I just joined THR so forgive me if this discussion has already taken place. I am in search for a flat top ar receiver for my Bushmaster A1. I have tried a lot of sights and configurations for this and haven't been successful with what I want my AR to do and look like. So with all the options available for a flat top I am finally breaking down and have decided to purchase one. The trouble I'm having is I want to keep it bushmaster and I am not looking to break the bank. I know there going to cost me at least 500 but my question is, if I buy a gutted out bushmaster will I in fact have an issue with my original bolt lining up, and can any1 please tell me where I can buy a bushmaster flat top that is guaranteed new and if you know of any company selling them less than 500. Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Bushmaster AR 15
- Thread starter Mr. Atacs
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HorseSoldier
Member
ARs are pretty easy going on headspace. Swapping the bolt and carrier to a new upper shouldn't be a problem, but you can always get a go/no go gauge from Brownells/Midway USA/etc to verify it is okay.
Not sure on sources for Bushmaster uppers. Can you order direct from their website? A lot of people recommend Bravo Company if shopping for an upper, but I don't think they carry Bushmaster products.
Not sure on sources for Bushmaster uppers. Can you order direct from their website? A lot of people recommend Bravo Company if shopping for an upper, but I don't think they carry Bushmaster products.
used bolt on a new barrel...i would check head space. If you can find a new bolt in stock, they are usually less than $70.
Bushmaster lists their bolts for $56. http://www.bushmaster.com/products.asp?cat=601
I know you said Bushmaster, but keeping it bushmaster won't add value. Bushmaster is now owned by Freedom Group. Bushmaster, DPMS and Remington ARs are all made by the same company now. The old Bushmaster factory is now a new compnay called Windham Weaponry. Nothing wrong with the new bushmaster. It is just a different comany now.
There are a lot of good companies that will provide you with a quality upper.
Bushmaster lists their bolts for $56. http://www.bushmaster.com/products.asp?cat=601
I know you said Bushmaster, but keeping it bushmaster won't add value. Bushmaster is now owned by Freedom Group. Bushmaster, DPMS and Remington ARs are all made by the same company now. The old Bushmaster factory is now a new compnay called Windham Weaponry. Nothing wrong with the new bushmaster. It is just a different comany now.
There are a lot of good companies that will provide you with a quality upper.
Any particular reason for that?
Quentin
Member
Are you saying you want to buy a complete upper - or a stripped flat top upper then move your barrel over to it? I'd go with the complete upper myself and if you want you can sell your existing upper to help offset the cost.
Anyway, I agree with the others that there is no overpowering reason to stay with Bushmaster. Honestly in the $500 range for a complete upper there are lots of great choices. PSA probably is the best bang for the buck. I just bought a PSA 16" midlength upper and charging handle for about $300. Their BCG was out of stock so I bought a BCM M16 BCG for $160 and added a carry handle I already had which brought in the upper for about $500 incluing shipping.
Anyway, I agree with the others that there is no overpowering reason to stay with Bushmaster. Honestly in the $500 range for a complete upper there are lots of great choices. PSA probably is the best bang for the buck. I just bought a PSA 16" midlength upper and charging handle for about $300. Their BCG was out of stock so I bought a BCM M16 BCG for $160 and added a carry handle I already had which brought in the upper for about $500 incluing shipping.
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madcratebuilder
Member
Older Bushy used keyhole marked uppers from Cerro Forge. Just find any keyhole forged upper and it's the same as BushMaster.
Thanks for all the feed back. gotigers, I'm not really concerned about it's value. I'm just one of those guys that loves bushmaster kinda like all the colt guys love their colts. I didn't know that bushmaster is owned by another company, good to know. But still, with me, I like my rifles to by all one name regardless of what companies own them. Personal preference, I'm not knocking anyone or their rifles warp I guess I'm not for mix matching my parts. I do realize there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying better parts and diff brands. just not my style. quentin I'm looking for a stripped flat top with barrel minus bolt, bolt carrier and ejection port cover assembly.This is my 3rd bushmaster ar. 1st was a pawn shop special. other 2 were brand new. Had to sell the 2nd for financial reasons but will never get rid of this one. I have some experience in gun smithing but no tools required to complete a full take down of the upper. So buying the required tools and a upper flat top would run me almost the same as buying a stripped upper with barrel. The problem is bushmaster is all out and other places I've checked, won't sell me a stripped. Thanks again
SilentStalker
Member
Why not just buy a complete upper? New parts, easy to put on, will mate perfectly with your lower.
