Morning everyone. Wanted to get some opinions as I am getting tired waiting on an order I placed back on 1/26. Ordered the following for $387, https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...iver-20-bull-barrel-m-lok-handguard?a=2229779, and it continues to get delayed in shipping. Just got my third notice that now it is not expected until July. Wondering if i should just cancel the order and look for something better, or if this is in fact a descent setup, continue to wait. I don't pay till it ships so not hurting there. I have had a hard time finding reviews on this setup and the star rating/reviews on the site seem to be slipping down hill from when i ordered it. Any opinions on whether its worth the wait or just cancel and do something else? Thanks in advance!
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Worth the Wait ? - Anderson 5.56/.223 Complete Upper Bull Barrel
- Thread starter Pandemic326
- Start date
I've used Anderson parts before and they are fine for the money, but you won't be winning any precision shooting competitions with them. At $387, you're kind of trudging the bottom of the barrel. They'll run pretty reliably and work well enough for recreational use. For what it's worth, I'd put Anderson in the same range as the lower range PSA Freedom offerings, and above BCA. In other words, not bad for a starter rifle, but you'll may find that it limits your potential in the long run...
I played with some budget uppers (PSA, Anderson) when I got started, and they helped me get used to the platform on a budget until I honed my skills and learned my preferences. Nowadays I typically spend about that much money on the barrel by itself and build everything on my own. You may not be there yet, and that's fine. If that's the case, you could spend more and do worse than that upper at $387. If you're not in a rush, I'd wait it out. You might get lucky and get an MOA shooter with good ammo.
I played with some budget uppers (PSA, Anderson) when I got started, and they helped me get used to the platform on a budget until I honed my skills and learned my preferences. Nowadays I typically spend about that much money on the barrel by itself and build everything on my own. You may not be there yet, and that's fine. If that's the case, you could spend more and do worse than that upper at $387. If you're not in a rush, I'd wait it out. You might get lucky and get an MOA shooter with good ammo.
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buy this upper, it will be sub MOA and if you ever decide to sell it will hold its value. The guaranteed performance is worth the extra 230.00. They have slower twist if you are looking that
White Oak makes top-tier rifles, and that upper you recommended is absolutely going to be better than the Anderson. But it doesn't come with a BCG or Charging handle (Anderson does), so you'll need to factor in another $120-150 to the total cost. In my opinion, the WOA is absolutely worth the difference, but that's up to the OP to decide. For what it's worth, the cost of ammo over the life of this upper will dwarf the initial purchase cost considerably. Buy once, cry once?buy this upper, it will be sub MOA and if you ever decide to sell it will hold its value. The guaranteed performance is worth the extra 230.00. They have slower twist if you are looking that
That is a ready to run upper, bcg and all.
Thanks everyone. I admit I have the 3 small children budget so that factors in. Also I am new to building my own so completely lost with brands and what are good values and what are turds. Am I reading right that the general recommendation from the posts above would be to go with the white oak which is a complete upper including big and charging handle and has an estimated ship of 12 weeks but could ship sooner? And ditch the Anderson upper?
sorry for my ignorance and appreciate the help!
sorry for my ignorance and appreciate the help!
I can't tell if the WOA upper has a BCG . ( Maybe I missed that , so call / e-mail to be sure. )
But the WOA upper well worth the extra cost. I have far more confidence in WOA.
And given the cost of ammo... the better barrel is a bargain.
And we all had to start somewhere... so don't feel ignorant., Heck, I'd bet if we all could do it all start over again, with our current experience.... we could save a ton of money, and have better shooting rifles. ... Lol
But the WOA upper well worth the extra cost. I have far more confidence in WOA.
And given the cost of ammo... the better barrel is a bargain.
And we all had to start somewhere... so don't feel ignorant., Heck, I'd bet if we all could do it all start over again, with our current experience.... we could save a ton of money, and have better shooting rifles. ... Lol
Id go with Anderson. You wont chase that much more accuracy at this pricepoint. Reviews for anderson bull barrels are pretty good. You're not in precision category here, spend accordingly
In case it wasn’t made clear enough, the WOA upper comes with BCG and charging handle (the website says so).
