42
- Vortex Spitfire Prism Scope - $249.99
- TAPCO Gen II AR Stock Wrench - $9.45
- MAGPUL BEV Block - $44.48
- Reduced Power Carbine Buffer Spring - $14.99
Total cost to date: $305.23
Estimated cost remaining: $1,688.69
Estimated Grand Total: $1993.92
So now I'm back under my $2000 budget, and I have a beautifully matched set of Aero Precision receivers to base the rest of my build on. Hopefully I can grab a few more parts this winter season that will start making my random pile of pieces look more like an actual rifle.
'Till next time.
-AA
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