Well, I was that lucky guy that dropped $30 or so extra to jump the pre-order line and got the Gunbroker unit.

Initial impretions:  WOW!

Solid thing, nice and well machined, a few more complications and nuances than a standard upper, but thats the norm for any beltfed.

I'll be doing a full write up in the future after I get some trigger time and have had a chance to play with it a bit.

*forgive the forum tag on the pics, Photobucket is acting up, I'll change the pics when I get the chance.

Nice big box!!!!



Yeah baby!!!!!





Amphibian, hurry up and get in here with yours so we can show the folks one thats not neutered! lol!

ETA - as a disclaimer, due to mixed responses when I talked to the SP about the links(still no solid answer) I decided to keep them with a friend out of state.  It sucks, but I should be able to visit him soon to shoot it :)

Capt'n,

I recently had quite the informative late night (10:26pm) 37 minute conversation with Josh at Freedom Ordnance. I was impresed with the openness in which he discussed the unit and the company's dedication to getting these uppers produced and offered for sale. Particularly pleasing is their "take no money down and only pay when we're ready to ship" approach. This coupled with the barrels and other accessories being reasonably priced, tends to give me faith in this product, moreso than that "other" company

If it affords you any sympathy, I too live in a ban state, but will soon be relocating to a free state where I won't have to worry about nonsense words such as "compliance" or "ban", or be stiffled by a manufacturer's contrived language such as "high capacity feed device" used in an effort to avoid a long standing legally binding contractual agreement that was made in good faith 11 years ago.

Looking forward to seeing some close up shots of the top cover/feed mechanism, bolt, barrel and QCB attachment method, ammo chute, etc.

Best wishes with it

=8^)

My apologies for the not-so-sharp images, but hopefully they'll adequately display the design, quality, and attention to detail that the Freedom Ordnance FM-9 upper provides. The machining and finish of the top cover, upper, quad rail forearm, barrel, barrel handle, bolt assembly, charging handle, and ejector block assembly are all superb, as is the quality, craftsmanship, and apparent sturdiness of the ammo bag. Even the packaging is well designed and executed. All and all, IMHO, definately worth all of the asking price, and more.

=8^)

It looks great. Can't wait to get mine

Too freakin cool!  

Great pics fellas!  I typed up some of my thoughts, and I noticed we three seem to be on the same page on some of them!


From anothers site/thread:

As I said, a lot of my stuff is in storage and the links went there as well.  I did take it to the range on Saturday without links(stupid state), so it was pop the top, drop one round, release bolt, fire, lock back bolt, open, insert new round, close top, release bolt, fire, rinse repeat.

stupid I know, but until I can have a leo friend grab the links then come shooting with me, I can't run the links.  As a side note though, I will be heading south in December for my brother's wedding.  I may bring the upper with me and have some links sent to my brother, (plenty of good ranges down in NC.  :)


Here are my thoughts so far with the limited use.
Pros
-accuracy is great.  at 25 yards it does one hole easily!
-runs great with a red dot.  little hefty, but not horribly so.
-I put the Caldwell shell catcher on it and it works perfectly.
-Machining and finish is superb
-Function is nice and clean
-Both the feed chute and the ejection shelf are resin/plastic/rubber and both are installed with set screws which means that both can be removed.  replaced if needed or if you are good with machining you could come up with custom feed and/or ejection systems.  I'm wondering if you could build a dual system bag that would auto separate brass and links.
-Bolt is nice and solid, uses factory AR firing pin from the looks of it, has a counter weight which can be installed/removed dependent on power of rounds fired.
-I had plenty of room to install the Phase 5 extended bolt catch/release.
-Recoil to me felt lighter than my oly arms 9mm upper.(but I was running a 4.3 ounce buffer.)

There were a few cons that I thought worth mentioning.  Some could be fixed, some cannot.

