My search turned up nothing, so here goes:

Which carry handle is milspec, marked 8/3, and able to get me out to 800m with a 20" upper?

I'll try to answer... ARFCOM is running soooo slooooow tonight and its almost impossible to get a reply to go through...


Get one thats used for a COLT OLY, Bushmaster or RRA rifle... Those carry handles are standard type and used with the standard height FSB...

Do not get one that is used with the M4 carbine... The carry handle used on the mil-spec M4 have a taller rear sight base and are to be used with the 'F' stamped taller FSB...

Colt carry handles and "M4 carry handles" are the same.

The rear sight sits at .840"  These are for flattops with F marked front sight bases.

Aftermarked handles sit at .800".  They are for non F marked front sight bases.

Quoted: I'll try to answer... ARFCOM is running soooo slooooow tonight and its almost impossible to get a reply to go through... Get one thats used for a COLT, Bushmaster or RRA rifle... Those carry handles are standard type and used with the standard height FSB... Do not get one that is used with the M4 carbine... The carry handle used on the mil-spec M4 have a taller rear sight base and are to be used with the 'F' stamped taller FSB...

Do not read any of this.  You will get confused.

A fixed carrying handle A2 upper will have what you what.  Most detachable CH don't have the room for the longer stem for 800m hence 600m.

CD

Quoted: A fixed carrying handle A2 upper will have what you what.  Most detachable CH don't have the room for the longer stem for 800m hence 600m.

That's the truth.

So a Bushmaster carry handle is good to go then?

My upper is a flattop already,  the A2 is not an option.

Ive got a Colt 6700 20" flat top and I cant find the "F" on the front sight base. Where should I be looking?

Quoted: Ive got a Colt 6700 20" flat top and I cant find the "F" on the front sight base. Where should I be looking?

Carbine FSBs are "F" stamped, yours shouldn't be.

Quoted: Quoted: I'll try to answer... ARFCOM is running soooo slooooow tonight and its almost impossible to get a reply to go through... Get one thats used for a COLT OLY, Bushmaster or RRA rifle... Those carry handles are standard type and used with the standard height FSB... Do not get one that is used with the M4 carbine... The carry handle used on the mil-spec M4 have a taller rear sight base and are to be used with the 'F' stamped taller FSB... Do not read any of this.  You will get confused.

I was fighting the server last night trying to get replies to upload and screwed up a little, was getting a little burned out... Wanted to say OLY, not COLT...

Quoted: So a Bushmaster carry handle is good to go then? My upper is a flattop already,  the A2 is not an option.

Yes it will work...

The mil spec handles are used with the flat top receiver and "F" stamped FSB combo... Colt is mil spec, Bushmaster, OLY and RRA are not...

Unless you have an 'F' stamped FSB and flat top receiver combo, you'll need to use a carry handle that's designed to be used with a FSB that does NOT have the 'F' stamped onto it...

There are two type carry handles... There is one for use with the 'F' stamped FSB... The 'F' stamped FSB is .040" taller between the 'ears' and raises the FSP to be taller than an A2 type FSP. The other type carry handle is used with a flat top and standard A2 type FSB combo, its is .040" lower then the 'F' type FSB post...

The two different spec handles are hard to tell apart just by looking at them... You need to measure the rear sight height differences to tell them apart...
For example, I own 2 Cardinal forge carry handles that are identical looking... The only difference between the two are that one has a higher rear sight aperture than the other does...

ETA:
The rear sight base height on my Cardinal Forge COLT and Bushmaster carry handles has a difference of .042", the COLT being the taller of the two...

The carry handle for my my COLT that has the 'F' stamped FSB has a rear sight base that measures .833", the RSB on the carry handle off of my Bushmaster measures .791"...

So if you use the COLT carry handle with a flat top rifle that does not have a FSB stamped with the letter 'F', and in order to achieve the proper alignment needed to zero the sights, you might have to replace the front sight post with a .040" taller one to match the height of the carry handle...

