Complete Upper w/Magazine - Advice Needed

[iLOVEthehunt]

TLDR Version: What are some good reliable complete uppers with the magazine in the ~$700 range?

I ordered a complete 450 bushmaster upper (bushmaster brand with 16" barrel) from Midway USA in late June and finally got a chance to shoot a couple of weeks ago. I had issues from the first round. Stovepipe, failures to eject, failures to feed, double feeds...it was a frustrating range day. I was able to determine that the issues were between the extractor and the magazine. I tried it on two separate lowers, but got the same result. I have a few AR's but I'm no expert, so I decided it was better to exchange it for a new upper; hoping I just got a bad one (the reviews on the upper are excellent). I got the new upper yesterday, and it is doing the EXACT same thing as the previous one. I tried this upper on three separate lowers, to no avail. The gun failed to operate with any of them - and failed in the same ways with all of them. Apparently the QC at Bushmaster has taken a hit lately. I'd be very surprised if either upper was tested before leaving the manufacturing area - there is no way either upper would've fed and shot two rounds sequentially. I returned the second upper for a refund. I'm not messing with another Bushmaster brand upper - time to move on.

I'm now searching for a different upper and have looked through the forums here a lot. I'd prefer not to build my own upper since I don't really want to buy all of the tools necessary to do that. I'm looking to buy a complete upper with a magazine in the $700 range that I can slap on my lower and go.

Let me know what recommendations you have. I'm leaning toward Wyndham Weaponry and have looked at Tromix (a little pricey for me), but am curious what other recommendations are out there. TIA

[plant_one]

have you tried another magazine?

what buffer are you using?

[peterf225]

I had some of the same issues with my BCA upper. My problems were attributed to the ammo I was trying. With Hornady Black 250 FTX it would eject but not feed correctly. Tried my reloads with 240 XTP mags and they functioned flawlessly. I did notice that my reloads do have more recoil than the factory ammo. BTW I am using modified Lancer mags.

[iLOVEthehunt]

I believe I have found a reasonable solution (thanks to the many users who have shared their knowledge on this forum).

Here is the second build of the upper:
- Faxon 450 bushmaster upper at a local store (came with the bolt, but not the carrier/firing pin) - $475
- Faxon Chameleon finish BCG from MidwayUSA - $189
- Lancer magazine - $15
- Tromix follower - $28 including shipping (because of the flat-rate shipping of $12 I'm now kicking myself for not ordering two or three of these!)

All in, I spent just a bit more than $700 with tax on the complete upper.

My lower is an Anderson with a PSA lower build kit with the CMC 3.5 lb. trigger. I also added a limbsaver buttpad to the Magpul MOE stock. I've topped the build with a Vortex Viper HST 4-16x44. I'm hoping to have a very accurate setup.

I still need to get to the range to properly test it out, but operating it manually, it performs very well and doesn't have any of the gritty feel that the previous Bushmaster upper had. It feeds and extracts rounds easily and without issue. I also noticed that the Bushmaster upper had a barrel lug positioned at the 6 o'clock position that the rounds would get hung up on, but the Faxon doesn't have a lug there, instead, it has a proper feed ramp.

I'll post an update once I get to the range.

[plant_one]

what buffer do you have in your lower?


i hope you didnt just drop almost $800 when your issue could well have been resolved with a $50 buffer change...

[iLOVEthehunt]

I tried the Bushmaster uppers with both H1 and H2 buffers with the exact same results. I haven't yet fired my new build but plan to first shoot with the H1 and adjust to the H2 if needed.

[iLOVEthehunt]

I was able to hit the range today with the new Faxon build. It performed flawlessly. Zero FTE or FTF and zero feeding issues. I was getting one inch, 3 rounds groups consistently at 100 yards. The 3.5 lb trigger from CMC really transforms the accuracy of this gun, its incredible. I would recommend this upper to anyone. They are a little hard to find though. For under $500, it's hard to beat this one.

[iLOVEthehunt]

Good groupings at the range. These were at 100 yards.

I don't reload so am only shooting factory ammo. Out of the rounds I tested, Federal 260 gr., Hornady 250 gr. - FTX, Horndady 250 gr. - American Whitetail, and Winchester 250 gr., - the Hornady FTX shot the most consistently.

[plant_one]

which target represents which ammo?

not that all of them wont kill a deer at 100 yds... but.. yea.. data and all that

[iLOVEthehunt]

The Federal 260 grain isn't pictured. I was able to get 2-inch groups out of it, which is acceptable for hunting, but there was more consistency from the other rounds.

Top Target = Hornady 250 gr. FTX
Middle Target = Hornady 250 gr. American Whitetail
Bottom Target = Winchester 250 gr.

I built this gun specifically for whitetail deer hunting so this will be my first season with it. Before this, I was shooting 3-inch sabot slugs out of a 12-gauge Mossberg pump. I was able to get 2-3 inch groups out of that gun at 100 yards, which was acceptable, but the recoil was pretty stiff; and the worst part is that those sabot slugs are around $3 a piece.

The .450, with the muzzle brake and a recoil pad, is a dream to shoot. I can shoot 40-50 rounds with no issue at all. And the rounds are less than 2 dollars each - a bargain compared to my old slug gun.