I will be ordering your typical A2 Postban (I think that's what you call it) parts kit in the very near future.  Just want your standard kit with 20 inch barrel.  I will probably be ordering from one of three companies, Model 1, J&T, or M&A.  Am I leaving a company out that I should consider?  

All I really need is a complete upper, since I just got done building up the lower section of the rifle.  Used a DPMS forged lower and Rock River Arms lower parts kit (with 2 state trigger) from Pete.  

Why is that I can buy a complete kit for a little over $400 but an upper kit goes for almost the same money?  What am I getting confused on?

Thanks for guiding/helping a newbie AR builder. Man, these rifles are great!!  Bet they are even more fun to shoot!!

vmax84

You definitely can't go wrong with J&T... I've got two kits from them (yes, I know this does not make me an expert!) and was VERY happy with both.

Lately, I've ordered a few parts (including an A2 upper) from Model 1 and was quite pleased.  They have good prices and the quality was good.  What impressed me most was, the 3 times I ordered parts, they shipped the same day.

Scot

I think if you look on the forum you will see that everyone has their opinion on each of those distributors. For the most part they are all good. I personally have an M&A kit. I'm very happy with it. The reason I went with them is they have a presence at several of the local gun shows. It basically saves me the shipping cost and I get to "touch" it before I buy it.

I'm also lookg to do some business with CMMG for the same reason. They are fairly close to me and seem to have some good prices.

My suggestion would be to make a list of the things you "must have" and see which offers the best price.

You noticed that, too!  I was just thinking the same thing the other day...I ended up ordering the full kit, figuring that I was gettting the lower parts kit for free, if you factored in the going rate for a complete buttstock assembly.  I guess it just means that the corners that get cut in terms of quality/cost are in the buttstock and lower parts, not in the upper.  

VMAX84  THE LAST TWO J&T KITS I RECEIVED . THE UPPER CAME COMPLETE . IT SAVES YOU ALOT TIME AND TOOLS  PLUS THEY WORK AND FUNCTION GREAT. I HAVE CLOSE TO 3000 RNDS THROUGH MY STANDARD A2 HAS'NT STOPPED YET   GOOD LUCK ON YOUR BUILD

If you get the kit, you have the extra parts for the whole lower.  Nice to have them already if you ever need them.  Like you said, the prices don't make sense, but I just look at it as I will never have to buy any lower internal parts...  I've gone to JT several times and have nothing but praise for them.

This was a bad time for me to order a kit with my divorce being final this Friday, but I thought what the hell and ordered a post-ban kit from M&A.  The guy answered all my silly questions, spent quite a bit of time with him on the phone.....guess there's no time like the present.  Already have a complete lower with a RRA two stage trigger ready to mount the upper on.  Like I said, probably shouldn't have ordered it, but thought I'd treat myself since I'm feeling a little down about the whole divorce thing.  I'll let you know how the kit looks when it shows up.  

vmax84

I don't think you'll go wrong with M&A. I personally prefer J&T, and can't say enough about the quality of the stuff I've ordered in the past. I hope they maintain their high quality now that they're a manufacturer of complete rifles (DoubleStar Corp). I've met the owners of both J&T and M&A and thought they were good people.

I'm new here and just trying to find out some more info. Would buying a complete RRA Upper be worth it? From what I can tell so far, I can get a complete one for the same price as the lower, lower parts kit and buttstock. Also, any good sites for uppers?
I checked out http://www.jtdistributing.com/  and could not find any complete uppers that didn't already come with the lower parts kit and buttstock.
Does anybody know where to find complete uppers that have chrome lined chamber and barrel? I'm mainly looking for a mil-spec 16" barrel ar for my first one, it may be awhile before I could do another one.

Thanks for any input you guys can offer,
Dan

I bought a complete 20" upper RRA from http://www.adcofirearms.com -- flat rate shipping ($4 for a complete upper) and great service.  Highly recommended if you just want a complete upper Dan and not a full kit.

-Dan

What I have always done is order the whole kit, and then sell the extra parts on ebay, you can really get a lot of money for the extra parts, often more than they are worth.

--Dan

Thanks alot guys, that's exactly what I was looking for! That'll help me out quite a bit.

Thanks again,

Dan

Just recieved my 20" A2 with detach carry handle today from J&T they were great. can't wait to shoot it.

put it together and the fit with my mega lower is perfect already have put 250 rounds through no a single problem.

Then again, a 20" ar would be pretty cool too, decisions, decisions..............