I am wanting to get a new AR in a couple of months.

I currently have a 16' BCM upper on a Bushy lower. I guess it's a standard upper, not light weight and it's not free float.
I have a Magpul hand guard on it.

I'm wanting either 16 " or 18"  barrel free floated with M-Lok hand guards.

My question is, should I buy another upper that's a light weight and had it free floated or have what I have turned into a free float ?

The weight right now isn't much of a problem but I hear the light weight ones are good.

I'm not skilled enough to free float one myself so I'd have to have this done.

I'm also going to get an SBR soon and want to get a suppressor that will fit both.

My next question is, can I have flash suppressors added to each legally before having my suppressor stamp in hand ?

Would a suppressor work for both these configurations ?  

Any and all input, recommendations, suggestions or critiques are welcomed .

Free floating is easy, you'll need a vice, vice blocks to hold the upper, wrench for the free float barrel nut depending on manufacturers, and a torque wrench. If you buy a supressor rated for however short you are going with the sbr then yes it will work with both. And you can put the mounts on before you even buy a supressor.

And depending on what and how you want to shoot will determine what a new or longer barrel will do for you. A longer barrel will get you a little extra range in the form of feet per second, but a quality barrel of almost any length is going to be accurate.

Thanks mizzarley for the reply.

I don't have a block and no clue on how.
I guess I could look at You Tube I'm sure it's probably there.

Still makes me nervous, would hate to screw something up.

I know BCM is having a deal going on right now.

I don't know whether to get a light weight or a standard upper like I have now.

I was thinking I might like to have a truck gun also.

To many choices out there.

Sounds like you have caught the Black Rifle Disease... lol

I have a LW BCM upper and I like it a lot. I am assuming your current has a front sight block on it? If so there are a couple of FF rail options out there that don't require you to remove the FSB or barrel nut, but they are standard quad rails, not M-Lok.

Before making any recommendations, what are the specifications on your current upper? Carbine gas system or mid-length? Barrel profile? For what is the purpose for the new upper intended? The configuration you may want will depend on this. I recently did a Recce build with a 16" mid-length SOCOM profile with a 15" Midwest Industries SSM M-LOK handguard. For its purpose, I wanted a smoother shooting AR with good  accuracy. It does have a Harris bipod attached, so there is a little weight added up front, but without the bipod, it is fairly light. The M-LOK handguard saves a lot of weight. BTW, the MI SSM M-LOK handguards come with a proprietary barrel nut and wrench. Installation is a breeze.



Here is how it fits with the receiver.

Most folks possess more skill than they give themselves credit for, to borrow an old EOD adage: if you can bake a cake, you can make a bomb.

You just follow instructions.  The hard part is coordinating good instructions with the proper part(s).  That's where most folks lose it, like you said... there's just too many options out there and it's easy to get vapor-locked from the sheer number.  So I'd actually focus on purpose and look for parts that solve your problems with purpose.

Since you're interested in an M-LOK hand guard, I'd look into ALG Defense (owned by Bill Geisselle's wife), they do it right with tolerances, manufacturing process, materials, and price point.

Besides the vise and block set, you don't need much more than a section of pipe to install their hand guard.  Not kidding, they supply everything else needed to fit their hand guard... and the instructions are excellent.

Installing a set-screwed gas block is easier than you'd expect, it can be done well with a hand-held drill with a little practice beforehand.

For that, I would actually use the instructions that come with a Geisselle super gas block, they're the most concise I've seen to-date.  They recommend a gunsmith installation, but you can do it yourself if you're even a little handy with tools, plan ahead a little, and can follow instructions.  Most gunsmiths are simply gonna follow the manufacturer installation instructions anyway.

Installing a suppressor-capable flash hider isn't a legal problem prior to a stamped form in-hand.  You cannot receive a suppressor from a dealer until your form arrives anyhow, so don't worry about that.

However, you cannot construct a short-barreled rifle without a stamped form.  
Head on over to the SBR sub-forum for details, there's some knowledgeable folks in there that can help.

Long story short: if you wanna make another upper that uses a free-floated hand guard... just go ahead and do it.  It ain't that much money.
That's one of the cool things about an AR15, you can snap one upper receiver off and put another one on to suit what you want or need.

But you won't stop there, you'll just make another rifle.

Thanks for all the reply's.

My BCM had mid length gas tube with a front sight gas block.

Oh BlueCollar_SD, yes I have, but I've been trying to be good.

I'm just planing on being bad for a few months. Two new Glocks are in my future also.



jrs93accord, I think you have my upper !

That's pretty much what I'm wanting.

tweeter, you have more faith in me then I do with this, lol.

I'm worried I'll do something like mess up my head space or something.

Not even possible if you're keeping your current barrel and bolt.  For the price of a new upper you can get a good rail and all the armor's tools you'll need to do the job correctly.  You'll be way ahead in the future and you're already starting with an excellent factory upper.  If a suppressor is in your future you may want to look into low profile gas blocks like the SLR Sentry 7.  Go slow, research as much as you can, and take what you find on Youtube with a grain of salt.  Lot's or half-assery going on there like polishing random things, ghetto fab feed ramps, and red lockite crimes against humanity.

I experienced that when I was looking for vid's on putting a power together.
Luckily I found a good one after just watching a few bad ones.

I was wondering about the gas block and if I'd need  an adjustable one for a suppressor or not.

Have a couple more questions.

Could someone point out a good YouTube vid I can watch so I can see if I want to attempt the free float ?

This I might need to ask in the suppressor forum but since I already have this started I'll ask here.

Would the FSB already on my upper work with a suppressor and if it would, could I just cut off the front sight and use it ?

Thanks

Bump for one more try.

Your fsb will work with a suppressor

A adjustable version (noveske swithblock, for example) will help with gas blowback,  as will a gas buster ch, and several other mods

Lots of people here shave their fsb's, but if you plan on using a suppressor a lot,  get an adjustable gas block