latest and greatest flattop upper for varmints?

[Mulligan]

I have an AR in .223 that hasn't seen the light of day in years. It is an A2 set up for service-rifle comp, but I have not been able to see through peep sights in a very long time. I started shooting F-Class and now benchrest so this rifle is just collecting dust. It is time to fix that issue........ I plan to repurpose it into a varmint rifle.

John at White Oak Armament built the upper, so I was planning on using all those parts on a flattop and fitting it with a scope.
Besides M4 feed ramps, is there anything in a flattop upper I should be looking for? Recommendations?

A4 Upper Receiver with M4 Ramps Complete

A4 Upper Receiver with M4 Ramps Complete

www.whiteoakarmament.com

AERO PRECISION M4E1 STRIPPED UPPPER RECEIVER THREADED 5.56MM FDE | Brownells

Check out the AERO PRECISION available Online at Brownells Today and many more Rifle Receivers & Parts products are available in our Gun Parts Department.

www.brownells.com

BTW, this is a 7 twist that will spend the rest of its days pointed at chucks and yotes.

Thanks
CW

 

[alf]

My last 3 uppers have been built for strictly for coyote hunting, most notably for night time thermal use.

All three are identical, built with Gibbz Arms billet side charge uppers and Seekins hand guards.

I love the side charge, as there's no need to break your hold if need arises to clear/charge the gun.

Side Charging Ar15 Upper | Ar15 Side Charger | Ar-15 Side Charging BCG

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www.gibbzarms.com

The Seekins hand guard is basically a triangle, with a 2 1/4" flat on the bottom, perfect for shooting off a good rest/sandbag setup.

SP3Rv3 Rail System

<p>Precision rifle stocks have a wide or flat bottom forend for stability, the SP3Rv3 from Seekins Precision brings this performance to an AR15 handguard. The design of the SP3Rv3 was born from experience shooting 3 gun and long range sniper competi

seekinsprecision.com

 

[RegionRat]

Clay,

Much depends on how you like to shoot the rig with respect to ergonomics.

The head/eye position you like determines the scope location and so the stock you select plays an equal role.

For formal position shooting with the same gun that must work prone, rapid-sitting and standing, the head/scope position tends to be the same as the original iron sights, but....

For a dedicated predator or prairie dog rig, you can favor only those positions you will use and not worry about prone, rapid sitting, or standing. Rapid sitting cross legged isn't the same thing as sitting at a swivel table for p-dogs or off a tripod for yotes, so don't let the word "sitting" confuse the issue.

You can get AR stocks that favor predator or prairie dog work and make the gun comfortable for the purpose and see where your eye relief tends to land. If you are a "bag squeezer" then you will want a stock with a ramped bag rider for prairie dog work. (A2 stock with aftermarket cheek rest, Magpul PRS, PRS Lite, etc. come to mind)

For myself, I tend to run a higher variable scope on prairie dogs than I would on coyotes not to mention I run illuminated reticles for night work. When those scopes are mounted, then the scope tends to be farther back and the stock needs to have a cheek weld there. For cantilever, I like the Geissele mounts.

As you can see in @alf 's photo, the eye piece is farther back than the usual location yet he is still showing a cantilever mount. If you try to run standard rings, the scope moves back even more.

Picking the optic first is important, then the stock, then dry run the scope location that fits you and go after the mounts.

(I also like to run a Magpul BAD lever when using a scope so I don't have to reach over for the bolt release.)

Unless you have a stack of AR parts laying around, or friends that do, it can take some patients and trials to get an AR where you are comfortable. Having the scope in hand is a good starting point. Good Luck.

 

[Mulligan]

I have a 4.5 to 14 leupold with 30mm tube I was pondering using for this rig. It has and old school A2 stock and I will likely just use it until I find something better, or more importantly, find out what fits better.
The two posts above provide a lot of information, I thank you both very much.

CW

 

[tommeboy]

Try to find a thermo fit upper receiver. BCM is one. That way you do not need to shim or bed the barrel to receiver

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Rock river forged upper(assembly) 155.00.

 

[L1986]

I’ll second the Gibbz uppers…I have a few all with gibbz uppers and magpul prs stocks and they are very comfortable to get behind and shoot. I use Burris extreme rings with the inserts and it works for me from the bench and tripod or bipod.