building a sniper-grade upper, etc.

[C-grunt]

That's what I figured, you end up spending the nominal amount on a lower anyway (comparatively speaking), so may as well go complete, right?

12 hundies. woof!

Cheap and a precision AR don't go together.

Cheap, accurate, well built. You can pick two.

[iomatic]

^ should probably be in a FAQ:

Looking to save money on a precision AR? Stop now.

[jwfuhrman]

Nordic Compenents makes a hell of a good 22lr upper. They are one of the top of the line 3gun accessories producers and I really want one of their 22lr uppers to do 3gun training

[BluewaterTactical]

I have built nice accurate uppers/rifle with mostly Del-Ton and CMMG barrels in 18 and 20 inch lengths. Average cost for a free floated railed flattop with 2-stage trigger usually ran around $1300.

It seems that there isn't much accuracy difference between quality factory barrels from the major manufacturers. Most barrels are made by only a few makers anyway.

Almost every barrel I have used has been able to hit 1MOA or smaller as long as decent ammo was used.

I used to run a company called Tennessee Police Supply and custom built uppers all the time so drop me a PM if you have any questions.

[hawk45]

Nordic Compenents makes a hell of a good 22lr upper. They are one of the top of the line 3gun accessories producers and I really want one of their 22lr uppers to do 3gun training

+1 I love my NC Upper! It goes to the range EVERY time I go out. It's just that much fun to shoot. Maybe b/c it's the only caliber I don't have to worry about collecting brass and reloading for after shooting. :-) I've got the 16" model and works excellent out to 100yds (haven't stretched further). Expensive but I've yet to have a failure to feed with every cheap .22 ammo available. Runs bulk pack (Remy, Winny, etc). I do only use copper coated with the bulk stuff. But it does run lead fine also.

[zombie killer]

My opinion build or buy a quality upper and get a .22 conversion instead of a .22 upper. I have 1 and it has paid for itself.