My daughter is thinking about changing out the upper on her Savage MSR 15 that is chambered in 224. She is thinking about a complete upper with BCG chambered in 223/5.56. Are there any unforeseen problems doing this?

Other than having the wrong upper on at the wrong time (which will invariably lead to wanting another lower), I couldn’t imagine any issues.

If the Savage is a conventional AR15 copy, it shouod be fine. That’s a great part of AR ownership. If anything, there might be a spring or buffer swap needed, but that’s simple and maybe unnecessary.

Yes, it is a conventional AR15 copy.



https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-msr-15-valkyrie-savage-s-224-valkyrie-powerhouse/

Yep. it'll work fine, I do it, my uppers stay sighted in & pop right on.

Thanks for the reassurance.

I know you said it, but be sure to get an upper complete with the BCG; they aren't interchangeable. She'll need more mags, too, as the 224 uses 6.8mags.

Having a bare upper to swap always seems smart but somehow lowers creep in and make it complete. Keep an eye out at 208gunshop.com. I picked up several Anderson lowers from them late last year, complete and with MFT grips and Battlelink stocks for $120 each, shipped. It also makes a bit of sense as then you can keep the two different calibers separate so you don't mix up mags and potentially ruin an upper - it happens. I have a 300 BO as well as 223 so go to great lengths to keep them far apart.