HELP new AR Upper

H

huntinggamo

New member
hey evybody, im new to this forum but from what i have seen everybody here is very willing to help. my question is im looking for a new upper for my dpms lower. i curently have a oldschool no-name A-2 upper on there that no longer groups worth a a $#!t. it grouping about 8" at 200 yds. i found one i like at This website i wanted to know if anybody has done bussniss with them before and what you think of this upper. is er shaw barrels any good? also i am purchasing a new bolt assembly and charging handle, is it worth the cost to get the threaded option on the barrel and put a muzzel brake or flash supressor on? if so what muzzel brake should i get. also if you have any other recomendations for places to get uppers let me know.

excuse all the sp errors i already know i cant spell worth a dam...lol
 

Gamo,

Welcome to our little respectable, friendly spot in the web whirled. I will be happy to help direct you.

I looked at the Ranger upper. It has a Shaw barrel with a chrome lined bore.

What are you wanting to do with your upper? If you want to place a 30 round mag in and bump fire them all off as fast as you can, by all means, get a chorme lined bore, and a cheap barrel. Fast firing get the barrel hot which will cook the accuracy right out of it. fire formed gilded metal in the throat, blah blah, don't feel like giving the scientific explanation...

If you want great accuracy, and are going to slow fire only, get you a good non chromed barrel, they're more accurate.

Everyone has spoken very highly of the dpms "match" stainless barrels, they shoot 1/2" or smaller groups at 100 hards. (.5 moa or better.)

You can save yourself a lot of money by putting together your own upper. If you can change the oil in an automobile, then you can build an AR upper, blindfolded.

Or, mail me the components and I will do it for you for free, you just pay the price of shipping back to you.

If your after accuracy, I would get a DPMS competiton upper, it's thicker and more rigid.

Get a DPMS stainless match barrel in whatever weight & length you want. Also know that the quote "a heavy barrel shoots more accuracly than a light barrel" is urban legend and totally untrue. Get at least a 8 twist barrel..

It's only that heavy barrel can take more heat without a impact change, during sustained fire...

I would get the pre-ban type of barrel that has a threaded muzzle end. This allows you to use a muzzle BREAK, which keeps the barrel from jumping when you fire, which helps you see where the round hits at longer ranges, especially with a scope.

The DPMS Linear breaks are the quietest, but onlY about 40% effective. Any break makes the gun louder to the shooter.
I settled with the linear, it's not much louder at all, and works well enough.

The OPs INC style break is the most effective, but I find I literally need to use ear plugs AND ear muff around those, and then they still give me a headache.

The holland break is popular, and the Vias is the old "go-to" break for everyone in the hunting community.

you have two options on breaks: a closed bottom type, or open bottom. The closed bottom are good for shooting from prone, the closed bottom keep sand/dirt/leaves/stuff from being blown down your shirt and all over your weapon.

an open bottom break is reported to cause less "funny turbelence" for the bullet to fly through and hence is theoretically more accurate. But I feel the margin so lsight that an difference would only be noticable if using the utmost accurate arm, with match ammo custom matched to that arm, and a top notch shooter doing the driving...

Hope this helps. Welcome aboard. Our forum here is family friendly, in the future perhaps you will feel led to leave out the profanity, spelled out or simulated.

We're gald to have you!
fell free to ask any other questions you may have.
 
i intend on using it primarly for coyotes but i like to go to work on the prarie dog towns as well. i thought that was a good selection because it was fluted so i tought it would be lighter and disperse heat better. i do want to be able to send some tight groups down range but at the same time i dont want somthing so heavy that my arm is going to want to fall off if i decide to go for a hike. i dont realy want to spend over 575 or 600 for complete upper including bolt and charging handle. the uper reciever i have now has no shell deflector,no forward assist, caring handle, ect. i realy wanted a flat-top but if push comes to shove i could strip my old upper and re-barrel it and customize it. would this hold the same level of accuracy as say a new upper with that same barrel?
 
That brings up another question, 16" 20" or 24"? is a longer barrel going to give me any more accuracy, and at what length does it actualy start doing more harm than good because of weight and length geting in the way of what i need to do with it? does fluting actualy do me much good? i seen on jt's site they have fluted bull barrels is this somthing i should consider?
 
Short thick barrels are usually more accurate than a long thin barrel. Accuracy comes from high quality barrels, not from the contour. ER Shaw makes entry level barrels, some shoot very well and others are so-so. You pay your money and take your chances. The fluting on these barrels is shallow cosmetic only, not the deep weight saving kind custom makers use.
 


""the uper reciever i have now has no shell deflector,no forward assist, caring handle, ect.""

Is it not flattopped? It sounds like a comp. upper.

