28" krieger AR15

[Minesweeper3433]

I am planning on building a new upper for myself using kriegers 28" varmint offering. What I am looking for is recommendations on receiver and float tube that allows for the most strength.I have a DPMS thick upper on a 6.5 Grendel upper. Although I like that I am planning on putting a target scope and shooting at distance so open to the idea of high rise receivers. On free float tubes I prefer smooth rather than railed so I can shoot it off of back pack. Scope that while go on this is 30mm tube 40-44mm objective so that I can have it sit lower and a varmint reticule. I do not like the idea of spending 500 plus on just the receiver and bolt assembly so no side charging type receivers as they are not worth the price for this project. Bolt and carrier will be bravo company as well as a extended charging handle from them.

 

[Scott Harris]

Minesweeper,

It sounds like you know what you are doing, but here are my thoughts. What is the real benefit of a 28" barrel versus a 26" barrel? Obviously, there are plenty of 26" uppers available at very attractive prices with all the technical details worked out and proven: gas tube length, function, etc. It seems to me that you will be taking on the burden of figuring out a lot of these details over again for maybe 30 extra fps. I"d just go with a 26" upper and call it a day.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Minesweeper3433]

The thing I like about the 28" barrel over the 26 is that the longer barrel comes with kriegers long gas system. A 26 inch barrel with a rifle length gas system has one hell of a dwell time after passing the gas port and I dont want to beat up the rifle. The 28 inch comes with the longer has system which reduces that problem and in the event I wish to shorten the barrel myself the recoil impulse from the rifle will be lighter than on other barrels. Plus I plan on reaching out as far as I can with the 223 in a semi auto.

 

[Scott Harris]

I"m assuming a 26" system will have the gas port moved forward 2": most of the pre-made uppers come this way. But, sounds like you got it covered.

 

[Lhardy]

I used the jp handguard on mine and really like it. Very comfortable and is also very sturdy. After the first trip out west with it my father traded his yhm tube for the jp. Pricey...... Yes but I have no complaints so far. Hope this helps. Lee

 

[jscandale]

Hi Minsweeper,

Just curious, who charges $500+ for a receiver / carrier setup? That seems pretty steep. I have had several DPMS thick walled uppers as well as standard GI as well. They both work very well and get the job done. The DPMS uppers are extruded aluminum and although they function as they should, I have found they to vary a great deal in some of the dimensional sizes. After all, it's an extrusion which is just liquified aluminum pushed through a die to create a shape.
In recent years, I have gravitated to the billet uppers. There are several companies making nice ones these days and they are very strong, rigid, and dimensionally accurate as well. I sell complete upper receivers with the bolt carrier and side charge handle modification for a far sight lower than $500 that might interest you.
http://www.keystoneaccuracy.com/matchvarmintrifles.html
People ask me all the time if I think a billet or even a thick walled upper is necessary for better accuracy. My answer is always no because an upper receiver's job is to just hold a bunch of parts together and they are all fastened to the lower the same way, however, they are very nice. I guess the same question could be asked about if you really need a Cadillac to get from point a to point b, but they sure do ride nice.

JS

 

[Minesweeper3433]

I actually recently decided to stick with nothing but billet upper receivers for that reason when I found reference to extrusion in a metal working article on the web. I still can't decide if I want a side charging assembly or not although the look really nice. JP enterprise receiver and bolt set is well over 500 when I checked. I like your uppers and also looked at 6mmAR.com uppers. I won't be building this upper until sept however because I am over seas right now so i have plenty of time to think on it.