I haven't seen this post yet, so:

What is the cheapest upper for the AR in a pistol caliber?

They all seem to be similar price, comes down to who has it ready to go, and how much will it cost to get it to you.

Cheapest build you can do for easy that I have found:

9mm Rock River Arms A4 upper from ADCO (go with postban, as prebans have been on backorder for 2 months or so...)  $367 plus $4 shipping (Just under $400 for A2 style)
9mm hammer (or DPMS style .223 hammer unless you already have one)  $15 give or take
VM Hytech 9mm adapter block $130 plus shipping from Ameetec Arms on the EE
Uzi mags at $15 each for decent ones (gotta have 4-5!) Try Cole Distributing

Total: $680-700  

You can also go Olyarms style:

9mm Olyarms upper $585 plus shipping
SOCOM mag adapter block: $65 plus shipping
Sten mags (4-5, probably a few more to gaurantee "quality" ones) $6 ea from CDNN Investments

Total: $680-700

Some people argue you can do better, but I would say these are "reasonable bargains" that you can always find for prices.

Note that if you just want a pistol caliber longarm you can go with a Beretta Storm for $600 plus spare mags or even a Ruger PC9 for $450 pus mags whereas with an AR you still need a lower to work from.

Not a cheap proposition, but the ability to train with your AR at a pistol range and the cool factor are PRICELESS

I meant to metion, here is what I did (or am doing)

9mm A4 preban RRA upper from ADCO Firearms: $367 plus $4 shipping (on backorder still)
(Note that I have a spare bolt-on carry handle, so I went with the cheaper A4 upper)
DPMS hammer from local gun show: $15
10 used IMI brand Uzi mags from Cole distributing $120 shipped (they don't offer this deal anymore from what I hear)
VM Hytech adapter block from Brownells with 03 FFL discount: $135 shipped

(Use my existing PWA preban lower)

Total price: $641

Del ton has Oly arms uppers on ebay for $489.   9mm, 40, and 45.
That's a $100 off the usual price.

Quoted: Cheapest build you can do for easy that I have found: 9mm Rock River Arms A4 upper from ADCO (go with postban, as prebans have been on backorder for 2 months or so...)  $367 plus $4 shipping (Just under $400 for A2 style) 9mm hammer (or DPMS style .223 hammer unless you already have one)  $15 give or take VM Hytech 9mm adapter block $130 plus shipping from Ameetec Arms on the EE Uzi mags at $15 each for decent ones (gotta have 4-5!) Try Cole Distributing Total: $680-700   You can also go Olyarms style: 9mm Olyarms upper $585 plus shipping SOCOM mag adapter block: $65 plus shipping Sten mags (4-5, probably a few more to gaurantee "quality" ones) $6 ea from CDNN Investments Total: $680-700

do you not need a 9mm hammer with an oly arms upper, or did you just leave that out? and why the hell is the oly arms almost $600 and the RRA is less than $400?

jake

I just put my 2nd 9mm AR together a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a new OLY upper with comp,socom block and a couple of sten mags on the EE it was well under 500.  If your going to spend 700 or so why not just buy a complete 9mm Oly AR their about 800. BobK

It uses a regular hammer so you can use your regular 223 lower without swapping parts.  But I do have a dedicated lower for my 40 cal upper.  I have the Advanced Armament buffer and a wolf +10% buffer spring to tame the ammo I'm using.  I have a large supply of 155 gr that is kind of rough on it.  The wolf 180 grain works well in it though.

Quoted: It uses a regular hammer so you can use your regular 223 lower without swapping parts.

Now I'm confused. I was under the impression that a 9mm upper needed a 9mm hammer unless a) the the 9mm bolt has been ramped or b) your lower has an earlier type .223 hammer (not sure of specifics)

Just to make sure, the only difference in the oly and colt "styles" are the mag blocks and mag setups, correct? Isn't everything else is the same?

jake

Quoted: Now I'm confused. I was under the impression that a 9mm upper needed a 9mm hammer unless a) the the 9mm bolt has been ramped or b) your lower has an earlier type .223 hammer (not sure of specifics)

For the Oly setup you don’t need the 9mm hammer or the bolt ramped. My Oly is on a new RRA lower with the standard hammer. Runs great. Not one FTF.

Just to make sure, the only difference in the oly and colt "styles" are the mag blocks and mag setups, correct? Isn't everything else is the same? jake

The Oly also has a different extractor (built into the upper, not the mag block) and the bolt is different (cone shapped).

They're not the same.  Oly arms uses their own set up.  The receiver has the ejector in it.  Looks like a spring below the ejection port.  In the colt, the ejector is in the magblock.  The bolt is conical and only fits in Oly's barrels, so the two systems aren't interchangable.  

www.villagephotos.com/pubgallery.asp?id_=701496

AAAHHH.. that explains it. I assumed the two systems used the same uppers. I guess that explains why the Oly upper is usually more expensive, and the colt mag blocks are more expensive.  Thanks to you two for the info.

Jake

So it would be safe to say that you did not read that 9mm FAQ many of us spent time putting together?

Quoted: So it would be safe to say that you did not read that 9mm FAQ many of us spent time putting together?

I promise I did, (its been extremely helpful) but I didn't see anything about the uppers being different - only the magazine configs. Maybe I missed it.

Hmm, good point.  Maybe we can get it edited to state the uppers and their respective parts are not interchangeable.

Wow, Olyarms lowers have come down quite a bit- I have actually seen them several places for less than $500 recently, so my pricing is incorrect.  Of course, I would prefer compatiblity with the Colt style (read: RRA is still my choice) on the basis I like to have more than one source of replacement parts for my firearms (read:if Olyarms should go belly up, no more parts for their 9mm uppers being it is a proprietary system)

Just my 2 cents

Dawg

Dawg, I bought my 2nd OLY upper a few weeks ago from a member on the EE. The price was very reasonable and was under 500 with socom block, mags and comp the shipping was included. So dealers may still want full price but paying close to 600 for an Oly upper doesn't make sense when for a couple hundre more you can have the whole gun.

b/c I already have a lower with no upper, VM hytech block and 10 uzi mags, thats why!

Even if Oly went Belly up the only real proprietary part that is likely to break is the ejector everything else is pretty stout. I got mine from Dalphon, Excellent folks to deal with.
And 10 bucks cheaper than OLY. Also great prices on Lowers if you have an FFL.

DALPHON