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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - M&A build thread (Page 1 of 4)
Posted: 2/12/2009 1:16:11 PM EDT
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Well after reading about the good service and product provided by M&A I have decided to give them a try. I ordered a 16" SS midlength flat top kit today. I have three EA lowers waiting to be built. One will be built on this kit and one will be built on a BCM middy if I can get one out of the next batch.
I will be detailing the receipt and build up of the M&A rifle on this thread. Feel free to provide your experience here as well. It would be helpful if you provide details such as rifle kit ordered, lower built on, options selected, break in proceedures (or lack there of), function and accuracy results. Photos always help. 
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I had fairly good luck with them only complaint I had was the gas key was all dinged up and obvioulsy the bolt wouldnt fit into the reciever like that, unsure if it was a shipping error or what, but I called them up they said they'd make it right, but I was in a hurry and went to a gunshow I knew they'd be at instead and they just gave me a gas key. BTW it was a 16" carbine flat-top, I built it on a Lauer lower.
All I had around was a Colt 9 rounder at the time of the pic so it looks funny in the pic and I didnt have the Matech on it at the time either, I built it for my son as a welcome to the world present. 
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Here's my latest M&A Parts Build. 20" Varmint SS Wilson Barrel Kit for $560. Essential Arms Lower for $100 (plus $10 shipping and $20 FFL) and BEC Gold Label Scope for $50. Bipod and accessories (another $100).
Shot it for the first time today and loved it. 69grn. Prvi Partizan groupings within a few inches at 100 yds on a very windy day. So sexy looking I may get her a Valentine's Day card :) 
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Here's my latest M&A Parts Build. 20" Varmint SS Wilson Barrel Kit for $560. Essential Arms Lower for $100 (plus $10 shipping and $20 FFL) and BEC Gold Label Scope for $50. Bipod and accessories (another $100). Shot it for the first time today and loved it. 69grn. Prvi Partizan groupings within a few inches at 100 yds on a very windy day. So sexy looking I may get her a Valentine's Day card :) http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss92/Bronsonbull/IMG00012.jpg Excellent! a complete varminter for under $900! You did well. So far I will be into my build for $780 with a yhm buis. Not including tools. I can't wait! |
| I've put 2 of their kits together and had good luck. Put them together last year so can't say anything about the shipping now. Both kits were good quality, excellent shooters, better quality lpk than model 1 but the staking on the key left a little to be desired. Ordered a bcg from them a few weeks ago and got it in about 5 days, same light staking on the key but for $125.00 I'll restake it and not complain. |
| I just got a LPK from M&A after i cancelledmy order with RRA because of wait time... It just came in yesterday, and surprisingly along with the RRA lower kit that i cancelled (strange but no complaints, doesn't seem they cancelled the order after all.) only too about 2 weeks for both orders to be filled and shipped. so i decided i would lay out piece by piece and compare them. and i didn't notice too many differences other than stampings on the side of the trigger. both kits weight nearly the same. The only noticable difference was the M&A kit came with a silver flat head screw for the hand grip and the RRA came with a black allen head screw. So now i have an extra kit.... owell. i'll use it or sell it no loss here though. |
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I phoned in my kit order because the stock is in such fluctuation that you can't know what they have unless you speak in person.
I used the on-line order for some other small parts with no problems, the website seems pretty up to date with stuff in lower demand. |
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Awesome! These guys are helpful. I just ordered my M4 barreled upper with chromelined and they told me that I will for sure have it at my door in 3 weeks MAX!. Plus it was cheaper than the Del-ton I have on order. I am not canceling that though either.
These guys are great. |
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My dad and I have ordered from M&A a few times over the past couple of months. Each time has been quite satisfactory and the parts seem to be of decent quality. The only small issue I have seen so far is light staking on their bolt carrier keys.
Shipping has been really fast each time. My dad ordered several small parts and a BCG from them yesterday, was quoted three weeks on having his order out the door, but received it today (UPS ground). Thanks M&A! |
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Put in an order for a 16" flattop kit with a 1/7 twist, chrome-lined lightweight barrel on the 4th. I was told 2 weeks. I called to check and ended up adding another lpk and a few small parts. Will let you guys know and post pics when it shows. Will be going on a Spike's lower I've had for a while, topped off with a LaRue buis which showed yesterday with the usual amount of swag, now I just need the kit to put it on.
