I have recently bought an ar15 lower made by Gunsmoke Enterprises. Was wondering what ya'll think about it. And kind of give me some insight on where and what to do from here i.e. company and configurations that ya'll like.

 

model 1 sales and M&A are popular kits.

all forged lowers are pretty much the same

I built mine from an Model 1 Sales 16" light weight kit on a DPMS lower.

what are you wanting?

 

I'm planning a DPMS lower with a M&A upper as soon as my tractor is ready for winter. Don't model 1's get that purple coloration to them?

Yeah most later lowers are gonna be equal, try to get mil-spec parts though.

 

check out jprifles.com I have one of their CTR02's and it is a kick **** shooting AR. JP has some killer parts as well

 

Cbrahs is correct JP makes some of the best if not the best uppers in the business bar none. www.jprifles.com

Another top manufacture is Mid South Tactical Network. www.mstn.biz

There is a good builder of uppers in Texas too. www.triangleshootingsports.com

The people using these uppers are the best 3 gun shooters in the world.

DPMS makes some good uppers along with Stag, Bushmaster, and Armalite.

If you are just looking to build a "Tacticool" looking upper then you can find those anywhere.

If you are going to build this yourself and it's your first one then I would also recommend a Accuracy Speaks trigger assy. Other good triggers are Timiney, JP, Jard. The AS trigger is a drop in, get it with the lightened springs. The others require some fitting if you aren't familar with fitting a trigger send it to a gun smith.

If you want to build a 3 gun or varmit shooter then make sure you get a flattop A3 style no front site. The JP comes with a pic rail gas block so you can put on an iron site down the road.

Optics: 3 gun shooters generally use a 1 to 4 power or something along those lines. If you are going to shoot varmits then a 3 to 9 works pretty good.

I would make sure whatever upper I got has a mid length or rifle length gas system. You will benefit from a free floated hand guard too.

A 3 gun set up doesn't look as cool as one with the cheese grater forend with all the crap you can bolt up to it but it works better if you shoot it.

There are other parts you can add or that come with the uppers that make it work much better than a ghetto blaster. Lightened bolt carriers, different buffers and adjustable gas blocks.

If you are just going to use it for a lead hose you'd be better off getting an AK ammo is cheaper or just get a standard ghetto blaster upper with a chrome lined barrel. If you aren't going to work your rifle then JP, MSTN aren't worth the extra cash you will have to part with.

If you look at the web sites you will get a good idea of whats out there.

Good luck shoot me a PM if you have any other questions.

 

It really depends on why you own the rifle. Did you buy it to use for target shooting, competition, that kind of thing? Or is it primarily a defensive weapon?

If it's the latter, stay away from all the match grade stuff and go with top quality military grade components. Make sure you get a barrel that has a chrome lined bore and chamber, and make sure it's chambered in 5.56 NATO. I'd also recommend name brand sources for these components, such as DPMS, Armalite, or my personal preference Bushmaster. Keep it simple, although a flat top upper with a quality red dot style sight (Aimpoint for example) can be an asset as long as you have backup iron sights. On trigger components, I'd stay with military grade parts and avoid most match grade stuff for reliability sake. The one two stage trigger I'd have on a defensive rifle might be the Rock River Arms trigger, but I'd take a stock Colt or Bushmaster trigger group over just about anything. Relibility is EVERYTHING in a weapon (as opposed to a "gun").

 

Where did you get the idea that AR's set up for 3 gun aren't reliable?

 

Match trigger groups don't belong in combat weapons (generally) for a lot of reasons, one of which is reliability. As long as the competition gun has a standard NATO chamber and is chrome lined (match barrels frequently are neither), then that would be OK. 3 gun is a combat based competition so reliability is a consideration, whereas a CMP service rifle or other match style rifles (NRA Highpower such as many of those sold by JP) often have nonstandard chambers (to chamber 80gr loads for example they often have different throats) and can be unuseable with standard M193 or M855 type ammo. In general, the less crap you hang on the rifle, the better off you'll be if predictions about the coming years are accurate. Forgoing many of the doo-dads people often buy can save a bunch of money better spent on mags and ammo, as well as maybe some training. Things like free floated barrels are useful only if you're binding up tight with a sling - it does nothing when shooting off hand, and if you're in a fight you won't likely have much time to build a position.

JMHO...

 

My upper and lower match nicely.

Outside of the colt lower, they are all the same.

 

I've seen a couple with the weird tine, wasn't sure they all had it.
Here's a good Q and A
http://www.mapartsinc.com/faq.asp#count_0

 

I'm a Noveske and Larue fan.

 

Any serious 3 gun shooter has a trigger in their rifle that is good/great. Light crisp and reliable if put in correctly. Is a Mil spec trigger going to last longer before it breaks maybe. The companies that are making triggers make them to last. My Accuracy Speaks has been in for almost 8 years and I've worn out a barrel and now rotating two uppers. I haven't had a problem with my trigger.

Yes JP sells hi power uppers but have you looked at what people shoot in 3 gun? Tons of JP and MSTN uppers.

Like I said the best action shooters in the world shoot these uppers.

I'll disagree on the free float too. Any time you rest your upper assembly on something it changes barrel harmonics. It might not matter at 100 yards but get out to 3 and 400 yards and it makes a bigger difference.

 

The effects of resting a standard rifle vs a free-floated piece are so minimal that they would only be detectable with match ammo and some high powered optics, IMHO. On the downside, most free float systems make the rifle harder to work on should you need to replace a barrel or even the gas tube, and they add weight and expense.

If you're an AR15 enthusiast, you'll likely have more than one rifle anyway. I also own a couple of tricked out rifles that would be great for 3-gun, but if it was a "war" or other conflict situation, I'd want a 20" flat top with back up rear irons and a good optic, and as many loaded 30rd mags as I could possibly carry. The KISS principle exists for many very good reasons.

A guy with just one rifle needs to focus on what the real purpose of that rifle is, although they are so easy to work on in general that he could change the configuration pretty much at will if he wanted to.

ETA: My main issues with having a light weight match trigger in a fighting gun are reliability and also (and maybe more important), safety.

ETA2: I have to assume this is the OP's first AR. Especially in that case I'd recommend a good standard 20" upper or a midlength with a military grade barrel for a first upper. Then buy a dozen or more mags and as much ammo as you can afford and shoot it a lot. I'd also suggest keeping as large of a supply of military grade ammo on hand as you can. After that, if you get interested, get another upper or better yet a second rifle to play around with accessories and "trick" configurations.

Again, JMHO....

 

The beauty of the AR. you buy a 16" for the close range three gun match. you buy a 24" heavy upper for varmit, you buy a 20" upper for .mil competitions, you buy a 6.8 SPC upper for a bit heavier bullet, you buy a 7.62X 39 upper incase the zombies attacks effect 5.56X45 availability. you buy a .22LR upper because its cheap to shoot, you buy a 9X19 upper because you can....

Now for the good part. you can HONESTLY tell the OL that its one ONE firearm

 

Schv I agree with your logic. I just don't see us even if Obama gets elected fighting off zombies. I live in So Cal and I don't even fight off the hords of illegals swarming across the boarder. In a battle rifle KISS is the way to go.

I'll stand with a quality light trigger isn't unreliable.

If you want a great shooting rifle my other posts will build you a much better rifle.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned enough in this thread is training. Get quality training, get all you can, get it often. Practice, practice practice.

Or just go out and be safe and have fun shooting your rifle.