I have a left-handed A2 upper receiver, with 20" barrel, which is stamped with a 5-digit number "953xx-1 2" on the right side.  It has a DPMS free-float hand tube, and came to me mounted on an early DPMS lower (S/N 12xxK), reportedly assembled from DPMS parts, in DPMS' days in Becker, MN (maybe late 1990's?  The "95xxx" might be a year+ 3-digit serial).  I sent a note to DMPS to help ID the upper, but they reported that their uppers are unserialized.

Anybody know who might have stamped their A2 uppers in the 90,000 range, in the late 90's or so?

-Whitman

I didn't think DPMS made left handed uppers; if they do now, they didn't back then.

DPMS made the first left hand uppers.  They are not a refined mirror image like the newer Stags are, but rather a RH model milled for lefty parts. I'm not sure when they started, but they had lefty uppers in the early 2000s.  The "K" in your serial number indicates that i was sold as a stripped lower by DPMS.  do you have a picture of the upper's "serial number" as well as the entire upper?  For all intents and purposes nobody serials upper.

advntrjnky

I'm gonna guess that maybe it's a cage code?

Some pictures to help show the numbers:
http://www.specialgreen.com/img/ar15-left-small.jpg
http://www.specialgreen.com/img/ar15-right-small.jpg
http://www.specialgreen.com/img/ar15-upper-small.jpg
http://www.specialgreen.com/img/ar15-lower-small.jpg

Note the case deflector is on the right side, but the eject is on the left  

Oh, yeah, I remember those.

I believe that number is a forging number.  Normally, that area would be milled away when they opened up the ejection port... but they don't (on that side) on that rifle, so the number is still there.

yup, looks like some die numbers from the forging process.  looks like an entire DPMS "kit gun". DPMS sold a ton of AR rifle "kits" both with and without a stripped lower in the mid to late 90s and early to mid 2000s.  yours looks like a forged lower, so is of post '94 ban manufacture.  Does it have a "round" or "notched" hammer?

advntrjnky

Thanks, advntrjnky and eodinert.  It's a notched hammer.
When did DPMS switch to rounded?

BTW, I'm using a RRA 2-stage now.  The DPMS trigger group with notched hammer was 13 lbs., with a long pull.

http://www.specialgreen.com/img/hammer.jpg