Excuse me for jumping in. I have a flattop (cmt) witha 14.5" bushy M4 barrel with pinned brake. Aside from getting an actual Bushy handle, are there any others that would work properly, ie zero correctly? Thanks

Quoted: Excuse me for jumping in. I have a flattop (cmt) witha 14.5" bushy M4 barrel with pinned brake. Aside from getting an actual Bushy handle, are there any others that would work properly, ie zero correctly? Thanks

It depends on the type of FSB The barrel has... If it does not have the 'F' stamped onto it, then a carry handle used with the RRA, OLY and Bushmaster will align up and zero correctly...

If it has the 'F' stamped onto it you will need to use a COLT handle to get the proper alignment...

It depends on the type of FSB The barrel has... If it does not have the 'F' stamped onto it, then a carry handle used with the RRA, OLY and Bushmaster will align up and zero correctly...

If it has the 'F' stamped onto it you will need to use a COLT handle to get the proper alignment...

No, it definately is not an "f" FSB.

Quoted: Which carry handle is milspec, marked 8/3, and able to get me out to 800m with a 20" upper?

There are no detachable handles marked 8/3.  There isn't enough room (the elevation screw is shorter).  Detachable handles are either 6/3 or some of the clones have 'match' elevation wheels that are marked in # of clicks (0-5-10-15 etc).

Quoted: No, it definately is not an "f" FSB.

Like I had already said, get one off of a OLY, Bushmaster or RRA... <--- wanna'b manufacturers...

Look at it this way>>> Any wanna'b (cloned) AR-15 manufacturers handle will work... I bet I just raised a few eye brows with that one...

If you would use an original COLT carry handle then there's a chance it wonuldnt align properly with the FSP and can lead to zeroing problems...

Is an Armalite a "wanna be" or mil spec?

Quoted: Quoted: Ive got a Colt 6700 20" flat top and I cant find the "F" on the front sight base. Where should I be looking? Carbine FSBs are "F" stamped, yours shouldn't be.

Wrong

Anything with a flattop should have a F marked FSB.

Your 6700 doesn't because of one of the following

1.  It is a comercial gun
2.  It has had the barrel replaced with a 6551/6601 barrel
3.  Or you can't find the F mark.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'll try to answer... ARFCOM is running soooo slooooow tonight and its almost impossible to get a reply to go through... Get one thats used for a COLT OLY, Bushmaster or RRA rifle... Those carry handles are standard type and used with the standard height FSB... Do not get one that is used with the M4 carbine... The carry handle used on the mil-spec M4 have a taller rear sight base and are to be used with the 'F' stamped taller FSB... Do not read any of this.  You will get confused. I was fighting the server last night trying to get replies to upload and screwed up a little, was getting a little burned out... Wanted to say OLY, not COLT...

Your original post is still incorrect

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'll try to answer... ARFCOM is running soooo slooooow tonight and its almost impossible to get a reply to go through... Get one thats used for a COLT OLY, Bushmaster or RRA rifle... Those carry handles are standard type and used with the standard height FSB... Do not get one that is used with the M4 carbine... The carry handle used on the mil-spec M4 have a taller rear sight base and are to be used with the 'F' stamped taller FSB... Do not read any of this.  You will get confused. I was fighting the server last night trying to get replies to upload and screwed up a little, was getting a little burned out... Wanted to say OLY, not COLT... Your original post is still incorrect

Scott, dont be beating around the bush... Could you please correct my reply...

ETA: Could it be that I used the term "standard" when I should of used A2?

I didn't realize that flattops required particular FSB's and carry handles.

I built my A4gery  on what was probably a carbine receiver, with a rifle FSB & carry handle.  Seems to work well (?).

However, my generic handle has a dial with numbers like "8, 6, etc" instead of "8/3" and so on.  Why is that?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'll try to answer... ARFCOM is running soooo slooooow tonight and its almost impossible to get a reply to go through... Get one thats used for a COLT OLY, Bushmaster or RRA rifle... Those carry handles are standard type and used with the standard height FSB... Do not get one that is used with the M4 carbine... The carry handle used on the mil-spec M4 have a taller rear sight base and are to be used with the 'F' stamped taller FSB... Do not read any of this.  You will get confused. I was fighting the server last night trying to get replies to upload and screwed up a little, was getting a little burned out... Wanted to say OLY, not COLT... Your original post is still incorrect Scott, dont be beating around the bush... Could you please correct my reply... ETA: Could it be that I used the term "standard" when I should of used A2?

