Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Rate the best of the best receivers/manufactures.

Lets hear it. Seems there are so many manufactures out there these days. What would you rate as the best upper and lower receivers. Great time for you fan boys and top tier snobs to chime in.. I'm thinking BCM would be right up there, but there are better manufactures out there now. What is top tier now? If someone wanted to build a top tier rifle, which direction would you steer them? We all know Colt used to be excellent, but now they are owned by CZ, so we will see what direction they head. Noveske used to be top tier, but after John died, I think they went downhill a bit. Daniel Defense? LWRC? What are your top picks?

I will just say that the best isn't an upper or lower receiver. It's the total product...the quality of the parts used and the proficiency of the assembler.

So you are saying parts is just parts? In regards to which upper or lower you use. Ok

No, I'm saying the upper, lower and the rest of the parts should be judged as a complete package. Like was stated in another thread, having a "name" lower with all of it assembled by who-knows-who in their basement does not make the assembled gun that "name". You know that the top tier makers use quality parts and are assembled correctly.

Only one other than an old Colt i have used are the ones that Aero puts out.

When trying to true them they seem to be trued already.

Their lowers are nice as well,have not tried their enhanced yet.

I know they are not around any more, but by far my favorite recievers are LAR billet. only have two of them but my two most accurate AR's both side charge

Almost. And in most cases. I"ve never worried about brand. I've bedded a few to snug up the fit between upper and lower.

I've really had one issue once. No clue who had an upper on sale, but we bought a couple. Ends up like always the Krieger barrel simply was not quite up to normal standards.

I've yet to have a combo that wasn't under MOA on average. That Krieger one just hovered right at MOA and just under. Others are always under by a bit. Some even better.

That said I've not invested in some kind of supposed top line so who knows, maybe I'm missing the .25 MOA boat here.

Right now though and any time things are short and expensive we just don't buy. I'd bet faulty parts that don't meet the checks get out the door anyway.

Laugh as you will we even put together a couple of Model 1 Sales uppers that were solid MOA shooters.

As far as I'm concerned the most important part is the barrel period. Not even float tubes or triggers matter in regards to pure accuracy issues. Though both matter to field accuracy IE how WELL you can shoot it. Not how well it shoots.


Edit to ad, I've mentioned this before. The vaunted Colt. We bought into that. Got em home. Not accurate. Bad trigger. so toss the barrel, toss the trigger. Granted the upper and lowers were fairly snug. But have since been bedded. Replaced all the above plus a much better built rear sight and the gun has won a lot of matches.

its also the only lower I've ever had that needed its hammer and trigger pin holes swaged. But I bought a set of swaging tools after that just in case.

And how is the colt rebuilt accuracy and performance? Great. In fact its as good as the EA lower and generic upper of who knows who brand upper that I have as an NTIT gun VS an XC and NTT type gun. They both shoot extremely well with a good barrel. One is fugly to some because the upper and lower colors don't match. The colt does match. But I've yet to see matching color receivers by themselves win matches. And I've won more than a few with the EA also...

"As far as I'm concerned the most important part is the barrel period. Not even float tubes or triggers matter in regards to pure accuracy issues. Though both matter to field accuracy IE how WELL you can shoot it. Not how well it shoots."

This!

I used to buy upper receivers from Paul at BCM before he was BCM and usually they were Continental Machine and Tool. Then came the billet uppers and all of a sudden none of the forged uppers were straight and everyone really pushed billet. Man that was a long time ago. Were they better? Doubtful but they sure cost more. I balked and Paul continued to send me straight CMT uppers until CMT started Stag Rifles and production got moved to their own rifles. Then BCM came out and no one answered the phones anymore, that was an almost industry wide move that killed any loyalty I had for most companies.

In my experience, receivers make little difference. It's the barrel that matters most.