To the OP, what is your intent of the upper ? If you want consistent precision and accuracy you need to be willing to shell out the $$ for quality match ammo as well. If you don’t have a stash of quality ammo on hand, right now is a bad time to get into precision shooting on a budget.
Assuming you have the ammo part figured out, I’d go with the WOA complete upper. You will likely save yourself much heartache and frustration. I tried to do “precision shooting” with uppers that weren’t purposed built for precision and that was an exercise in futility. I’m sure if you got the Anderson upper it will put together a decent group some of the time, but it probably won’t be consistent. And that’s where I fell into the trap of “maybe that bad group was on me” and “this next group will be different”. For me, all the time and ammo was spent when I worked at a range and had daily access to a 200 yard bay.
Since moving on to a different job, range time with a rifle is harder to come by and I couldn’t imagine spending as much time I did on the firing line with an upper I was not satisfied with out of the gate. I recently got a WOA SPR upper and it was the upper I wished I first got when I entered into precision shooting with an AR. After 250+ rounds I have not one “bad” or “frustrating” range session with it yet. But I’m also happy with consistent sub 1 MOA prone groups with factory match ammo (that the upper likes) and sub 2 MOA groups shooting from various barricade positions.
Perhaps it took me 1000’s of rounds of experimentation to have the perspective I have now, but I wish to save you from the headaches I put myself through
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To the OP, what is your intent of the upper ? If you want consistent precision and accuracy you need to be willing to shell out the $$ for quality match ammo as well. If you don’t have a stash of quality ammo on hand, right now is a bad time to get into precision shooting on a budget.
Assuming you have the ammo part figured out, I’d go with the WOA complete upper. You will likely save yourself much heartache and frustration. I tried to do “precision shooting” with uppers that weren’t purposed built for precision and that was an exercise in futility. I’m sure if you got the Anderson upper it will put together a decent group some of the time, but it probably won’t be consistent. And that’s where I fell into the trap of “maybe that bad group was on me” and “this next group will be different”. For me, all the time and ammo was spent when I worked at a range and had daily access to a 200 yard bay.
Since moving on to a different job, range time with a rifle is harder to come by and I couldn’t imagine spending as much time I did on the firing line with an upper I was not satisfied with out of the gate. I recently got a WOA SPR upper and it was the upper I wished I first got when I entered into precision shooting with an AR. After 250+ rounds I have not one “bad” or “frustrating” range session with it yet. But I’m also happy with consistent sub 1 MOA prone groups with factory match ammo (that the upper likes) and sub 2 MOA groups shooting from various barricade positions.
Perhaps it took me 1000’s of rounds of experimentation to have the perspective I have now, but I wish to save you from the headaches I put myself through
.OP I forgot to ask how you will be using this upper? I linked WOA varmint to match the one in your link.
if you do a search on service rifle national matches you will see the WOA and Compass Lake Engineering are highly rated. Near the end on 2020 CLE raised their pricing, and I have a feeling WOA will be doing the same.
if you do a search on service rifle national matches you will see the WOA and Compass Lake Engineering are highly rated. Near the end on 2020 CLE raised their pricing, and I have a feeling WOA will be doing the same.
Thanks everyone. I am not a competition shooter but who doesn’t want to hit the bullseye! I’m gonna cancel my Anderson and go with the recommendation of WOA. Really appreciate all the feedback and knowledge sharing.
They are a good / middle ground that work well for stripped receivers and other small parts. There are better manufacturers out there that run tighter quality control and tighter tolerances. You will hear a lot of people say “Mil spec is Mil spec” but that is far from true.
Nope; I just got shipping today on an SPR upper placed 13 days ago. Slated delivery date is 15 days after order.
no...why do you think that? Do you think Anderson can't shoot moa or moa(ish) here? Is there really a $300 worth of difference between some suggestions and this setup for a guy who said it's a range toy and he's not really interested in chasing precision?
Actually, is your ignorant retort a bad joke or are you devoid of enough experience and/or cognitive reasoning to understand what the OP is driving for?
you recommended woa, used plenty of woa barrels but for OP, not worth the extra coin.
your move smart guy
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