-Barrel release lever gets hit by the top cover when flipped open.  both are metal so it can make a little mark on each. (I negated this issue with the caldwell shell catcher, the mount for the shell catcher was installed on the first rail notch and the top cover hit that instead of the release lever)  Sure its purely cosmetic, but I hate marks like that or the ones on the AR fence from the port cover....
-The side charging handle is nice and easy to use but the sully stock I have on it is a tad wider than a standard stock. so the charging bar, at max extension just touches the stock and scrapes a tiny bit.  I'm not sure how many stocks this will effect, but its something to keep in mind.
-A second issue with the charging handle is you cannot use certain receiver end plates that have extensions for sling attachments on the left side of the gun.  right side only is fine, but ambi ones(on the left side) will block the charging handle.
-Last little bit is a training issue.  this may be the same on all beltfeds as well.  You NEED to have the bolt locked back before you can close the top cover as the guide that the bolt knob runs in needs to align correctly otherwise it won't feed.  Not a big deal, but I also don't think the bolt locks back when the belt is finished.  so its two steps you can't forget.  Again, I think its more a shortfall of the beltfed concept than anything done by Freemom Ordnance, I'm just saying, it is an extra two step you need to be mindful of.

Overall, it was fun so far, even single feeding the rounds.  I only did 20 because it was so cumbersome, but they all fed fine.  I did also did 5 rounds of Freedom Munitions reloads, but they were barely pushing the shell casing out the side of the upper.  I'm not sure they will feed when running it normal(with the links) but I kindof doubt it.  Its very light loads and I have had trouble with the ammo in the past.  for example it won't run/cycle either my Sten or my Swedish K builds.  pistols it does fine, but give it a 16in barrel and its like its got no juice....

Wolf steel case army and Win white box was flinging the brass a nice 5-6 feet which is right where the web site says it should be sending it.

I know the real test will be reliability with the links, but Josh(from the company) said they are going to be putting a vid up on youtube where they try a 1000 round belt, one burst, to see where it fails and I think he said it gets to 700+ rounds.  impressive.

Forgive the NY legal config....

Is anyone using this without a select fire lower?  What about with a slide fire type stock?

gotcha, the belt system I am most familiar with is the RPD.


I have an original slidefire stock, I'd bet the upper itself that it'll work barring any width issues or anythnig of the sort.  should be plenty of recoil.  Again, sadly I can't test it anytime soon.

I'm wondering if a custom build one of these will work or if the rounds are not pointed enough....

http://browningmgs.com/Linker.htm



My old man does a lot of woodworking.  I'm gunna see what he can come up with.

Thats what I get for spouting off without checking.  I thought I had read that somewhere, but apparently I'm mixing and/or confusing info....  

Your right and I just checked my email before coming here and Josh mentioned in his latest email that they use a two piece firing pin system.

Josh told me in another email that they are running rounds through every upper off the assembly line - just a few, but just as a last check to ensure everything is lining up right on each upper before shipping them out.


Good comparison pic, that looks like a Colt/RRA style bolt correct?  I have the Oly style 9mm upper.  I'll try and remember to post a comparison pic of that bolt when I get home.

It looks like the bolt could be machined to SP1 carrier specs to allow use with a RLL.  Do you guys see any potential reason why it wouldn't work with a RLL?

Just a quick comparison pic of the FM9 bolt beside an Oly Arms style 9mm Bolt.

Looks very promising for use with an RLL!  I don't think that slight relief will affect anything. If it did, then a slightly taller paddle could be used to mitigate it as well.
Thanks for the pictures,
Esox

Very nice guys! Nice to see a company actually do what they said, and more importantly being square with its customers.
Like Drewbone said it was not fun getting the eleven + year jerk job from another belt-fed upper maker.
This is something I think I will have to investigate more for my PA shoots.

CTM1, yes, it was a sheer pleasure to see how the initial news of the Freedom Ordnance FM-9 upper blossomed into reality and thus physically into customers hands in such a short amount of time. Being very well done and very well executed, my hat's off to these guys for their design and manufacturing, along with Josh, who answers the phone and e-mails with enthusiasm and friendliness. During my conversations with him (the first call I placed was at 10:26pm) it was clear to me that the owner wasn't hovering over his head while he was talking, and I could sense the "reality" of the project having come to fruition. And soon thereafter the next thing I knew was -BAM- it arrived, as promised and looking real good. Imagine that.



