Well color at least........

A few months back I got the itch to build a SPR style AR upper but I wanted something different than the normal black rifle. Saw a you tube vid of a F-1 firearms AR colored in burnt bronze and I really liked the looks. First thing was to decide on what parts to use in the build. Something else I wanted to try out was a side charger type upper receiver, several companies make charging handles that mimic a side charger type battle rifle but I wanted a true side charger so I choose a X-Products side charger upper receiver…

Next was the hand guard, I wanted one with a 14-15” length and loved the looks of the Fortis Rev hand guard so I bought the 14” version. Really like the trim sides, some railed hand guards are too bulky and feel like you are holding the fat end of a baseball bat. Next was the barrel…..Ballistic Advantage solved that issue quick when they put their special Hanson profile 18” stainless mid length barrel on sale, grabbed a barrel nut from them also. For the muzzle brake it was back to Fortis again to get a Fortis RED three chamber stainless brake, not only looks cool but is very effective on minimizing muzzle movement.

With all the needed parts in hand I selected a company to send the receiver and hand guard to for Cera Kote in burnt bronze, I think it turned out nicely……

Here is a top view of the completed upper and you can see how trim the Fortis Rev rail is….

And here is a pic of the completed upper with a Weaver Kaspa tactical scope mounted on my Noveske complete lower…..

Down the road when I recover from the cost of the upper build I will look into building a proper lower with a Luth AR adjustable butt stock to match the upper. For now I will play flip flop with my M4 lite weight and the new SPR upper.

Side note to anyone wanting to build an upper using the X-Products side charger receiver, the regular M4/AR15 vise clamp fixture WILL NOT work to hold the receiver while tightening the barrel nut. I had to use a couple pieces of wood strategically placed with the receiver turned sideways in the vise to hold it while I torqued the nut down. To say I was sweating bullets with the barrel nut wrench in hand looking at the receiver is a total under statement. Considering I was cranking on the nut with a very large, heavy wrench with a freshly coated, pricey aluminum receiver clamped in a vise is a little nerve racking to say the least, but every thing went fine and the receiver seems to have survived the ordeal.

Now to find some time to test fire the new upper and this summer maybe even use it in a long range tactical match instead of my 308 match rifle, just to mix things up a little.

Gunner

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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

I too like the color. Good looking rifle.

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The aluminum receiver.

Was looking at them awhile back, didn't figure I needed one since I had the clamp fixture, didn't dawn on me the X-Products receiver wouldn't fit until I starting putting the upper together.

Ordered a Magpul Bev block this morning, need to straighten the muzzle brake a little and don't want to stress the upper anymore.

Gunner

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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!

I've heard the reaction rods can have issues with unscrewing barrel extensions. I honestly didn't know about such things for my first few AR builds and honestly didn't even have a receiver block. I'd just clamp the upper in the vice between two hunks of wood and go to town!!

I am just a heathen plumber though... At least I didn't pull out a Rigid pipe wrench!!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

I like that side charger upper. Does it still use a standard BCG?

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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Uses a regular BCG, but requires a special cam pin which is included with the receiver. It is so much easier to reach on the side of the receiver and charge the weapon instead of lowering it and pulling a rear mounted charging handle, especially if you have a rear mounted scope, trying reach between the scope and receiver to access the handle can be a pain in the arse.

Gunner

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https://www.instagram.com/41gunner/
41 Mags rule, Baers rock!

it was improperly installed. The tightest flash hider I have dealt with to date was an early SR556 one - have seen those twisted into a corkscrew before they came off. In those cases, best use a barrel vise or 5C collet in the lathe and stay far away from the aluminum.

"Back in my day" (LOL), there were no fixtures readily available and precious few parts for ARs that weren't milsurp, so I used homemade jigs too. But you could buy all the drop in auto sears you wanted at the gunshow for $69... they stopped those in '81, IIRC.

My local gunsmith is a guru of sorts with cerracoat (sp)? He has an old double barrel shotgun he did in burnt bronze and it is very nice. I'm thinking of having my Ruger Gunsite Scout done either in that color or an OD Green.