Finally!  PRI has their website up, and looky what they are selling, too:  complete SPR uppers.  I wonder how these things compare to other SPR upper, like, say, MSTNs? I know that's kind of a bad question cuz MSTN is a great dealer and supporter of this site, but its inevitable that someone will want to know...

www.pri-mounts.com/catalog/pri_s_new_spr_m16___ar15_upper_receivers_in__223_-_5_6mm_x_45_2168783.htm

Specification:
Available in .223. Flattop receiver, bolt, and bolt carrier are made to mil spec by LMT. PRI GENIII Freefloat Forearm are aluminum and carbon fiber construction, ARMS Inc. Swan Sleeve #38 SPR-PEQ-2-3 with mil spec 1913 rail on top and mounting for the PEQII Laser. ARMS Inc. 40 Flip Up Rear Sight. PRI Flip Up Front Sight. OPS Compensator/Flash Hider compatible with OPS Suppressor. Rock Creek 416 Stainless Steel Barrel. PRI Gas Buster Charging Handle...This is for the upper receiver only, Lower receiver assembly and stock are not included.

Isn't LMT supposed to be kick ass?  Kevin_B?  Anyone?

Wes has been using the LMT's for a while, IIRC. I saw these last night, and I'd buy one, but... My support goes to Wes. He's kicked major ass the entire time I've been "consulting" him, and his uppers are VERY competitively priced, and are immaculate from what I've seen. That being said, the uppers from PRI look a little iffy concerning their 2 port comps. In one pic it's just a cut down 4 port, in another its the comp sans barrel collar, and in another pic its a Dissy style upper with an A2. I'd email them for details, but I'm too busy working on specs for my next project, and I'm a lazy SOB.

-Cap'n

Urban etc.


My own vote goes to Wes - nothing against PRI, but I like the fact that Wes is
1) a Member here who shares opinions and knowledge
2) is not a member of a manufacturing company - so he can give you an unvarnished opinion.
3) is willing to build what the user wants

4) Stuff from MSTN was built by them and tested by experienced folk - and it was built for you

Kevin hit the nail on the head, as usual!

[beer]

-Cap'n

C4iGrant has alot of their stuff in stock, check him out on the EE.

I hate to hijack this thread but two questions:

1. Who is LMT?

2. What is the difference between the Gen II and Gen III carbine free floating forearms?

Thanks

LMT make upper to Rock River and other companies. CRANE also use their uppers but for testing only. The general opinion for the LMT uppers is that they are "rough" in quality.

And the price of the LMT upper is average also.

Point well taken...

LMT is Lewis Machine and Tool. I've got one of their uppers and it's pretty darned nice. At least as nice as the Diemacos and Colts. M4 Feed Ramps, etc, so they're pretty darn good in my book. BTW, as an added note, they're also in spec for the ARMS SIR.

As for RRA using LMT uppers, that's news to me. The RRA I have and the LMT have different foundry marks. But then again, there's no telling.

-Cap'n

Everyone who owns one loves their LMT upper that I have run into.  "Rough" Is the first I have heard.  FBI uses them to I think.

ps.  KevinB is right on.  MSTN has the vote!

About what is the difference in price between PRIs and Wes's SPR uppers?

Just ask ANYone that owns an MSTN upper and they'll give you a 30 minute or 18000 word rant on why they love it. There's a reason for that: Wes builds these guns closest to spec, he uses the best parts, builds to your specs, etc. What's not to love about getting a custom upper completely tailored to your needs?

I haven't seen the PRI uppers yet, but I DID email them to ask about specs. Their upper looks good, and I imagine it'll be great, but it's no MSTN upper, hehe.

Oh, you asked about PRICE difference. Wes has a better price, but i don't quite remember by how much.

-Cap'n

I would get one from Wes, no contest there. I want a SIR, plus I bought my M4 stuff from Wes, and I like dealing with him.

Wes also gets my vote.  You get what you pay for.  The SPR upper I got from Wes was worth every dollar I spent.  

Immaculate, thats just about right.

I will not use anyone else but MSTN. Paul and Wes are a rariety in this buisness.Great products and extremely fast shipping. No question is to dumb and very polite.

LM&T make great quality military parts including uppers and lowers, most of their ustomers are professional users who are more concerned with the reliability of their firearms then anything else....nuff said.  

They use to make parts for RRA but haven't for a long time.  

We have used their kit and have been more then happy with it, I also think they are part owners of Leitner-Wise.  

Who is "we"?

Is there more than one of you? [:D]

--LS

Me and the guys.  

Contact info for LM&T?

Any website?

edit to add: [url]http://www.lewismachine.net/main.htm[/url]

[url]http://www.pri-mounts.com/catalog/big_latch-military__weenie__2188367.htm[/url]

man, i've been lloking for WEENIE LATCH for a long time...