I just don't see any differences, or not enough of a difference for it to be an issue

Thanks TWR. Good info. I was looking at the BCM upper and lower I recently bought and don't see where the draw is. I bought it, though, on good faith that BCM is good scheidt... To be honest, I like the finish on my Noveske much better. Also this isn't about accuracy, so much as it is about quality and which manufactures put out the best uppers and lowers. I also hear you about billet uppers. I really like the looks of them and they seem to be more rigid, which we know helps with getting consistent accuracy. I only have 1 and its from a manufacture that no one ever talk about. Its actually on my favorite rifle. That rifle shoots with the best of them for sure. The upper is made by Northtech Defense. At the time I bought the rifle, the uppers were selling for $300.00. Prices have come down on them substantially now though. You can get one with the titanium forward assist for around $250.00:

It also sports a barrel that we don't talk about here either, but we know it does very well in the black rifle challenge. I've been very impressed by the combo, in terms of function, reliability and accuracy:
I've been researching the hell out of barrels that are known for excellent accuracy and none of them are in stock. Seems to be the way of the fn world right now. Using Covid as an excuse to fu ck off I guess... The barrel that I really like, and use, is in stock, so that is probably what I'm going to buy for my BCM. I'm sure it will drive tacks. One thing I like about BCM is the thermocouple fit that montanaman is always talking about. I know from recent experience with bedding my 6x45 barrel extension, that a real tight fit helps with accuracy.

I've heard great things about Aero Precision. I've handled them and they always fit together very well. Their tensioner screw is cool. I like the looks of the M4e1 and M5e1 receivers. I almost bought the M5e1 complete set when I wanted a 6.5 creedmoor, but decided to buy a complete rifle instead. The funny thing about that was when I got home I noticed the barrel and handguard was loose. I'm glad I did not shoot the rifle like that. I contacted the manufacture and the people I bought it from and told them they needed to check the rest of their rifles to make sure the barrel nuts were tight. Mine was only hand tight when I got it. Kind of pizzed me off. Goes back to whether or not a factory built rifle is really worth more than a home build.. A lot of guys here sure think so. I'll leave it at that.. I decided I'd just make my own barrel nut wrench, since that companies was proprietary to their barrel nut and tighten the damn thing myself:

The company wanted me to send the rifle back to them "immediately". Obviously they are under the impression that no one but them should be working on their rifles. I told them that if they would have properly built said rifle and not had their head in their azz, I wouldn't have to work on it.. If the rifle would have shot like chidt or had any other problems, I would have sent it back to them on their dime.. Good thing it shoots pretty good..

Noveske used to anodize then paint the receivers so that’s why they have a more consistent finish. The two lowers I have were the sloppiest fit with any upper I tried though. And the pin holes on one was just off enough that it affected the trigger pull on every trigger I had. Just goes to show that names mean little.

Billet as I was told is beefed up in places that a forged receiver is not because forged is stronger than billet. But I’ve never cared enough to try and confirm it.

I also have a Charles Daly lower that is also anodized and painted. It is the best fitting lower I have, looking at pin holes to the threads on the RE end and also locks up tight on most every upper I’ve had it on.

Bottom line is if it’s right it’s right, names mean little.

That said the later production Colts I’ve had are very well done. Same for the few Aero receivers I’ve had but I won’t buy another Anderson anything.

I've been very lucky. Every receiver I have fits up pretty tight. No slop in the holes, but I have not had anywhere near as many ARs as a lot of you guys have. Only 1 gen 1 Noveske upper and lower set and they match up perfectly with each other. Hell, even my cheap azzed Rogue defense upper and lower fit together very well. The finish on those are very nice as well. Very similar to the Noveske. I actually used that rifle to compare to the rest of the AR's I've bought, since that was the first one I bought and have been pretty happy with it.. Lets not talk about Colt, as the finish on mine is crude. Definitely a fighting mans rifle where finish is of no concern. It has more dimples and blemishes than any other receiver I have owned.. Its a beautiful rifle though and well worth what I paid for it, if that makes any sense..

Is your Colt large pin? The later models where they went back to regular pins and pivot hole have been better from what I’ve seen. Though I do remember seeing a few pics of new 6920’s that were rough.

