With all the panic buying going on these days, I had not planned to
participate until a brand new AR lower fell into my lap for slightly
over $100. I had an extra lower build out kit, so I assembled it,
using the excellent CAA 6-position collapsible stock.

Now, the question is, what style of carbine upper? The way I see it,
my options are

1. An M4gery upper from akpartskits.com. It has a 16 inch barrel with
1:9 twist on an LMT A2 style upper. $330 and no bolt assembly or
charging handle.

2. An A3 upper from akpartskits.com. It has a 16 inch barrel with no
grenade launcher cut on an LMT flattop style upper and 1:9 twist with
an A2 style front sight. $290 and no bolt assembly or charging handle.

3. CMMG M18M SPR Upper. It has an 18 inch heavy barrel with a rifle
length gas system, 1:8 twist, and is a "dissipator" configuration with
a rifle length sight radius. It comes with a flattop upper, but can be
uipgraded to an A2 upper for $25. It also comes with the bolt assembly
and charging handle. Total is $625.

The CMMG is my favorite option, but I wonder if the carbine will be
very front-heavy with the barrel that is 0.875 inches behind the gas
block. I like the idea of the extra 2 inches for velocity sake, and
the heavy barrel for heat dissipation and stiffness. OTOH, the other
two options will be a lot lighter.

The other issue is that I know that CMMG is quality. I have lots of
friends that have CMMG uppers and guns, and all are very satisfied. I
don't know a lot about akpartskits.com, except that they use LMT
forged uppers, and barrels from Wilson and Mossberg. They are run by
a company called Blackthorn, which is, IIRC, a subsidiary of Hesse.
My one experience with a Hesse product (stainless FAL receiver) has
been wonderful, but, I have read of a host of problems that other
people have had.

If it makes any difference, my other AR is a Bushmaster, and I would
expect at least the same performance from this carbine as I would for
my Bushy.

So, what do you guys think?

..Phil