UPDATE: As above, ordered on the 4th, they charged my card on the 19th. Kit got here yesterday. I have had a few kits from J&T, and two Sabre Defence barreled uppers from PK, and this kit compares very nicely. This is a lightweight CAR kit w/ a 1/7 twist, chrome lined barrel. It actually came w/ M4 handguards which was fine as I was considering trying a set anyway. Fit and finish is great. Nice feed ramps, good stake job. Bolt is marked CM. Upper is a keyhole forge upper. From sight base is straight and is F marked. Buffer tube measures as mil-spec. Build was very straight forward. The only problem encountered was a missing roll pin in the stock adjuster retaining nut. I had a roll pin, and after a little file work on the hole all was good. One other thing is the inside of the receiver is a little mottled looking like maybe the teflon coating is a little iffy. This doesn't affect function, and if it wears too soon, I'll just swap upper receivers later. Went to the range this morning and ran 170 rounds through it. Ammo was a mixture of Wolf poly in 55 and 75 grain, old Wolf lacquer in 55 grain and some Centurion 55 grain. Sighted it in with a 50 yrd zero with only three clicks of windage. No malfunctions of any kind and it groups good enough for now. I'll let the trigger break in a little and wait for a calmer day to see exactly how well it'll do. Anyway, I'm pleased as can be and would not hesitate to get another kit from these guys. Here are some pics. 
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I ordered an M-4gery kit in the last week of January. Total was right around $600.00 including shipping. It arrived on February 12th - exactly two weeks from the date of order.
After pulling it out of the box, everything looked good. They shipped me a true M4-style stock, rather than the four-position stock shown in some of their print ads. The upper receiver was RRA, and the fit and finish on everything seemed fine. I noticed the light staking on the gas key, but that's a pretty minor issue. The t-markings on the upper's rails are also stamped a little funky, but that doesn't really matter to me either. I field-stripped and lubed everything on the upper, and then mounted it to an already-built lower and went shooting. I was interested in seeing how this relatively inexpensive upper, assembled at a time of extremely high demand, stacked up against higher-dollar rigs. First round. FTE. Empty case stuck in the chamber. Knocked it out with a cleaning rod. Subsequent rounds would not feed correctly. Blood pressure was rising, though I figured it had to be a simple issue related to tight tolerances or something. I field-stripped again and generously lubed the bolt components and chamber. I found that the ejector spring was awfully tough to depress until I lubed and worked it a few times. I put everything back together and it ran through a 10-round magazine without a hitch. No other function problems for 80-90 rounds. Lesson learned. New parts need to be cleaned, worked, and lubed TWICE before they should be expected to work properly. Sighted in my BUIS without any issues, and then mounted a 1.5-5x Leupold scope to check the accuracy. Here's a typical target - 
3/4" five-shot group at 50 yards, shooting 55-grain Ultramax soft point reloads. Weather and time wouldn't permit me to shoot at longer ranges, but I think this is VERY acceptable accuracy. I'll chalk up the initial function issues to operator error. For offering a solid product at a good price when everyone else is out of stock, M&A gets two thumbs up from me! |
| ordered a 16" hbar middy complete kit on 2/6. credit card was dinged today for $553. i'm 350 miles from them. i should get it monday if they ship today. i've read from other posters that the middy kits have rra uppers. i just happen to have rra lower sitting on the shelf! i'll update with pics when i'm done slapping it together. my first upper i ever purchased was from m&a many years ago at the belclair gunshow in belleville, il.. it was a 16" carbine hbar. i put it on top of a colt sp1 lower. back then they said the parts were from fn. i've read that lately they use lmt and rra uppers. we will see. i'm off to the range to shoot my rpk and ak74. cya. |
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I'll let you know as soon as I have it in my hands...