The pin hole trouble I had was they were drilled in the wrong spot or at an angle causing sear fitment issues. My other one from the same batch is perfect.

It is a pre ban gun, so you would know better than I. I have not messed with the pins or measured them. Its pretty much bone stock except for the grip and adjustable aperture.

The "draw" with BCM uppers is not something you will see; it's something you will have to measure.

There are 2 main QA issue that they get right: a tight fit for standard barrel extensions that almost always requires thermo-fitting & the concentricity of the bore to the threads.

Other than that, there nothing special about BCM, but you can usually get blems for a decent price.

I really like SanTan, Cross Machine Tool (CMT), Vltor MUR, & 2A uppers as well but the cheapest one is Vltor at (at least was before the run-up) around $175, the others are all billet & cost more & are virtually unobtanium right now.

I agree with rost495 that the barrel is more important, probably by a wide margin; proving or disproving small performance differences in uppers is an exercise I have no time for nor interest in worrying about................I buy what I like for a given build & make the barrel fit it tightly by whatever means is necessary for that combination. If the barrel is good, the gun will shoot well enough to satisfy me for my needs.

If the only uppers ever available again were SanTan & CMT, I'd be very happy as long as I could get them.

YMMV

MM

I wouldn't spend any extra $$$ on a "premium" lower.

Thanks mm. I think Vltor made some uppers for Noveske. Back when I was researching Noveske, I saw the modular upper receivers were getting rave reviews. I damn near switched out my N4 with one because my damn rifle only shoots around moa. Its rain or shine consistent, but at the time I thought a more rigid receiver would help with getting smaller groups. One of the reasons I turned it into my designated iron sight rifle. For chits and giggles I may change it out one of these days.

So lets all just have bubba worked over 80% lowers.

Good info from all of you guys. Much appreciated.. In today's market, finding the upper and lower you want can be frustrating. Poor availability and such. Like the guy at the range told me the other day, "if you can find and buy a complete upper and lower set from a well known company for a good deal, snag it". He's a good guy with good info on building AR's. I had to cut my range time short that day, but I think it will be well worth it..

He didn't seem to be saying that at all.

A current production billet Noreen. Machined just next door (in Montana terms). Doubt it matters much. But, just to be a dic, I (after first assembling as a pistol) paired it with an Anderson upper and FN barrel which fit together tighter than fuuck. The combo is likely to never see a scope, or a bench or be used to shoot groups to show people on the internet.

Thats a good thing. Most peoples iron sight shooting is very unimpressive anyway. How much does that lower weigh. Looks like a beast..

I also don't weight 'em.

LOL


I've managed to buy, FN, Criterion and SOLGW barrels in the recent past. Chit goes fast. They're all still making stuff.

Vltor made all the MUR version uppers that Noveske sold.

It's a good, solid, stiff upper but it's 3-4 oz heavier compared to many of the standard, slimmer mil-spec uppers

MM

Yeah, I think their specs were 10 oz's vs. 7 for the mil spec stuff? I guess you'd expect a little more weight, since they beef them up for better rigidity. Here are the details on them according to Noveske:

"Noveske Vltor MUR (Modular Upper Receiver) was developed to give the customer a MilSpec correct upper receiver with a thicker wall making the MUR upper receiver a more rigid platform. A more rigid upper receiver will increase accuracy and reliability while extending the life of interfacing components such as the bolt carrier group and barrel assembly."

I'd pay a little extra to have this receiver and it's really only about 3 oz's heavier like you said. For a precision rifle, it wouldn't hurt anything, but in a fighting rifle, I can see why you'd want to shave weight and keep stuff light. Probably not the best receiver for that application..

