If you’re building an AR-15 rifle platform from the ground up, with respect to the upper, you can either buy a complete upper receiver, or a stripped upper and then get the rest of the parts and put it all together.
With a complete upper receiver, you basically just mate it to a complete lower and have a functioning rifle. With a stripped upper, there’ll be a bit more work.
In some cases, building with the former is the better option. These are some of those.
1. You need to save time
Making a functioning rifle from a complete upper receiver is a matter of mating it to the lower receiver and installing the takedown pins that secure it. Assuming all the parts in your lower are compatible, that’s about all there is to it.
2. You need to save money
Buying a complete assembled upper can also potentially save you money since you won’t have to buy all the AR-15 parts piecemeal. You’ll have to be careful with this though because it’s also possible to spend more money on a complete upper, depending.
3. You don’t know what AR-15 parts you need
This is possibly the single best reason to build with a complete upper receiver. There are a lot of parts that go into a rifle’s upper and they all must be compatible with each other. It’s like a car, so to speak; if you’re not sure what you need or how to assemble them, go with the complete upper option.
4. You’re not confident with firearm mechanics
It could also be that you just aren’t confident enough to complete the build on your own, in which case a complete upper is easier and safer than a stripped upper. If you don’t trust your abilities to pick out the right parts that are compatible, just get a complete upper instead.
5. You just want to get a rifle built and you don’t care about customizations
One of the main reasons that people build rifles with stripped uppers and parts instead of complete uppers is they like to completely customize the build along the way. If that just isn’t worth much to you, there’s no reason to expend the extra effort. Just get a complete assembled upper and finish the build that way.
6. You’re sensitive to shortages
Recently, there have been shortages of ammo, guns, and gun parts. If you buy the AR-15 parts you need to assemble a rifle you might be able to circumvent some of the shortages that have been plaguing the industry.
Why Is a Complete Upper Receiver Perhaps Not the Right Choice?
On the flipside, building with a complete upper receiver is not always the best route. Here are some times when it might make more sense to customize with a stripped upper receiver.
1. You want to customize the rifle
If you’re big into tinkering, then building with a complete upper receiver will probably not prove too fulfilling to you. It might be better for you to get a stripped upper receiver and then play around with the parts you want to add. You can customize the barrel in terms of length and finish, the muzzle device, the gas system, the bolt carrier group and more.
2. You want to learn how the whole thing works
You will not be able to assemble a functioning rifle from a stripped upper and parts without getting pretty well familiar with what all the parts are, what they do, how to install them, and how they work together. If you like learning about that sort of thing, consider it an effective crash course in firearm mechanics.
3. You really enjoy working with your hands
For those of you that really like working with your hands, there’ll be more gratification in building a rifle from the sundry AR-15 parts than there will be from “plugging in” an upper and lower. The stripped upper and parts route is probably the one for you to take.
4. You take pride of ownership in building
Lastly, if you just enjoy the work and get a lot out of completely building something from the ground up, then the more involved you can make the process, the more you will get out of it in the end. Get a stripped upper and an upper parts kit, or better yet, purchase all your parts separately, and go from there.
Shop Complete Upper Receivers and AR-15 Parts Here
Whether you’re here for a complete upper receiver, an assembled upper that’s basically a plug and play option, or you’re looking for piecemeal AR-15 parts so you can assemble your own custom rifle from the ground up, take a look through our collections and get in touch with us at Sales@MCSGearup.com if you have any questions.