You can get good accuracy out of a standard flattop upper.
Do you hand load? (reload your own ammo?)
If you hand load I reccomend a 16" barrel if you an even mix of weight, accuracy & "handiness." you can laod oyur ammo to the upper end of the limit and get about the same velocity you would with a 20" barrel and factory loads.

If you do not handload, I'd get a 20."

For what you describe, I would get a H-bar or lighter barrel contour. Fluting is nice, but at a barely justifiable $80 or so. I'd add up the cost of my build without flutes, and if money is left over in the end, then add the fluting, it is least important.

Yes, if you strip your current upper, and rebarrel it, it will be just as accurate as a new upper (of same quality) & new barrel.

I built my latest AR to be a VERY HANDY Coyote rifle.
It's a 16" H-bar, CAR stock, A3 flat top with a tactical scope.

From 400 yards I can ring a 10" round steel plate, from prone all day long in mild to moderate winds time and time again. I have rare oppertunity to shoot beyond 400 yds. and almost never past 600.

If I were in an area out west that permits 400+ yard shots anywhere and every where, I'd go with a 20."

You asked what max practical barrel length was, your not picking up much more velocity per inch of barrel past 24", but for every inch of barrel past that your heating the bullet up considerably and that leads to bullet failure (though highly unlikely in an AR.)

Wilson barrels are good, and so are Rock river, which are hand picked Wilson's. DPMS is all but impossible to beat at MidwayUSA.com prices under those performance wise are Shaw, and lesser perormance yet is the Adams & Bennet, etc.

Crapshoot is right on, longer barrel doesn't give greater accuracy, just more velocity, which to a point gives you greater range, but still not smaller groups.

Hope Ive helped.
 
rj4 i like what they have to offer but i dont have 1000$ to dump into a uper (that page still hit my favorites though.
now i do like to do some prarie dog shooting out to 500-800 yds but im kinda just lobing .223 rounds out that far. if i go with a 16" barrel how much accuracy do you think im sacrificing over a 20" my current upper is like an A2 with cary handle but it is smoth all the way down both sides. how much of an advantage is the flat top over the scope mounted on the cary handle. im thinking now that i might just buy a new barrel and put it on my old reciever.

just a queston for those experenced coyote hunters that use an ar platform if you had my setup and were on a 450-550$ budget what would you do to the system??

the way it is set up now it is a carbine lower dpms, 6 position stock, above described smoth reciever W/carry handle, A2 barrel.

i will try to get a pic of my current setup on here in the next hour or so.
 
Quote:
if i go with a 16" barrel how much accuracy do you think im sacrificing over a 20"



None (possibly). Shorter barrel length will only cost you velocity. Accuracy comes from quality barrels. Less velocity will give you poorer balistics though (more drop).
 
Last edited:
im mainly going to be shooting the 40-60 gr bullets what twist rate do you recomend, i know for anything over 60gr you should have 1-7 but i was wondering in the primarly 55gr range how it affected the bullets, and if it matters in a 16" vs a 20".
 
and to anser an earlier question i dont handload yet but am very serious about starting, im reading up on all the info and recomendations for equiptment and tips here on the forums. sucking in all info i can find.
 
is the stainless better than the 4140 carbon steel?
is the lo-pro reciever any better than a normal one, does anybody actualy use the forward assist and shell deflector, im right handed and from what i understand if your not in iraq and you keep your rifle farly clean then the dust cover and forward assist are just for looks.
 
Last edited:
With that upper even fluted your looking at nine or ten pounds total wt of the rifle. Look into a shorter barrel like twenty or eighteen inches Del Ton CMMG JT ect all do great with the uppers and are great to deal with I have never heard of this company that your looking at. As was said you could also build your own for a small investment in tools and parts. And maybe even come out for a little less money. Avoid the chrome lined stuff if you want a real accurate rifle. The Military uses chrome but that is more for full auto and poor field conditions. You (I hope will be takeing good care of your rifle since that leads to good accuracy and long life of the firearm.
 
i just did some research and im hooked on a stainless dpms now my only question is should i get a lo-pro reciever or a regular reciever with a forward assist dust cover and shell deflector. and my other consideration is 16" or 20" im trying to get ahold of a friend of mine that reloads and see what he thinks about working up a load in a 16 and geting the same performance out of it as a 20". im almost certaint that im going to go with a 20" though.
 
ok i finaly decided im going with a DPMS 20" bull barreled lo-pro upper now im thinking im going to top it with a leapers 3-12x44 illuminated mil dot, does anybody have an openion on this scope?
 
"Also know that the quote "a heavy barrel shoots more accuracly than a light barrel" is urban legend and totally untrue."

I have to strongly disagree with this. A heavier barrel, everything else being equal, will on average be more accurate. This is because the heavier barrel is stiffer and will vibrate less when fired.

Jack
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top