Posted by on 9/22/2021 to
The Upper Receiver is a very important part of the rifle. The Bolt Carrier Group, perhaps the hardest working part of the AR is housed within. The ejection port, or the place where spent shells are ejected from, is here. Frequently, there is also a protrusion, called the brass deflector, that blocks the shells from flying into your face. There is often a dust cover over the ejection port. There is usually a Picatinny rail on top and often a forward assist.
There is usually not a whole lot of difference from one upper to another, though you can find some with very unique designs. For example, the War Dog Industries Skeletonized Upper Receiver has a very interesting look, for a good price. This Upper allows you to see inside of it, so you can watch as your Bolt Carrier Group does its thing. If that doesn’t get you excited enough to fire your gun some more, it also saves on weight and allows for faster heat disbursement, at the cost of allowing more dust into your Upper Receiver. So there is a trade-off here but it may be worth it depending on what you are looking for. You can always get the set too, with the matching Lower Receiver. Together they weigh 15 ounces, that’s without any of the internals though.
Of course, our own Davidson Defense Upper Receiver is a great choice. Not only can you get it at a low relative cost, but it is quality. It comes with all the things you would expect a quality upper to come with, the Picatinny rail, the ejection port, even a forward assist. On top of all that it is made with high-quality 7075-T6 aluminum, so you know it will last as long as you want it to. It is compatible with most other AR parts, and this one does have M4 feed ramps, so important depending on what you are needing. These are designed mainly for the type of ammo that is customary for an AR. .223 Wylde or 5.56 NATO though with adjustments it can fire rounds up to mid-range size, like 6.5 Grendels or .300 Blackouts.
One of the most important decisions that you will need to make concerning your Upper Receiver is whether to get one with a forward assist or not. Everyone is different, there are reasons for and against, or maybe you just don’t really care. If you don’t really have a preference then that is one less thing you’ll need to take into consideration. However if you do want one, or don’t, many of these come in similar styles but with and without a forward assist. With many of these, the forward assist actually needs to be purchased separately. It will just have the hole and the extra material sticking out.
