I posted this in a different forum to find out who made this upper.  It turns out to be a Kaiser.  When I took an up close pic of the K marking I could see that area a lot better and it appears that something was ground off before the metal was finished.  It was suggested I post this here as some one remembered something about a similar upper but was not sure.



Is there a reason for that ground off mark?  Any help would be appreciated.



Also.. this is all new to me, so please forgive my ignorance.  But what time period was this made.  It is an A1 but has the deflector so I am a little confused.



Thank you very much.

i've seen that before.  iirc, there was a contract overrun with the F or C mark for FN or Colt and they sold some with the original markings commercially and FN/Colt said don't do that so they started grinding off the markings before selling them commercially.

Technically it is not an A1 upper but rather a C7 style upper since it has a "Brunton bump" brass deflector and most likely from a commercially sold rifle.

Touché sir.
I've seen that quite a few times and a bulb never lit up in my head while reading reading it.

I could have been a "D". Bushmaster used C7 type upper receivers that were marked "D K". This is on a Bushmaster upper assembly I have from 1994.

Thank you for the replies.  I just want to see if I understand it right I am new to this stuff.



It is an A2 upper with field sights.  This would mean a commercial colt gun?  Does the deflector make it an A2?  I was going by the rear sight to make it an A1?





Would this be good for a VN era retro build?  That is what I bought it for.  



thanks...

Not nam era, nice upper tho.

My circa 1993 Bushmaster upper ordered direct from BM has the K forge mark, but any prefix was either never there or very cleanly removed.

Paladin

I stumbled upon one of these at a local gun show. it was part of a complete upper, the seller stated it came directly from Canada, that it was a true C7 upper. Those wacky gun show guys...

It has a K and appeared that another letter had been ground off, then anodized

I was somewhat interested, but noticed that the anodization, though dark, seemed inconsistent and thin... I'm pretty sure it was anodized, but the upper exhibited scratches and gouges in the metal that would be associated with soft metal, especially around the dust cover door recess (chewed up). The finish appeared to have worn off from high edges at an accelerated rate.

I have read here that it wasn't uncommon in the 1980s for your better manufacturers to dump their "screw ups" on eager 2nd tier manufacturers who were eager to make a quick buck. Looking at some of the preban lowers that folks are paying insane $$$ for (gack...UGLY), I believe it.

I understand that these uppers with the ground off letters were purchased as such in the raw, and the anodization process used by the 2nd tier manufacturers was lacking.

With the retro craze in full steam, there are plenty of con-artists looking to profit off of the ignorant.

Educate yourself, or you will undoubtable get burnt.  

*** On a positive note, those early 1990s Bushys are sexy little rifles!  I passed on an LEO RESTRICTED example about a year ago for dirt cheap... kick myself in the rear for not buying it.

I guess if "A2 with field sights" makes you feel good then so be it, but for most of us we know them as C7 style uppers.  And though they are close to an A1 they still are not correct for a true original A1 type build.  That being said I have a C7 style upper on one of my builds and it makes for a nice retro-ish rifle and if you already have it I say build it!

I have another C7 upper that has no forge codes, but it does have the Colt proof stamp near the ejection port.

Ok....  I have an example of the main battle rifle from the Civil War to the Korean War.  That would be a Springfield 1863, Springfield Trapdoor Model 1884/88, Krag Model 1899 Carbine, Springfield 1903, Winchester M1917, Springfield 1903A3, M1 Carbine and the M1 Garand.  



I am just looking to have a representative model of the M16 Rifle.  I would prefer a Viet Name style but would be happy to do a post VN rifle.



Is this upper version representative of a military rifle.. or was it strictly a commercial version?  I have found some info on the web showing that this version, field sight, bolt assist and deflector were used on "replacements".  So I am just looking to confirm that.  



Last on the list would be the M14...





I really appreciate the help.  

The two common military carbines that used the C7 (A1E1) upper were the Model 723 and the Model 733. These were referred to as M16A2 carbines. The Model 733 is the Commando (SBR) that used a 11.5" 1/7 pencil barrel. The Model 723 used a 14.5" 1/7 pencil barrel. These also used the M4 profile barrel later on. So, either build can be done as a post Vietnam clone. These were built on A1 and A2 lowers depending on when they were produced and what Colt had on hand.

No, C7 works for me. I was being a wise @$$, you were being technical. Didn't you see the smiley?

Awesome .... thanks.