2350 dollars for an SPR upper?

Ummmmmmm, NO!    I don't f'in think so.   I think I'd rather go for a fully built M40A3 type rifle built by George Gardner for that type of moolah.

Now just for comparison purposes, what do the MSTN uppers go for when similarly built?

Just received my SPR upper today from Paul and Wes. You can cover the five shot group with a dime on the test target Paul shot with this upper. I'll stick with MSTN.

detroitchris,

I'd love to know where you got some of your info, for I find some of it very suspect.

Now that you mentioned it, I was wondering about that too.  I have a Crane SPR upper and the finish is nowhere near "rough" on the LMT upper receiver and it does not look like my RRA flattop upper receiver.  I does not look any different from a Colt or Diemaco upper with regards to the finish.  It is a high quality upper receiver.

[i]Edited to add:[/i]

He was probably thinking of Continental Machine and Tool who is a contractor for a number of the major AR makers.

KevinB, you can always get the feedback from WES regarding the info.

Another vote for Wes.  Not only good stuff at good prices, but a good guy.  I chat with him on email just to chat.

I've kinda noticed this is like the 'question not to be asked'. IIRC out of all the threads on the SPR recently there was one thread in the EE where a price was mentioned:
[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=22&t=113592&page=4[/url]

$2255

Differences I noticed are the use of a Compass Lake barrel (bead blasted) w/ fitted bolt (MSTN) vs. Rock Creek 416 stainless barrel. Also don't notice PRI making a
Then there's also the consideration of the following: We've seen more than enough examples, and more than enough reviews of SPRs from Wes here. Not to say anything bad about PRI, but are you going to know the smith who put the upper together, and are you going to know the level of care put into making the upper?

W/ regards to price.....it's not entirely outrageous at all. Hell, just break it down
18" SS Barrel        - 450
Fitted bolt/carrier  - 180
Opss Inc Brake       - 250
PRI forearm tube     - 325
PRI front fight      - 180
ARMS rail            - 190
Flattop upper        - 140
PRI gas buster       -  90

That's about $1800 just for the parts. The scope base/ring setup will easily put it over 2k. $200 bucks for a quality smith to put it together, test it, and verify it to
I'm definitely planning to go to MSTN for my eventual SPR....as soon as I can scrounge together another $1200!

Add another $90 to $99 to the above parts list for the ARMS #40 buis that comes standard with MTSN's upper.

The price break down helps a lot.

It's not so outrageous now after seeing the parts break down, probably the main thing that had me confounded was part due to the price of tne Ops Inc brake and the PRI gas buster charging handle.

I don't know, now that I see how the break down goes.   When I get ready to do a lighter weight upper I'll very likely ditch the PRI tube and SWAN sleeve just to go with an ARMS rifle SIR in it's place.   Money saved?   Probably not terribly much.

I'm not usually one of those who goes by the "if you have to ask how much it is, then you can't afford it" types.    But 2200+ dollars for an upper assembly alone just lept out at me.   By the time I built a suitable lower to match and had proper optics it would definitely be in the 3300+ dollar range.   I guess all this time I was thinking these upper assemblies were closer to the 1500-1800 dollar area.

Just enough money to start considering other options, playing with the AR10 perhaps, having something like an M25 built, or getting back to an M40A3.

Too many toys and not enough cash for all of them. [:(]

I went through the same exact thoughts when I first saw the price. So I decided to try and find out exactly what went into the design to price it out, and yep...you really see how it comes out. And like I said, I got honestly confused, as almost every thread when someone posted pics of their SPR, somebody asked how much it cost, and the question was almost universally ignored. It's why I tried to break it down in the first place.



Well, if you're looking for a lightweight 'match' (or target, or whatever it's called these days) upper, and not an authentic SPR type upper, then it's kinda pointless to go with all these things. Go with a full FF RAS or the rifle length SIR, an 18" or 20" Krieger brarrel, and you'll end up saving a heck of a lot. I seem to recall a setup like that...I think it was an 'SPR clone' upper using a FF RAS and a different barrel that sold for about $1650 in the EE a month or two ago.



So did I. First time I saw it I thought it was $2250 for the entire rifle. The math didn't add up (especially with things like a KAC 2 stage trigger!). Regardless of opinion, that is a heck of a lot of money for just an upper...considering you can pick up decent 20" uppers for more than half that! Expensive, yeah, but at least in this case you get what you pay for.



Tell me about it. Thinking of building a lightweight 16" 'target style' upper, the AR10 SEBR, a Colt Delta Elite, an SPR, an M1A, Remmy 870, and some custom work done on my M70....man...it hurts!