Certainly,

There is no such thing as a "M4 carry handle"

There are milspec carry handles (Colt, LMT) where the rear sight sits at .840" and are made to be used with flattops with a F marked FSB reguardless if they are rifle or carbine.

There are aftermarked handles (Bushy, RRA, Armalite, etc)  where the rear sight sits at .800" and are made to be used with flattops without a F marked FSB reguardless if they are rifle or carbine.

both of my carry handles: a Bushmaster and a Colt have the same forging code (anchor harvey). it's difficult to tell the difference.

bushmaster CH was purchased from bushmaster.com
colt is a take off from a colt commando.

Quoted: Your original post is still incorrect

Quoted: Scott, dont be beating around the bush... Could you please correct my reply... ETA: Could it be that I used the term "standard" when I should of used A2?

Quoted: Certainly, There is no such thing as a "M4 carry handle" There are milspec carry handles (Colt, LMT) where the rear sight sits at .840" and are made to be used with flattops with a F marked FSB reguardless if they are rifle or carbine. There are aftermarked handles (Bushy, RRA, Armalite, etc)  where the rear sight sits at .800" and are made to be used with flattops without a F marked FSB reguardless if they are rifle or carbine.

Thanks!

Didn't the 'F' FSB first appear when COLT started using flat tops on all their M4 builds? I was under the impression that the 'F' FSB was introduced with the M4...  Very few M4's were made using the A2 fixed handle setup...

Quoted: both of my carry handles: a Bushmaster and a Colt have the same forging code (anchor harvey). it's difficult to tell the difference. bushmaster CH was purchased from bushmaster.com colt is a take off from a colt commando.

Exactly the way my Cardinal forge ones are...

You need to measure and compare the height of the rear sights to see the differences...

The F stamped FSB came out when the flatop M4/M4A1 and M16A4 were adopted.

Quoted: Ive got a Colt 6700 20" flat top and I cant find the "F" on the front sight base. Where should I be looking?

You have an old one, the flat top upper is older then the "F" FSB.  The older 6700's I have seen use a different carry handle forging then the modern one.  All the ones I have seen are MMA.  The uppers have no forge code.  The carry handle does not rest on top of the receiver, but on the side rails.  These 6700's date back as far as 1992.  The upper rail height is the same, and the height of the rear sight from the bore has not changed.  

Quoted: Didn't the 'F' FSB first appear when COLT started using flat tops on all their M4 builds? I was under the impression that the 'F' FSB was introduced with the M4...  Very few M4's were made using the A2 fixed handle setup...

I think so, have not been able to pin down exactly when the "F" FSB came out.

My bad, I meant to say 3/6.

Now my question is, where exactly should one look for the "F"? I didn't see it anywhere on the FSB but would like to be sure.

Quoted: The F stamped FSB came out when the flatop M4/M4A1 and M16A4 were adopted.

Which one was first to be introduced, the M4A1 or M16A4? Also, What kind of time frame between the introductions?

First delivery of M4's was 1994.

The M16A4 was adopted Standard A in 1997.  They trickled in for a number years, don't think they were issued in large numbers till 2001 or so.

I checked my 1995 M4A1 upper, it is a flat top and does not have a "F" FSB.  Don't know if it came with the old carry handle or not, I did not get one with the upper.

I got issued my first M4A1 in Mar 95.

CD

Quoted: I got issued my first M4A1 in Mar 95. CD

Lucky you; I didn't get to carry an M4A1 until my tour in Iraq. Back then I was still humping the boonies with an M16A1 (my Reserve unit didn't get A2s until 1997); now I am assigned an M4A1 and an M9 pistol.

(and if all goes well, I'll be carrying an M203 as well when I finally get my Sergeant stripes)

Woo-Hoo!

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