Dedicated AR yote rifle: which upper would you use?

Hangtime

Hangtime

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I'm presently setting here waiting on the BBT (ups) to deliver a new Leupold VX 111 Long Range 6.5-20 X 40 scope with the varmit hunter reticle, which I'm going to put on my main PD AR.

I'm then going to take the scope that's presently on my main PD rig, (4.5-14 X 40) and put it on another AR, and make that one a dedicated yote AR. The reason for this thread is I have two uppers I can use for the yote AR, and wanted to get some input on which one you would use, and your reasoning behind that choice.

Choice #1: New Armalite A4 carbine upper, 16" CM 1/9 barrel with M4 feedramps, and A2 flash hider, chambered in 5.56. A couple of weeks ago when Armalite started having all these sales, I got one of these uppers w/o BCG, or charging handle. I got a BCM M16 bolt carrier group to go in this upper, as I wanted the extra mass of an M16 BC, given this upper has the carbine length gas system. I really didn't need another upper, but the price was so good, I just couldn't pass it up. I also have been wanting an AR from Armalite for a few years, so figured with the excellent price this would be a good opportunity.

Choice #2: J&T A3 upper, 16" CM 1/9 barrel without M4 feedramps, and it has a built in compensator (machined into the barrel), also chambered in 5.56. I've owned this upper for several years, and it's very, very accurate, so no concerns there. This upper has the mid-length gas system, and the BCG is an unshrouded semi auto version. Never had any issues what so ever with this upper, so it's proven itself to be 100% reliable.

Either way I go, I'll be using the lower from my PD rig, as I've got a Geiselle DMR trigger in it, along with a flat wire buffer spring from Superior Shooting Systems. And at this time, I don't want to spend the money to duplicate that configuration just to have a dedicated lower for the yote gun. I've also got the CWS system from Superior in my PD upper, which I plan on swapping back and forth between the PD rig, and the yote rig.

So, I'm on the fence as to which upper to use for the dedicated yote rig. I suspect there may not be enough difference between the two to matter all that much, but I thought I would ask those here, in case someone had a strong opinion of one vs: the other. I am presently leaning toward the J&T a little bit, as it has the compensator, and the mid length gas system, which I think might be a little "smoother" in operation vs: the carbine length gas system on the Armalite. I will put enough rounds thru the Armalite to confirm the accuracy is there, but I expect them to be very close to each other. The J&T is about 2" shorter overall, and the weight is virtually the same between the two.

This will be my first experience with a carbine length gas system, never having owned one, nor ever even shot one. So for those that own both a mid length, and carbine, I'd appreciate your input whether you think the differences in the gas system length is significant enough to be a consideration.

This will also be my first year of yote hunting so have no experience, but am anxious to get started. I've purchased a few instructional DVD's and a few hand calls which I've been practicing using around the house.

So if any of you have compelling reasons to use one upper versus the other, I would welcome your input, because I really want to set this up just one time, and be done with it. Knowing there is an abundance of very knowledgeable yote hunters on this site, with wide and varied experience using different AR's, I wanted to get your opinions regarding the choice of uppers.

Thanks in advance,
Hangtime.
 
I don't see why either upper wouldn't work well for you. Both are quality pieces. I use a J&T 16" LW CAR upper on my purpose-built coyote rifle. It's got a carbine gas system and an A2 flash supressor on it. Zero problems with anything and it's very accurate. You can always use your current scope on one of them and pick up another scope with a different power or a red dot for the other upper. Either way, you can't lose with either upper. It's a win-win situation. MI VHNTR
 
I am guessing that your J&T upper may be more accurate. Armalite markets their A4 uppers toward law enforcement marksmen that are engaging at urban distances (50-75 yards)

I'd love to own an Armalite, but they are built to be strictly military. Read the docs on their web site. They recommend FMJ ammo only and basically blame you for all failures with any other kind. They aren't quite so ornery about JHP ammo, but they warn against using any JSP bullets with exposed lead.
 
see wich is the best shooter with the load your going to use.

To my surprise I have an old A1 1-12 twist chrome lined upper that will really shoot my 30 gr. Berger load. I'm 49 and much prefer packing around lite weight rifles anymore when I'm doing alot of walking.

Shoot I'm pooped if I carry around a 24" Varmint weight rifle walking 3-4 big bean fields Chuck hunting for 6-7 hours anymore.

I'm really considering a Plastic Cav Arms lower with a 20" A1 pencil barrel.
 
The most accurate ARs of the several I've owned have been an Oly K16 (16" bull barrel) and an Armalite mid length 16 incher. The Armalite is consistently accurate with a variety of ammo, even the really cheap Wolf steel cased stuff is accurate in the Armalite.

I got in on the cheap Aramlite upper deal too, but haven't shot mine yet. I'm hoping its an accurate barrel, if so I'm going to add a free float handguard and make a hunting rig out of it.
 
go with #2, the M4 feed ramps don't mean anything.

I'd pick the one that is most accurate first and then the one that handles better second.
 
Thanks for all the input from everyone. I appreciate it, and was a little surprised as it seemed more of you suggested the J&T. They do make an excellent product, and are also an excellent value for the dollars spent IMHO, so that's a combination that's hard to beat! I really suspected the Armalite would get more "votes" than the J&T.

I think this is how I'm going to handle this.

The accuracy, and overall performance of the J&T is known by me. The same can not be said of the Armalite at this point.

So, I think I'll mount the scope on the Armalite, get it dialed in and see how it compares to the J&T, not only in terms of accuracy, but in overall feel as well. If the accuracy is about the same, and I don't have any objections with the carbine length gas system, then I think that will be my dedicated yote gun.

As I said I really only want to set this up one time if possible, as it's quite a bit of work to get a scope mounted correctly, sighted in, etc., etc., etc. So, I'm really hoping the Armalite performs well, and I can be done with that part of the project, and move on.

On another subject, I just finished putting my new Leupold on my AR PD rig, and while not difficult, it was fairly time consuming (cause I'm particular). I was installing the Leupold, using the Burris Signature Zee rings I recommended in another thread, and much to my surprise, I was able to get it boresighted dead on (eyeballing), just by using the offset polymer inserts. Never had that happen before, so I can see many more sets of the Zee rings in my future, becoming my "go to" preferred AR scope mount of choice. I'm getting ready now to go out into the field, and make the final adjustments with the windage and elevation adjustments. It appears so close just by using the offset polymer inserts, I suspect it won't take many "clicks" at all to put the finishing touches on it.

So, back to the yote AR, I'm really hoping the Armalite performs as well as the J&T, so I will have to only have to perform one setup. I'll have my answer(s) in about a week, as the parts I'm lacking should be here by that time.

Thanks again to those that responded.

Hangtime.
 
RE: Burris Zee Rings on an AR-15...

Good stuff. I have a medium set of rings on a pair of Yankee Hill Machine (YHM) short picatinny riser blocks. The allen head screws (2 each) are easier to torque down and the riser is better at return-to-zero. (I don't keep my scope on all the time)

PS... if you were on AR15.com, they'd be telling you that you absolutely needed a set of $350 Larue Tactical scope rings.
 
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