Just buy a complete Aero matched upper and lower and add quality parts. Save the money and buy more ammo.

kwg

In todays market that is pretty solid advice. Seeing how much Aero's are selling for on the open market. I just saw one today that was marked at $1,800.00. Pretty plain specimen except it was chambered in 224 Valkyrie. That's not even on gunbroker, that was a local one for sale. I've also seen Andersons for $1,000.00 locally. Those were home builds too. A buddy of mine called to ask about an AR he saw where he lives. It was marred and scratched from assembly. Obviously a ham handed idiot put it together. He said they were wanting $1,500.00 for it and it was an Anderson build. He asked if now is the time to sell his factory Rock River Arms ATH carbine rifle. I told him probably, but he needs to open a gunbroker account. I'm not going to sell it for him on my account...

Lewis Machine Tool

I bet if you got me one, I could build a sub moa gun off it easily....

That pretty big money for an Aero. I really doubt he will get it unless total anarchy breaks out. I have several AR's in the closet but I don't know if I want to let them go yet. I may have to hand them out to family.

kwg

My Grand Son and 2 of my Sons have Stiller Predator X lower receivers. I will pick up 2 more from his shop tomorrow. They are billet, machined with his new CNC machines, and the mag wells are cut with wire EDM. Are they better, I don't know, but like precision machined parts.

Seekins and VSEVEN.

By Far

I'll bet those are nice. Do those have the flared mag well?

This is one that I threw together has a slick sided VLTOR.

Yes they are flared on the ID, but not on the OD like the one pictured above.They are machined from 7050 aluminum. A very high quality aircraft aluminum.

Does Stiller sell those in matched sets, with the upper and lower machines from the same billet?

I'd like to have the matched single-billet set signed by the machinist please...

Stiller has a few receivers left. I don't think that Jerry plans on producing additional. He makes a lot of money manufacturing competition rimfire receivers.

Those would be bad azzed. I have to comment on my new upper and lower set I just got. They are BCM and I am actually surprised. I see some subtle differences, as compared to some of the other uppers and lowers I've bought. First off, all the holes seem a little tighter. I noticed this when I changed the PNT trigger and replaced the safety selector. The castle nut that holds the buffer tube on with the end plate is staked in place as well. The inside of the upper is very slick, which is surprising because the outside is very rough matte finished. The upper to lower fit is fairly tight, but I'm still using an accu wedge to make it even tighter. The trigger is smooth, but very heavy, and its a single stage. Supposed to be a damn good trigger, but I can't get past the pull weight. I don't like waiting all day (or it seems) for the trigger to go off. Sorry, it's not my cup of tea. All in all, I am very pleased with the BCM upper and lower quality. I get my new barrel tomorrow and may shoot it then or on wednesday. It should shoot my other AR's pet loads lights out, without a doubt. I might go and load some 77's to try out as well.

Gentleman,
I have very little experience with AR's. I recently purchased a Mega Arms Megalithic matched upper and lower with a BA barrel and a Gisselle SSA trigger. Any one have any experience with this maker?
Rider

Mega Arms was a good company but got merged with Zev and they dropped a few lines. The monolithic upper was one of those things dropped in favor of ZEV's own line from what I'm seeing.

You should call the Smith I posted above and have him put one of his custom barrels in it. As I recall, they are among his favorite sets to build off of.

Antelope Sniper are you referring to Stiller?

Sorry,
I got cross threaded. I was referring to my post in the barrel thread:

I’ve only had a few.

The original SPCII 6.8 when ARP made Guns before focusing on barrels. I don’t hear much about them now but don’t have a 6.8 anymore.

Black Rain billet is nice but a bit of a rattle trap.

Barnes Precision is really nice even swapping various uppers and lowers. I’ve still not shot those but they have a good rep just not real advertised. I have heard Andrew has been a major OEM all along but don’t know for who.

WarSports did the custom Cerakote and I’ve handled one of theirs as well as a JP 260. I don’t recall WarSports fit but the JP seemed like quality. WarSports did a very thorough job on my cerakote but it was a personal favor for a friend so maybe that’s wasn’t their norm. They are defunct now anyway.

