Just got back from a very large show in VA where they had evil black gun stuff for sale.  I had picked up three PWA lowers earlier and needed some uppers.  Two dealers had complete "FN" uppers.  I had read a thread posted here that said that just ain't so and asked the dealer how he could have gotten "FN" uppers.  His reply were that they were from "FN" suppliers.  I left.  I came back later to the same dealer and asked who made the uppers - this time they were "military contract" uppers.  A second dealer had "FN" uppers with wilson barrels.  Again I asked, and this guy insisted they were from FN.  I asked if they were from the the Korean rifle buy - nope, from FN.  I left.  There were NO marks that I could see on either the barrels or the uppers to really ID them.

So, what's the deal with the FN upper thing?  

I found a couple of previous threads on the FN uppers, one even had a response from FN, but I can't find the thread with the response now.

you will not find real fn made parts out there unless they were stolen

Was it J&T again?

No - it was not J&T.

FN subs sell their overruns. It happens a lot.

Is there anything I can look for that might tell me who made the upper?  

It was a nice "looking" setup.  The dealer said it was an FN supplier upper, an ER/Shaw 16" 1:9 barrel, it had a phanton flash hider a Yankee Machine rail system and a gas block (CGMI???) with flip up front sight.  I checked the gas tube alignment by sliding a carrier assembly back and forth and it did not hang anywhere.  I really wanted to plunk down the $600 he wanted and put it on my LMT lower, but it just didn't "feel" right.

Quoted: FN subs sell their overruns. It happens a lot.

Yeah, but FN doesn't sub their uppers. They make them themselves.

There are some FN A2 type uppers out there; so marked.  

There are also some A1 and A2 type FN barrels out there.  Again, marked w/FNs production markings.

These are, in all likelihood, US Army surplused pieces, since they no longer use either A2 type uppers nor 20" barrels. Any other major pieces, like flat top uppers, being sold as "FN" are either stolen, or more likely put out by an outfit that once sold FN a bunch of triggers, or hammers, or whatever. That does NOT make them FN pieces, and the crooked dealers who try to tell you that they are should be boycotted by the folks here.

Quoted: Quoted: FN subs sell their overruns. It happens a lot. Yeah, but FN doesn't sub their uppers. They make them themselves. There are some FN A2 type uppers out there; so marked.   There are also some A1 and A2 type FN barrels out there.  Again, marked w/FNs production markings. These are, in all likelihood, US Army surplused pieces, since they no longer use either A2 type uppers nor 20" barrels. Any other major pieces, like flat top uppers, being sold as "FN" are either stolen, or more likely put out by an outfit that once sold FN a bunch of triggers, or hammers, or whatever. That does NOT make them FN pieces, and the crooked dealers who try to tell you that they are should be boycotted by the folks here.

That's been my slant on this whole issue all along.  You can get FN parts, I've had a 20" FNMI MP 5.56 NATO 1/7 gov't profile barrel, I have an FN A2 upper receiver, I have a neutered FN M16 hammer in one of my ARs, and I have about one dozen FN extractors - BUT - what you are getting from these dealers are not FN uppers.  They are uppers assembled by the dealers with milspec parts, some of which may have a VERY LOOSE tie to the FN company, the barrels NOT being one of the FN parts.

Thanks for the advice guys....