Best Affordable AR15 Upper Receivers

These days, buying firearms can be an expensive process, and there’s no promise that you’ll be able to find exactly the rifle you’re looking for. That’s why now more than ever, people are building AR15s at home.

With just basic tools, some online videos, and a little patience, you can make a rifle or pistol that will more than fulfill your needs. And it’s also a lot of fun and can certainly be done even without much, if any, prior experience. Here, we’re going to cover five upper receivers that will make for excellent AR15 rifles, while not breaking the bank in the process.

Radical Firearms Stripped AR-15 Upper

The Radical Firearms Stripped AR15 upper receiver is, in our view, an excellent place to start in your AR building life. A stripped receiver like this one generally comes with none of the other parts you need to build an AR, it’s just the forged piece of aluminum that makes up the receiver. This one comes in a hard coat anodized finish, made from 7075 aluminum, and has m4 feed ramps. We very much like that it includes Picatinny rail along the top, which is also more or less industry standard at this point. Overall, this is a great option for a first, budget build.

Anderson Manufacturing Stripped AR-15 Upper

For around the same price, you can also get the Anderson Manufacturing AR15 Stripped Upper Receiver. Anderson has been known for years to make great upper receivers, and this 7075-T6 Aluminum model is no exception. For those looking to do the first build, this one is an awesome option in that it not only comes with all of the standard features that you’d expect, but Anderson also makes a complete upper receiver parts kit as well. Since they all come from the same manufacturer, the chances of the receiver working with the parts kit from the same people are very high, which sounds to us like a great idea.

Aero Precision Stripped AR-15 Upper

At a slightly higher but still budget-friendly price point is Aero Precision’s Stripped AR15 Upper Receiver. Rather than the grey-ish anodizing of the first two, Aero’s anodizing is a lot darker. Thus, we’d recommend this one for people who, for instance, have an Aero lower receiver and want to make sure that things match perfectly. Sure, color matching doesn’t affect function in the slightest, but an aesthetically pleasing firearm is something that matters to a lot of us in the firearms world.

Radical Firearms Barreled AR-15 Upper

For some people, populating and building an entire upper receiver from the basic parts is a bit much. Thus, a complete upper with a barrel and handguard, such as the Radical Firearms Mid Length SOCOM receiver is an excellent choice. With a large muzzle brake, tons of rail space available, and everything already built on the gun and tested for you, pre-built uppers are awesome choices for people who simply want a second upper, for example, in a different barrel length or caliber than the ones that they already have.

Diamondback Firearms Barreled AR-15 Upper

In a similar vein, the Diamondback DB15 Barreled Upper Receiver is another convenient option. While these barreled uppers are a good bit more expensive than those that come as just the receiver, there’s real value for the money here. In addition to the receiver, you get all of the receiver parts such as the dust cover and forward assist, as well as a barrel, muzzle device, and handguard.

One of the more important aspects of these pre-built uppers that’s likely to appeal to folks new to the gun world is the fact that they’re built by people who know what they’re doing.

Conclusion

Interestingly, upper receivers, in the US, are not the part of the firearm that the government cares about. Thus, whichever of the options from this list you choose, they can be shipped right to your door, depending on state laws and assuming that you’re not a felon.

Any of the uppers here are a great place to start with a rifle build. If you’re looking for a project, one of the stripped uppers is the way to go. If, on the other hand, you just want a “new” AR without having to buy a whole new rifle, then going with one of the pre-built options is likely a simpler, if more expensive way to go about it.