Best AR upper for $600 and under

[satchamo]

I’m looking for an assembled upper to put together for a night hunting coyote rig. I am going to stick with 223 wylde chambering so I can actually find ammo. I’d love to do 22 nosler or 224 Valkyrie but ammo seems non existent.

I’m going to be running a turbo k can on it so I’d like to stay with an 18 in barrel. I do want a 15 in m lok hand guard so all my arca Swiss stuff works.

Right now I’m looking at the aero uppers pretty seriously but I’m not totally sold. Anyone have experience with these? Or have any other recommendations? How do the palmetto uppers compare?

Any recommendations appreciated!!!

 

[justinspicher]

Radical Firearms 18" .223 Wylde 1:8 S.S. Rifle-Length Barreled Upper - 15" M-LOK RPR Gen3 Rail and BMD Brake

DetailsThe Radical Firearms 18” .223 Wylde Barreled Upper is a match grade, drop-in solution for your next AR build. Crafted with quality materials and covered by Radical’s lifetime warranty, this better-than-MIL-SPEC upper receiver provides an outstanding solution for any budget. Arrives at...

www.primaryarms.com

 

[justinspicher]

I bet you could build an upper for under $600.

 

[snarkscarbine]

If you know how, build one.

 

[menhaden_man]

PSA uppers hit and miss. I just ordered a 223W 16” enhanced (as opposed to threaded). Had a 20” PSA barrel that sucked, bought a used WOA barrel and now it shoots crazy accurate. I’d go Aero, but give me another week and I can send a range report.

 

[letrbuck]

Definitely build one. There are some good deals on quality parts right now if you do some hunting around

 

[justinspicher]

If you build it, it will shoot….

 

[False_Cast]

Valerie and nosler would both be mistakes.

Here’s your easy button: https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...er-with-mbus-sight-set-bcg-ch-5165448415.html

Or you can pay more, for less. People that actually shoot these are universally pleased with them.

 

[satchamo]

Definitely build one. There are some good deals on quality parts right now if you do some hunting around

Any barrels you recommend? Plan to shoot 55 grain or 53 grain v max

 

[justinspicher]

All of my barrels, are 1:7, one is a Knights Armament, one is PSA, one is Ballistic Advantage. So far they have shot everything from 55-77gr, 10yds to 400yds.

 

[satchamo]

Valerie and nosler would both be mistakes.

Here’s your easy button: https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...er-with-mbus-sight-set-bcg-ch-5165448415.html

Or you can pay more, for less. People that actually shoot these are universally pleased with them.

Will a 1/7 shoot 53/55 grain vmax well? I always thought you needed a slower twist for the smaller bullets.

 

[kpk]

Will a 1/7 shoot 53/55 grain vmax well? I always thought you needed a slower twist for the smaller bullets.

I've had a couple PSA barrels and coyote accuracy was plenty good. They all shot about 1". I only ever shot 55 grain vmax and varmageddons and never played with load development.

 

[Marmots]

I've been happy with an Aero Precision upper that's right in your price range. The 1:7 M4E1mlok upper was $419. Aero obnoxiously sells uppers as "complete", without a charging handle or a BCG.

It was an additional $130 for the nitride BCG and $60 for an Ambi charging handle. You could save additional money with a toolcraft BCG and mil-spec charging handle. However, if you're going to be shooting suppressed it might be worth your money to get a charging handle that was designed with suppressor gasses in mind.

Long story short I paid $609 for an upper I really love. That was in July of 2020 when the world was falling apart, so you could probably come in a little under budget for the same parts nowadays.

 

[justinspicher]

Will a 1/7 shoot 53/55 grain vmax well? I always thought you needed a slower twist for the smaller bullets.

It will shoot them just fine.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I mirror the build it if you can. I put together a 6.8spc that really shoots. I went with an AR Performance barrel. I don’t remember the exact cost but I got a stripped aero precision upper receiver on sale, free float hand guard, gas block, muzzle device all on sale, and parts kit from palmetto. The barrel and BCG was the most expensive part of it.
I’ve been thinking of building another one, maybe in 6ARC or perhaps one of the big bore rounds


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[letrbuck]

Any barrels you recommend? Plan to shoot 55 grain or 53 grain v max

Do you have a target weight or barrel length?

 

[False_Cast]

Do you have a target weight or barrel length?

The OP says 18” and it’s for hunting with low recoil so reason he should suffer any more weight than necessary. Rifle gas should be a given.

 

[satchamo]

Do you have a target weight or barrel length?

For the gun - weight is a non issue as it will be a night tripod rig. Barrel length I’d like to go 18 since I’m be running a can. I run a 20 on my day gun but I’m not running s silencer on it yet and I’m worried that would be a long ass gun once you add the can.

 

[letrbuck]

For the gun - weight is a non issue as it will be a night tripod rig. Barrel length I’d like to go 18 since I’m be running a can. I run a 20 on my day gun but I’m not running s silencer on it yet and I’m worried that would be a long ass gun once you add the can.

I just replaced an 18" Wilson Bull barrel with a Ballistic Advantage SPR Fluted to cut weight. My Wilson isn't threaded but JSE has some threaded 18s. Both 8 twists. The Wilson threw just about any bullet into .25-.75 MOA. Looks like most Wylde chambered barrels these days are 1:8, which isn't too fast for 53 vmax. My Wilson barrel really loved the 40gr vmax.

Haven't shot the Ballistic Advantage too much yet but it's easily sub MOA with what I've tried