Did you happen to know as an interesting aside, that soon thereafter the FM-9 units began shipping, that ARES announced their "Fall Sale" that runs from 9/22 to 10/31, and that their semi MCR upper can be had for $3,500? I find it hard to believe that such fine and prestigious examples of design, machining, and finishing could be offered for anything less than full price or a premium, let alone be offered at discounted prices during the constraints of full bore production to fulfill the current Shrike/MCR military contact[s].

But I digress...as I look at this nice piece of machining in front of my eyes that I can actually touch and that's not made from ARES grade Unobtainium™, I contemplate the good ol' days of waiting years and years for a mere pittance of information to trickle forth from the alter of righteousness that is the God of all machining, for that promised and expected nectar to satisfy my eleven year lust to come forth hither[even], but alas I remain unfulfilled and my womb Shrike barren, at the hands of a man, who, after his own misjudgement of the cost of final production, couldn't bear to take $$ out of his wallet to fulfill his contractual agreements, and instead, used vague language and current events to deny me and others their product based solely on our unfortunate latitude and longitude location.

Karma, she's a comin'! So, you gonna' get one of these 9mm BF uppers or what? The price is right, there's no restrictions or silly copies of your NFA paperwork required for a short barrel or FA bolt carrier for purchase (it's just an upper, but does come with a threaded muzzle device so act accordingly via featureless lower, blind pin/welded muzzle cap, & no more than 7-10 round linked ammo at any given time to stay within the confines of our crumby assed laws until such a time as we move to a free state), and it works on AR15/M16 platforms as is...need I say more?



=8^)

43 feet of 9mm!

Thats 14.3 yards for you kids at home.

Give 'em the whole 14 yards!!! (and change...)

Freedom Ornance FM9 1000 round Belt

 

Base on that video, I calculated that the upper runs at 723 rpm.


I'm also curious just how hot the gun got.

Needs more suppressor.

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a QC10 lower to make a 9mm sbr, but this upper really has my attention now.

Get both?!?!?

Here are some vids of mine running, hope this is the right thread to post these, If not please move to correct area.



https://youtu.be/CHpNfG6BbWc

https://youtu.be/PdND-um2KRg

https://youtu.be/e_wR8dS_GCo

Great vids brother!!!!  These puppies run great and that silencer is awesome!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Here is a youtube video of a linker a local company is making, not me but a fellow I know well

https://youtu.be/4Tm-vHHwzMY

wow that looks super fun.  and gets expensive very quickly, LOL.

Here is my son's. It is sitting on a Colt 6933. We will be running it on a Colt M16.

How long are people waiting on these before they are ready to ship?

I was on the list for a few weeks when they first came out. They won't accept payment until they are ready to ship and my upper went out the same day I paid.

Any idea on the name and contact info for this company? I can't locate them on the web.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

May I suggest that you watch the video all the way through the end.

Thanks brother.

Bwwwwwaaaaahahahhahaahahhaaaaaaa hahaahahaahahaaaa heh.

Anyone else receive one?

Mine showed up a couple weeks ago. I've ran about 250 rounds thru it and she runs great! Running a RDIAS in a Bushmaster receiver.

Hey OP, are you on the Island? I'd happily meet up with you so you can use that to it's full potential legally, aswell as check it out for myself.

Has anyone tried one of their pistol uppers, i think its a 6"? Trying to decide between that or the 11". I want to SBR it and throw it on a slide fire stock. Anyone tried something similar?

Why not just drop one of either Franklin Armorys or Fostechs binary trigger in one of these?

I took the plunge and ordered a 6" upper from Josh. I dont have min yet but i did ask him about running on bump fire stocks and it sounds like when they ran it, it was too stiff, like not enough recoil and the trigger was to heavy. any ways, i asked if they tried one with a lighter trigger and he said theri upper is really only designed for milspec triggers.  like the upper has a slot that is wide enough for a milspec trigger to come up and hit the firing pin but other triggers that may use a wider hammer, may not work with the upper. Just an FYI. Not sure if either of the new binary triggers use a milspec width hammer or ?