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Their uppers are LMT, barrels are Wilson. Once in a while you'll see an RRA. Quoted:
Does M&A make their uppers? Any idea on the brand, etc...? Are the marked "LMT"? I have read where some are marked "RRA". Bill |
| my buddy got his "two" middy kits yesterday. they were cardinal forge uppers. very nice kits. he had yankee hill rifle length free float rails put on them. i couldn't make out anything on the barrel. mine will be here monday. i'm hoping it will be rra. he didn't upgrade the stocks and got the car stocks. they are very nice with mil spec tubes and the finish is a nice gray on the tube and parts, not the glossy black on the cheaper stocks. |
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Last M&A kit I bought was about 15 years ago. At that time the carbine upper shot as well if not better than the BM carbine i also had or the colt govt upper it replaced. The only gripe I had was the slight purplish tinge to the reciever. Never had 1 problem with it other than staking the BCG. I'm kinda curious what the M4 uppers so many have been speaking about look like. Hopefully the ones I've seen on ARFCOM are representative of what M&A puts out these days.
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Last M&A kit I bought was about 15 years ago. At that time the carbine upper shot as well if not better than the BM carbine i also had or the colt govt upper it replaced. The only gripe I had was the slight purplish tinge to the reciever. Never had 1 problem with it other than staking the BCG. I'm kinda curious what the M4 uppers so many have been speaking about look like. Hopefully the ones I've seen on ARFCOM are representative of what M&A puts out these days. yup, i remember that purplish tint on the receivers i had also....but they functioned just fine. i had alot of wolf .223 down one of them. easily 10,000 rounds. of course it was $79 per 1k back then. |
| My M4 upper arrived last week. Went to the range on Sun. 20 rd of PPU and 180 of damm dirty wolf. No problems!!! All I did was push one cloth down the bore first to be sure there was no debris. I was wishing I'd taken more ammo to the range with me... better that I did'nt thow. Save it for another day. |
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Got my M&A 20" Varmint Kit today. Installed parts as per instructions here(really good instructions). Quality is top notch. Only downside is there is a little bit of color mismatching. The only branding I saw anywhere was on the gas block. How do I know what brand upper/barrel I have.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/brianjen13/IMG_0791.jpg http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/brianjen13/IMG_0789.jpg |
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Got my M&A 20" Varmint Kit today. Installed parts as per instructions here(really good instructions). Quality is top notch. Only downside is there is a little bit of color mismatching. The only branding I saw anywhere was on the gas block. How do I know what brand upper/barrel I have. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/brianjen13/IMG_0791.jpg http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/brianjen13/IMG_0789.jpg I believe all there varmint barrels are Wilson. If its an unmarked upper reciever its hard to tell but you can narrow it down a little from the forge symbol below the rail by the dust cover. |
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got my mid-length heavy barrel kit today. there are no markings on the barrel at all. the upper is a keyhole. it fits super tight on my rra lower, almost too tight. it fights just right on my spikes tactical lower. all parts were present except for the hand guards, it was a mix up and part my fault.
my buddy came over and i put three lowers together tonite. all three were rra. my buddy used rra lower parts kits. i used the m&a. the quality was about the same. all went together nicely. i'll post some pics tomorrow when it's light out and i can get some quality pics. i can't wait to shoot this baby. |
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ok here is the final product. i know it's not tacti-cool, but it's what i wanted. the good part is that if i want to change up the furniture for a different look or feel, it was only $38.
heavy barrel mid-length kit $553 (m&a parts) new colt carry handle $80 (ar15.com ee) cav arms mid-length od handgaurds & a1 buttstock $38 (quantico tactical) rock river arms lower at gun show $165 all prices included shipping so my total cost on this rifle was $836 
and it is a HEAVY barrel. 
it was really a good week. got this back this week also. total $498. this gun was built by a professional. i had bought the kit for $139 at the end of 2007. the receiver was blued, but the rest of the gun is the original finish. 
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My M4 kit arrived today. It was ordered on the 10th, so they hit the 2 week estimate dead on.
The barrel only has the 5.56 NATO 1 in 9 twist stamped into it. The upper has no markings or symbols that I can find. Color match is good and it fits my EA lower with only minuscule looseness. Bolt carrier key was well staked. Standby for pictures...I'm still playing with it. |
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Quoted: My M4 kit arrived today. It was ordered on the 10th, so they hit the 2 week estimate dead on. The barrel only has the 5.56 NATO 1 in 9 twist stamped into it. The upper has no markings or symbols that I can find. Color match is good and it fits my EA lower with only minuscule looseness. Bolt carrier key was well staked. Standby for pictures...I'm still playing with it. Curious as to when they charged your card?  |
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They charged the card last Friday the 20th and they shipped it on Monday.
