I have just recently picked up a 16" Bushy carbine (or so I think) for a good price. It has a flat-top upper and heavy profile barrel.

But I do find something about it suspicious. There are no markings that I can see of any kind anywhere on the upper. The barrel also has no markings. I thought the Bushy's had something marked on the barrel such as caliber info and etc. But as far as I can tell, the heavy profile barrel looks just like what Bushmaster produces. And it also has a chrome lined barrel as best as I can tell and it even appears to have chrome on the feed ramp, which my Colt's doesn't.

So, does this sound like an all Bushmaster gun or just a kit gun built on a Bushmaster lower? The main reason I want to know is just so I don't end up shooting mil-spec ammo through a possible SAAMI chamber if it isn't a Bushmaster. I suppose this is something we will have to watch out for these days when buying used guns because there are so many kits on the market. You never know what you are getting. But should this turn out to be a kit gun, I will just turn it into a plinker/varmint buster and be happy with it anyway I suppose.

Contact Bushmaster, give them the serial number.  They should be able to tell you if it left the factory as a complete rifle or just a lower.  I think they might even be able to tell you the original configuration.

OSA

Thanks for the input OSA. I will contact Bushmaster tomorrow when I get a chance. But in the meantime, you other Bushy owners feel free to chime in. I have an ammo order sitting here waiting to go out tomorrow and the way ammo is going up these days I don't won't to delay too long while trying to get info about this rifle. So, do your Bushy's have any distinguishing markings on the receiver or barrels? If some don't, then chances are my carbine is an all Bushmaster product. I really have no reason to believe otherwise, other than the I had thought Bushmasters had caliber markings on the barrel.

Alright,

On my Busmaster's barrel is has the following markings near the muzzle end:

B MP 5.56 NATO 1/9 H BAR

The upper has the forging suppliers markings near the rear sight, it is raised letters:

FK

There is a web site www.bighammer.net but it seems to be down at the moment.

It has lots of information about this subject.

from Bushmaster's site:

Q: I bought what I thought was a Bushmaster at a gun show. It has a lot of problems, and I think I got taken. How can I be sure of buying a Bushmaster?

A: We have seen this happen many times here. We get rifles all the time for warranty service that have our lower receiver, but every other part is a gun show special. Before purchasing, look things over carefully. You are about to lay down a sizeable chunk of money, so take a minute to be sure of what you are buying.
Bushmaster's identifying marks are:
1. On the barrel, in front of the front sight, it will be stamped:
"B MP 5.56 NATO 1/9 H BAR" (exactly that way). On some barrels, it may be under the handguard, but it will still say that exact thing. The only difference might be a 1/7 instead of a 1/9 . This denotes the rifling twist.
2. Our front sights are held on by two taper pins, one through each of the bands of the front sight. We do not use hollow roll pins, never have - never will.
3. Our handguards have aluminum heat shields in them.
4. Our barrels have the correct gray/green manganese phosphate finish, not black.
5. Our tele-stocks have a small roll pin holding the nut on under the sliding latch. If it's not pinned, it's not ours.
6. Our hammers and triggers have polished contact surfaces.
7. Our bolt carriers have the gas key staked on by 4 V-shaped stamps.
8. We always use aluminum delta rings to retain the handguards.
9. Our buffers have a gold-colored finish on them, which is easy to see inside the stock.
10. Our aluminum parts all have the mil. spec hard anodized flat or matte finish to them, not shiny. This includes the receivers, the charging handle, and the delta ring. However, oil on the surface might make the normally flat or matte finish appear shiny.
The best insurance is to always buy from a local dealer, someone you can go back to if you have any problems. Most of them are reputable, and will at least help you contact the factory for service problems.

Thanks Wiseweasel for the info. I appreciate it. As far as I can tell, my rifle uses the gold colored buffer, it seems to have the correct finish on all the parts, and the front sight is held on exactly as Bushmaster said it should.....with two taper pins and not hollow roll pins. It does have a green stock and forend on it, but this may have been aftermarket anyway. It does have the aluminum heatshields underneath though. I honestly don't know how to remove the handguards, so I never could determine what the barrel said on it. It doesn't have anything written in front of the sight and I couldn't see anything by looking through the little holes on the top and bottom of the forend, so whether anything is there or not, I have no idea.

Again, it also appears that the feed ramp and chamber area are all chromed. None of my Colt rifles, including an SP1 have this. I really can't tell if the barrel has a chrome lining or not, but I think it does.

So I guess at this point, all I can say is that it has a Bushmaster lower and some Bushmaster features on the upper. The front sight is attached just as Bushmaster does it, so chances are pretty good that the barrel at least came from Bushmaster...which is what I wanted to know anyway. The finish on the barrel is gray/green phosphate (mostly gray) so I at least know it isn't an ASA! So perhaps I have an all Bushy afterall. I guess I will just have to call them and provide a serial # to be sure.

I will never make the mistake of buying something I am not 100% sure of again. But it just never occurred to me that this might be a kit until about a day later. Whatever it is, it seems to function well though, so I plan on keeping it I suppose.

I had a Bushmaster and the B MP was forward of the sight but yours could be under the handguard.  Have someone hold the rifle tightly between their knees, use both of your hands to pull down one the Delta ring and use and have person pull off top handguard.  May say something there.  Don't believe Bushmaster offered green stocks but I have them on one of my Colt's.  Available from several sources so that doesn't mean much.

If you didn't pay a premium price and it shoots good, so what.  Enjoy it and modify it as you like.

Bushmaster must only be referring to current production stuff.  I've got a heavy weight 20" target barrel that I bought directly from them about 15 years ago that is totally unmarked, and has never shot better than a 2 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. Also, one of the front sight protecting wings is thinner than the other which makes it a distraction to aim.  Took me 15 years to buy another Bushmaster product; a lower reciever, and it's not as well finished as the Rock River lower I also have.

I ain't one of Bushie's bigger fans

The thing to look for is the BM markings on the barrel!  The Bushmaster receivers don't always  have the raised letters such as FK under the rear sight!     As some are just as good but due to shortages at the factory they buy cast receivers from elsewhere like mine has A splintered A on the receiver(oly).

  I know it sucks,but that's just the way it is,I would be concerned if the barrel wasn't stamped though!  

Like posted contact BM,before getting too bent out!

 Bob  

I bought an A3 upper from a gun show dealer, and I'm still not convinced its all BM.  The barrel/fronsight assembly is definitely Bushmaster (correct markings and finish, etc.), but the flat top upper receiver has an "A" on it.

But it looks great, and shoots great.  So I just pretend it doesn't matter and try to forget about it!  

All of my Bushmaster barrels have the "B MP ..." markings, and they are all forward of the handguards.

For the lower, make sure the contact surfaces on the hammer and trigger are polished.

For the upper, check for the dry lube inside the upper.  I believe that Bushmaster is the only manufacturer that bothers with that.

Quoted: I bought an A3 upper from a gun show dealer, and I'm still not convinced its all BM.  The barrel/fronsight assembly is definitely Bushmaster (correct markings and finish, etc.), but the flat top upper receiver has an "A" on it. But it looks great, and shoots great.  So I just pretend it doesn't matter and try to forget about it!

 The splinterd A is for Oly,just ok.

Its a Bushy!     bob