Upper Reciever Switch

[Spiffums]

I have 2 complete ARs. One is an A1 upper with perm hider and the other is A3 HBAR. Is taking the barrels off the uppers and switching them (bolts would be switched too) something you can do in the hobby gunsmith bench or should I take it to someone a little more pro.

Since I will be trading bolts with the barrels it shouldn't need head spacing or does the barrel extensions not come out?

[markm]

Is taking the barrels off the uppers and switching them (bolts would be switched too) something you can do in the hobby gunsmith bench or should I take it to someone a little more pro.

Mechanically it's not too difficult. I would find someone good with ARs.... not a fudd **** who thinks he is.

I wouldn't do it unless I had the tools and training. I didn't barrel an AR for the first 15 years of my AR monkeying. And I only did it after sitting with two different Armorers and watching a variety of barrel installs.

There's funny stuff that can pop up in the middle of a swap like this. And having experience beats taking a box full of parts to someone and asking for a rescue.:)

If you plan to do a bunch more building the tools might be worth buying... if not, it'll be cheaper to pay someone. If you take it to someone ask them if they use moly grease on the barrel nuts. That's a good test to see if they know what they're doing. If they don't know what you're talking about... DON'T leave your guns there.

[AnimalMother556]

Solid advice, markm. I feel the same way. Had a really nice upper busted by someone who thought they knew what they were doing, never again. Broke a $300 rail while he was at it.

[Spiffums]

Thanks Mark that is just what I was needing to know. I'll probably just take the uppers to the big gun/AR shop here and let them do it.