Mainly just the price. A complete bushmaster upper will cost around 700 after shipping. I cant really justify spending that kinda of cash when I already have a perfectly working ar. Just didn't think it would be this difficult to find one stripped, that's new.
Quentin
Member
Well if you sell your old upper (including internal parts like the BCG) it will offset some of the cost of the new flat top upper. There still is interest in A1 uppers but of course I don't know what you used one will go for.
Too bad you're so adamant on BM when there are so many great choices out there. BM really limits you and honestly for $700 you can do better.
How about this, squeeze a "C" between the BM. Look at what $700 will get you in a BCM!
Or what $550 will do in PSA.
Too bad you're so adamant on BM when there are so many great choices out there. BM really limits you and honestly for $700 you can do better.
How about this, squeeze a "C" between the BM. Look at what $700 will get you in a BCM!
Or what $550 will do in PSA.
And, generally speaking, you can do a LOT better than Bushmaster anyway.
I really appreciate everybody's knowledge, comments, and expertise on this subject. But with all do respect, when I decided to buy an ar I did dome research in the matter and was torn between the colt and bushmaster, mainly because they were the only 2 that I found, (at the time) to be milspec. I know I know, there are so many other brands out there that are now and a some better than mil spec. The point I'm making is after finally purchasing a brand new one over 12 years ago I have become very stubborn with my decision and of how I see bushmaster. There not the greatest, I acknowledge that, but there damn sure not the worst. Just stuck in my ways I guess. I didn't post this to get info, (although welcomed and heard) on what is the best ar 15. I just wanted to know if any1 knew as to where I can get a bushmaster gutted upper for a reasonable price.
Understandable, but Bushmaster of today is a far different company thane 10 years ago. Not better, not worse, just different. If you buy a bushmaster upper made in the last year or 2, it literally will not be the same as the one made by the company of the same name 10 years ago. Not bashing, just FYI.
redneck2
Member
FWIW...I was kinda in the same boat. I've got a Bushie Varminter that is incredibly accurate. I bought a custom upper for deer hunting and needed a lower. Bought a couple stripped ones and parts kits. Got a Jewel trigger so it would be ultra-custom and about as good as it gets. I also have a Rock River .458 SOCOM upper on the other lower.
So, we go out and start shooting, swapping stuff around. After a while, it gets confusing as to which lower/upper is which combo. Yeah, I can just look at the stamping and tell, but point is that there wasn't enough difference to care.
I was really set on keeping the Bushmaster all Bushmaster. I was all freaked out about having a Frankengun mutant, but in the end it didn't seem to matter once you start actually using them.
So, if you're really set on having that little snake on the side of the receiver, it's your dime. Go for it. But, you're getting a lot of good advice from a lot of guys with years and many thousands of dollars of experience. In the end, you have to make yourself happy.
So, we go out and start shooting, swapping stuff around. After a while, it gets confusing as to which lower/upper is which combo. Yeah, I can just look at the stamping and tell, but point is that there wasn't enough difference to care.
I was really set on keeping the Bushmaster all Bushmaster. I was all freaked out about having a Frankengun mutant, but in the end it didn't seem to matter once you start actually using them.
So, if you're really set on having that little snake on the side of the receiver, it's your dime. Go for it. But, you're getting a lot of good advice from a lot of guys with years and many thousands of dollars of experience. In the end, you have to make yourself happy.
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Quentin
Member
redneck2 is right, I have swapped around parts, uppers and lowers in my three ARs and my son-in-law's. After thought and trial and error the four ARs are tuned to work best in certain configurations but we had to do something stupid to come up with non-functioning combinations. We only have one upper and lower from the same company (ArmaLite) and as luck would have it they aren't mated up now.
Still, it's your decision and I understand what you're saying. However you're likely to be the only one to know the upper and lower aren't the same brand. Your buddies aren't likely to know.
