Have an approved Form 1 in hand for a SBR build. Eventually it will be a suppressed 9mm and 300 Whisper. But after seeing the pics from Mike's class I want to build a 11.5" 223 upper and take his class at some point.

I have an idea of what I want in the back of my mind, but I would like some input from you guys first (or Mike ). I want to make this upper a low cost build and I will assemble the entire thing myself. 11.5" is as short as my suppressor mfg. said I should go and reliably not get baffle strikes. Std. carbine handguards are fine or something low cost  to attach a vertical grip. Optic? Irons? If you could please give me some ideas and the reason why.

I am all about long range shooting and know pretty much nothing about the CQB stuff, but that will change!!

Thanks for your time!

For me I would just go to bushmaster's web site and order and short upper

Mike

Caver101,
            What type of suppressor is it?  Is it threaded on or is it a quick detach type?  I've always thought an 11.5 with standard handguards and front sight tower had a very clean, sleek, and compact look to it.

One thing you need to consider is heat dissipation.  Obviously, the suppressor will get hot, but that heat will also radiate back down the barrel, gas block and handguards.  I know it's not the most economical option, but some type of free float handguards will help dissipate the heat better than standard handguards.

VSP

Thanks for the input guys.

I talked with Bushmaster yesterday, 11.5" 1:7 barrel should be here Monday/Tuesday. For the time being I am gonna use the std carbine handguards, but will opt for a FF rail at some point. I just want to see how I will like it before I dump $150+ into a FF rail.

VSP, the can is a threaded TAC-16 (the one you saw on the LOOOOOONG AR at the Pickens County Range back in January). Never thought about the heat of the can running back down the barrel, thanks.

JKiser, PM inbound.