View Full Version : Swapping DPMS Sportacle Upper Receiver
This is a noobish question so sorry for bugging the vets :D. Im new to the ar platform and picked up a dpms sportacle( slick sided upper) on the cheap from a buddy. Its been reliable but im looking to change out the upper receiver to one with a dust cover,brass deflector, and forward assist. Will this gun use any ar upper receiver or does dpms use any special dimensions on their rifles. Ive read where their lr308 rifles have different specs than other ar10 based rifles is why i ask.
Word of advice. Don't waste your time with that upper. Sell it complete as is and get another.
This is a noobish question so sorry for bugging the vets :D. Im new to the ar platform and picked up a dpms sportacle( slick sided upper) on the cheap from a buddy. Its been reliable but im looking to change out the upper receiver to one with a dust cover,brass deflector, and forward assist. Will this gun use any ar upper receiver or does dpms use any special dimensions on their rifles. Ive read where their lr308 rifles have different specs than other ar10 based rifles is why i ask.
Word of advice. Don't waste your time with that upper. Sell it complete as is and get another.
Seconded.
To answer your question, yes, you could swap out the upper. AR-15s are universal in design with very few exceptions -- nothing like .308 ARs. You would need a bench vise, upper receiver vise blocks, a barrel nut wrench, a 1/2" torque wrench, a set of Allen wrenches, and a set of punches at minimum. Probably not the most cost effective approach, especially if you would have to buy several of those tools.
As was said, you could just buy a better complete barreled upper and defray the costs by selling your existing complete upper.
Here's another option to consider: just shell out the cash for a new complete upper, and hang onto your other one. Then as you have the money, piece together a stripped lower and the parts you need to complete it. Then you can put the new upper on the new lower, and put the Sportical back in original factory configuration. That way you will have a complete factory rifle with box and everything to sell when the next crisis hits, as it inevitably will around the time of the election later this year. You could probably double or even triple your money on that DPMS.
To answer your question, yes, you could swap out the upper. AR-15s are universal in design with very few exceptions -- nothing like .308 ARs. You would need a bench vise, upper receiver vise blocks, a barrel nut wrench, a 1/2" torque wrench, a set of Allen wrenches, and a set of punches at minimum. Probably not the most cost effective approach, especially if you would have to buy several of those tools.
As was said, you could just buy a better complete barreled upper and defray the costs by selling your existing complete upper.
Here's another option to consider: just shell out the cash for a new complete upper, and hang onto your other one. Then as you have the money, piece together a stripped lower and the parts you need to complete it. Then you can put the new upper on the new lower, and put the Sportical back in original factory configuration. That way you will have a complete factory rifle with box and everything to sell when the next crisis hits, as it inevitably will around the time of the election later this year. You could probably double or even triple your money on that DPMS.I didn't think there would be a difference just wanted to confirm it. Yeah the only costs would be the price of the upper receiver itself. A friend of a friend is letting me borrow the vise blocks and wrench he used on a free float handguard install. The other stuff i already have out in the shop. Im planning on building a better quality ar later this year and this gun will mainly be a spare or plinker for the kids.
Word of advice. Don't waste your time with that upper. Sell it complete as is and get another.
Well i took your advice and ended up trading the entire rifle in on a Colt.:cool:
556BlackRifle
02-21-16, 00:10
Well i took your advice and ended up trading the entire rifle in on a Colt.:cool:
Congrats! Which model Colt did you purchase?
Nice deal. I hope you were able to make a decent deal.
Well i took your advice and ended up trading the entire rifle in on a Colt.:cool:
Nice deal. I hope you were able to make a decent deal.It was a good deal to me for the peace of mind that the gun will operate as intended and have functional back up irons quickly. Now to get some training in with it :neo:
I wish all stories that started this way, ended this way.
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It was a good deal to me for the peace of mind that the gun will operate as intended and have functional back up irons quickly. Now to get some training in with it :neo:
Best post I've seen on this site! Quality gun, now go train lol
On the flip side, I give kudos to your desire to attack a little AR gunsmithing. It is not rocket science, enjoyable, and can save you some $$$.
Congrats! Which model Colt did you purchase?
LE6920
On the flip side, I give kudos to your desire to attack a little AR gunsmithing. It is not rocket science, enjoyable, and can save you some $$$. Yeah i wasn't worried about the mechanical side of it. Im a bit above average on mechanical ability. Was just most threads made about a dpms rifle ended up in people getting their feelings hurt and them abandoning the discussion so i couldn't narrow down a definite on that slick sided upper. After figuring price of an upper receiver and the cost of good flip sights for a lower than rail height gas block the budget rifle became more expensive than i meant for it to be for the quality of gun it was. So i ditched it:lol:
Yeah i wasn't worried about the mechanical side of it. Im a bit above average on mechanical ability. Was just most threads made about a dpms rifle ended up in people getting their feelings hurt and them abandoning the discussion so i couldn't narrow down a definite on that slick sided upper. After figuring price of an upper receiver and the cost of good flip sights for a lower than rail height gas block the budget rifle became more expensive than i meant for it to be for the quality of gun it was. So i ditched it:lol:
Good to see you researched and then decided based on what you found.
dpms and bushmaster have always felt cheap to me. You made a good choice
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