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My M4 kit arrived today. It was ordered on the 10th, so they hit the 2 week estimate dead on. The barrel only has the 5.56 NATO 1 in 9 twist stamped into it. The upper has no markings or symbols that I can find. Color match is good and it fits my EA lower with only minuscule looseness. Bolt carrier key was well staked. Standby for pictures...I'm still playing with it. Curious as to when they charged your card?
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Quoted: They charged the card last Friday the 20th and they shipped it on Monday. Thank you. I ordered on 2/13 (dreaded Friday the 13th) and thought that I should see a charge here in the next day or so. Happy shooting to you and yours! EDIT: They just charged my card!!!!!!!!!!!  |
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OK forgive the n00b-ness but can I get a link?
I've found these guys in my search but a lot of the "kits" are "There are no products at this time." http://www.m-aparts.com/ I'm looking for a 20" target/hunting rifle in 5.56 with some particular options I've got the LPK on the way from a different source and looking to get a complete upper Thanks |
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That's the correct site, but they are so busy they can't keep the site up to date.
Call them...it takes a lot of trying to get through but you will eventually. Over the phone they'll tell you what they have in stock. Quoted:
OK forgive the n00b-ness but can I get a link? I've found these guys in my search but a lot of the "kits" are "There are no products at this time." http://www.m-aparts.com/ I'm looking for a 20" target/hunting rifle in 5.56 with some particular options I've got the LPK on the way from a different source and looking to get a complete upper Thanks |
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That's the correct site, but they are so busy they can't keep the site up to date. Call them...it takes a lot of trying to get through but you will eventually. Over the phone they'll tell you what they have in stock. Quoted:
OK forgive the n00b-ness but can I get a link? I've found these guys in my search but a lot of the "kits" are "There are no products at this time." http://www.m-aparts.com/ I'm looking for a 20" target/hunting rifle in 5.56 with some particular options I've got the LPK on the way from a different source and looking to get a complete upper Thanks Just keep calling 1-888-662-1516 took me about 20 tries. I ordered one on or about the 17th I will update as to the shippping etc. When you call know what you want and what your 2nd and possibly 3rd choices are. They will check stock right then and there and you basically build the kit right there on the phone with the guy works pretty well. BTW: for being swamped they were still polite professional people to work with. IMO |
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Any orders you place online, if you happen to catch them at a time when I haven't updated their website, and you happen to place an order and something is out of stock, they will call you and tell you in person.
BTW, I have 1 kit from them 16" Chrome lined M4gery with a 1 in 9 twist. Built on a Cardinal forge upper. The BCG gas key was staked very well. The rest of the rifles I have assembled have had M&A LPKs. If I need any small parts I also call them. They usually have them to me in less than a week. |
| m&a sells good shit. the barrel in my kit had absolutely no markings. i was told it was a 1-9 chrome lined heavy barrel. it is a heavy barrel and it is chromelined. the lpk had the s in the box marked on the fcg. the same as the rra lpk's i used last night. the springs and detents were a little different but thats it. the upper is a keyhole the "m4" stamped on the front above the gas tube. the key was staked correctly on the carrier. everything went together nicely. it was well worth the two week wait. and much better than gunshow prices. i've used m&a uppers on bushmaster lowers several times with good success. |
Pics as promised.
I live in the Peoples Democratic Republic of New York so it has the AWB goodies; fixed stock, pinned brake, and no lug. Quoted:
My M4 kit arrived today. It was ordered on the 10th, so they hit the 2 week estimate dead on. The barrel only has the 5.56 NATO 1 in 9 twist stamped into it. The upper has no markings or symbols that I can find. Color match is good and it fits my EA lower with only minuscule looseness. Bolt carrier key was well staked. Standby for pictures...I'm still playing with it. |
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - M&A build thread (Page 1 of 4)
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