04-13-2023, 05:09 AM
have you considered just doing a search for a 20" 6.5 Grendel complete upper?
https://moriartiarmaments.com/6.5-grendel-uppers
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/caliber...ppers.html
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-6-5-grendel-uppers/
https://sandersarmoryusa.com/product/san...-assembly/
https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/m4e1-en...-ss-barrel
https://ar15parts.com/upper-assemblies/6...pers-ar15/
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/6-5-gre...flash.html
that's only a few of the search results that came up out there.
costs for complete uppers range from just under 3 bills to as much as you want to spend I suppose.
depends if you're expecting 1/4MOA or smaller groups? if so big $ on barrel. As GrayFox pointed out, barrel quality has a major effect on rifle accuracy.
also depends on if you're looking for a heavy build or a featherweight build. barrel, handguard, scope and mount have a big influence on weight.
also depends if you want to get the tools and training and build an upper yourself, for the experience.
my first upper was a budget complete upper. shoots "average" 1.25 to 1.5 MOA. I really need to shoot it some more. I think it'll settle down with a few more rounds down the tube. and I was learning how to shoot the AR platform as the ergo's were totally different than anything I had used before.
my 2nd upper I wanted to assemble it from parts to learn how to do that, and to get a much lighter build with just the parts I wanted.
So it depends on many things. Blunt Force Trauma on this forum has a nice site for a 20" tube, though it appears he's out of stock on it at the moment: https://www.sixfiveoutfitters.com/
I wanted a light weight 20" upper build when I was putting my 2nd upper together, so went with the faxon gunner profile barrel as it appeared to be the lightest 20" production tube I could find. And considered each part of the upper for function vs weight and made my choices.
if you want to learn and are willing to take your time and do the research, assembling your own upper from a basket of parts was a great learning experience for me. I like to tinker with that kind of thing. Others just want to put a complete upper on, attach a scope, and get to the range and zero it and do some shooting. For them a complete off the shelf upper is more in line with their interests I would think.
if you want an upper out of the range of normal offerings, that you'll have to assemble from parts like I did to get a much lighter weight AR than "normal". If weight is not that critical and 1 to 2 MOA is acceptable, than there are likely many off the shelf 20" complete uppers that could work fine for you. It's not always the case but likely the spendier off the shelf offerings are that way due to higher quality barrels being used.
As I stated at the beginning, if you expect 1/4 MOA, you're going to spend a LOT on the upper, no surprise. Match rifles are spendy.
Good luck with your decision. I couldn't decide between a long barreled heavy match AR vs a light weight hunting one. So I got 2 very different 6.5 Grendel uppers eventually, that cover the two extremes.
-tdbru
https://moriartiarmaments.com/6.5-grendel-uppers
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/caliber...ppers.html
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-6-5-grendel-uppers/
https://sandersarmoryusa.com/product/san...-assembly/
https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/m4e1-en...-ss-barrel
https://ar15parts.com/upper-assemblies/6...pers-ar15/
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/6-5-gre...flash.html
that's only a few of the search results that came up out there.
costs for complete uppers range from just under 3 bills to as much as you want to spend I suppose.
depends if you're expecting 1/4MOA or smaller groups? if so big $ on barrel. As GrayFox pointed out, barrel quality has a major effect on rifle accuracy.
also depends on if you're looking for a heavy build or a featherweight build. barrel, handguard, scope and mount have a big influence on weight.
also depends if you want to get the tools and training and build an upper yourself, for the experience.
my first upper was a budget complete upper. shoots "average" 1.25 to 1.5 MOA. I really need to shoot it some more. I think it'll settle down with a few more rounds down the tube. and I was learning how to shoot the AR platform as the ergo's were totally different than anything I had used before.
my 2nd upper I wanted to assemble it from parts to learn how to do that, and to get a much lighter build with just the parts I wanted.
So it depends on many things. Blunt Force Trauma on this forum has a nice site for a 20" tube, though it appears he's out of stock on it at the moment: https://www.sixfiveoutfitters.com/
I wanted a light weight 20" upper build when I was putting my 2nd upper together, so went with the faxon gunner profile barrel as it appeared to be the lightest 20" production tube I could find. And considered each part of the upper for function vs weight and made my choices.
if you want to learn and are willing to take your time and do the research, assembling your own upper from a basket of parts was a great learning experience for me. I like to tinker with that kind of thing. Others just want to put a complete upper on, attach a scope, and get to the range and zero it and do some shooting. For them a complete off the shelf upper is more in line with their interests I would think.
if you want an upper out of the range of normal offerings, that you'll have to assemble from parts like I did to get a much lighter weight AR than "normal". If weight is not that critical and 1 to 2 MOA is acceptable, than there are likely many off the shelf 20" complete uppers that could work fine for you. It's not always the case but likely the spendier off the shelf offerings are that way due to higher quality barrels being used.
As I stated at the beginning, if you expect 1/4 MOA, you're going to spend a LOT on the upper, no surprise. Match rifles are spendy.
Good luck with your decision. I couldn't decide between a long barreled heavy match AR vs a light weight hunting one. So I got 2 very different 6.5 Grendel uppers eventually, that cover the two extremes.
-tdbru