"War Sports", now that is a name that you'd think would last forever. Wonder why it went under? Going back to the root of the thread, BCM. I just put my Windham Weaponry barrel in the BCM. Very tight fit. Thermo fit. Ok. Yeah, the handguard is a thermo fit. Had to heat it up pretty good to go over the barrel nut. The rifle is going to shoot good, but first impressions of the BCM is yawn. Good fighting rifle, ok. Great finish, nah. Military matte, yeah. My Noveske has a nicer finish, just being honest here. The BCM is going to shoot great, but that is because of the barrel and nothing more. Will it shoot better than my North Tech Defense. Yet to be determined. Probably not, but if it does, I'll be pretty happy...

JMO, but you can take most any in-spec upper (and lower), and make a very accurate hunting/target AR with the right barrel and fitting/assembly.

If you’re thinking of a top end, competitive/high volume/adverse condition/fighting rifle AR, then I believe materials, process, etc. become more important from a durability, reliability, and staying in spec perspective. Then again, bolts, extensions, gas setups, and barrels are likely a far bigger part of that than the receivers they’re riding along in.

I could kick myself for not buying a truckload of those Noreen billet lowers when they had them intro priced at $39.99 most places. They seem hell for stout and were great on fit on the few I did use. There’s a VERY long list of stuff I use before I use Colt. That’s just from my anecdotal experience doing repairs in the Army vs the later FN stuff. Far more little, receiver or trigger related issues with the Colt stuff for us back then.

If you understand the system, and know how a barrel should interface with an upper, I (personally) don’t get too wrapped up in how much is spent on receivers.....as long as they work. I’ve only had issues in the last few years with Anderson stuff sometimes being rough, and having to have some touching up on holes and such. Not end of the world, and I’m not working on nearly the volume of AR stuff as in the past, so I’m probably not ‘current’, either. Bed, thermo fit, square, etc...shoot.

Word salad

Good info. Thanks..

What about RockRiver ?

Good stuff for sure.

Just as good as any. My buddies first AR was a RRA because he said he wanted all mil spec. He found out he likes his national match bushmaster upper on a cheap azzed Rogue Defense lower better. Before he bought his first AR, he did a lot of research and found that RRA was very good. Now he wants to sell it. Just for chitz and giggles, it has a sub moa accuracy guarantee, but it won't even shoot moa in the moa all day long challenge here:

I'm guessing the "guarantee" is for a single 3 shot group?

Yep and they are anything but mil spec.

Their receivers were fine and they use Wilson barrels. Most would shoot pretty well but they cut corners here and there.

Mostly I just look for a low-shelf trigger pocket.

You are not wrong...

I'm guessing the "guarantee" is like gun show bulshit.

Im thinking its a 3 shot guarantee as well. I dont like RRA enough to look on their website. I remember his rifle was the first AR I shot in the black rifle challenge here. Not real impressive with a 1.285 moa score, and that was with very expensive match grade factory ammo. My iron sight Noveske does better. I like RRA triggers, but their rifles are nothing special. From what ive seen, most manufacturers have their weaknesses. Kind of like my new BCM. The finish on that thing sucks donkey ballz. Its already worn at the shell deflector. Something my Noveske and Northtech Defense show no signs of use because of their superior finish. The BCM has 600 rounds on it now, but wear was noticable after a couple hundred rounds through it. I know thats picking nitts, but something that should be considered when searching out quality components.

Wonder what the difference is?

My BCM pistol has been flawless and the finish is great. YMMV.

BCM does sell blem receivers that are less than perfect from time to time. They do not mark them as such. You just buy them as they are when they blow them out. You may have gotten one of those, since you bought it used. Seller "may" have forgot to tell you that part.

Yep.
I have two of the BCM blem uppers. In both cases the finish is less than perfect, and one is particular I suspect it won't hold up as well as a non-blem, but for the price, I'm happy, and if it really bugs me, at some point I'll just cerakote it.

Mid-pack, run-of-the mill at best................but surely serviceable, just not in the category of "best", whatever that might mean to anyone is pretty subjective.

Your best might be my just average to me view.

MM