And as far as matching finishes I bet you can come up with closer cosmetic matches by force matching different brands than slapping on a new BM upper on an old BM lower! (That's basically how my uppers and lowers got mated together, the DD upper looked and worked best on the S&W lower, the BCM upper was best on the Valkyrie lower, the PSA upper was best on the ArmaLite lower and the Armalite upper was best on the Charles Daly lower. The ArmaLite receivers, not purchased together as a complete rifle - instead years apart) weren't a great match cosmetically or operationally which always bugged me - and you should be prepared for that to also happen with BM.)
Still, it's your decision and I understand what you're saying. However you're likely to be the only one to know the upper and lower aren't the same brand. Your buddies aren't likely to know.
And as far as matching finishes I bet you can come up with closer cosmetic matches by force matching different brands than slapping on a new BM upper on an old BM lower! (That's basically how my uppers and lowers got mated together, the DD upper looked and worked best on the S&W lower, the BCM upper was best on the Valkyrie lower, the PSA upper was best on the ArmaLite lower and the Armalite upper was best on the Charles Daly lower. The ArmaLite receivers, not purchased together as a complete rifle - instead years apart) weren't a great match cosmetically or operationally which always bugged me - and you should be prepared for that to also happen with BM.)
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meanmrmustard
Member
You could do worse, too.
carbine85
Member
I can't speak of the new Bushmaster products but my older Bushmaster A1 HB is a excellent rifle. Buy whatever you want or what ever you are comfortable with.
With that said I suggest getting the head space gauges from somewhere and check it assuming you are using the existing bolt. Once you go down the path of building or swapping parts it will never end, so get the tools to do it right.
Most AR manufacturers don't make there own barrels or uppers. A lot of these uppers are all the same
With that said I suggest getting the head space gauges from somewhere and check it assuming you are using the existing bolt. Once you go down the path of building or swapping parts it will never end, so get the tools to do it right.
Most AR manufacturers don't make there own barrels or uppers. A lot of these uppers are all the same
Who makes Bushmaster's?
Thanks for all of your feedback. In the end, I'm not trying to impress my friends or want to have the snake on my gun, which is on the lower. I want a BM gun to be a BM gun. I have never been a big fan of swapping internal or main parts, ie. barrel or receiver to make my firearms perform better or be more accurate. I do my research and decide what manufacture is the best for my needs, and 12 years ago BM did it. I have a Mossberg 500 and a Springfield XD 40 Service too and don't intend on swapping anything out of them to make them better. Their accurate and dependable just the way they are. Can I find cheaper and better parts for them? Yes. But I buy firearms from the companies because I like the company and their reputation. I don't go into a purchase thinking, well, when I purchase it, I'll need to change barrels, or firing pins or make my trigger pull lighter. I don't see any sense in it. I'm not in competition or in the military. Just my opinion.
Quentin
Member
Can't argue with keeping a gun factory stock, that usually works well especially with ones that need handfitting of parts. The AR though tends to do well with quality upgrades regardless of manufacturer. The key word is quality. Otherwise most parts are made to the same tolerance and should physically fit with no handfitting.
I will admit I like to stick with the same brand BCG and upper but none of my three ARs have the same upper and lower. And with the last one I went with a BCM BCG in a PSA upper (because the PSA unit was out of stock). It works properly of course. That upper went on an ArmaLite lower and I passed on the matching ArmaLite upper. Doesn't bother me since I moved up.
Anyway, your rifle, your choice!
I will admit I like to stick with the same brand BCG and upper but none of my three ARs have the same upper and lower. And with the last one I went with a BCM BCG in a PSA upper (because the PSA unit was out of stock). It works properly of course. That upper went on an ArmaLite lower and I passed on the matching ArmaLite upper. Doesn't bother me since I moved up.
Anyway, your rifle, your choice!
There is nothing to separate. I'm happy with BM. Your happy with whatever you have. I don't understand why it's so difficult for people to understand. All I asked was if anybody knew of a place that sells uppers for a decent price. I came on here because I thought that with all the gun owners on here, there might be someone who would know of a place that I've over looked. I thought I was pretty straight forward in what I was asking for.
meanmrmustard
Member
Gilbertsgunshop.com, buds, rogue elite.com, surplusammo.com, and impact guns to name a few. You'll have to excuse my fellow High Roaders, they sometimes get a case of elitism and blindness when they see posts of anyone wanting something that they don't.
Welcome to THR btw, if no one has welcomed you!
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