Going to start working on a semi budget upper build dedicated to 3gun hopefully soon for my local matches.

I'm wondering if I should pick up a stripped upper that has forward assist and a dustcover or go with one of the uppers that have this removed and no dustcover (looking at Anderson specifically).

Is it just personal preference?  Thought about building one without to save on a lil weight.

Thanks

If your range is dusty, a dust cover is a good idea because most rules require the bolt to be locked back when not actually shooting a stage. The FA is helpful if you get a case separation (a risk if you run mixed-brass reloads). On the other hand, the lack of either is not really a show stopper - I have 3-Gun rifles set up both ways. The weight difference with these components is unlikely to be noticed, but in general a forged upper will weigh less than a billet upper, and most forged uppers come with dust cover and FA.

Dust covers aren't needed for 3 gun. If you aren't actively shooting a stage, you have to have a chamber flag inserted, which sticks out of the ejection port. I only use my dust cover when I put the rifle back into the gun safe.

Forward assist really isn't needed either. Only time I have ever seen them used is when someone does a chamber check when making ready. And even that isn't necessary. A fully loaded mag will have a round on the right side. When I load the rifle, I just strip the mag and make sure the next round is on the left.

So for me, it would really boil down to cost. Which is the cheaper option?