Ordered my new ASA 10.5" upper today.

[Uncle Malice]

I'm impatient, so I had to sell a couple of guns to pay it off - my P229 Equinox and Mossberg 500 Tactical - but I'm okay with that.

The 10.5" barrels at 1:7 are currently in production, so it's going to be a couple of weeks. If i had gone with 1:9, I would have it early next week.

I already have the ASA Custom Shop lower that I used for filing my Form 1. The wait is going to kill me!

• ASA A3 Side Charger Upper
• 10.5" Barrel w/ 1:7 Twist
• Samson 9" Evolution Rail
• Diamondhead Premium Front and Rear Sights

The plan was originally to go with the Adams Arms piston kit, but they kind of talked me out of it. Said it's really unnecessary and ads unnecessary weight to the front end, along with more mass moving during recoil. After a bit of research, people's opinions seem pretty evenly split on DI vs Piston in an AR. My Ruger SR-556C is piston and I like it a lot, but I figured I'd go with their recommendations on this. If I feel like I need a piston kit in the future, it's not terribly expensive to do the conversion, and I just used the money that I would have spent on the piston kit to upgrade to the side charger. I'm very impressed with the quality. Their customer service is great, and it's a nice bonus that the shop is literally right across the street from my office.

I'll be assembling my lower this weekend, which consists of the ASA Custom Shop lower, Spike's LPK, Spike's mil-spec buffer tube w/ Magpul CTR stock, Troy dual-side BattleSling mount, and ErgoGrip pistol grip. I also have the Magpul AFG-2 that will be going up front on the rail once I get it back.

Pics to come once I finally get her in hand of course. This will be my most expensive gun yet.

EDIT: Here are a few representative pics to show what I am getting. Obviously, these are not my rifle:

ASA Side Charger:

Diamondhead Sights:

Samson Evolution Rail (This one is longer than 9"):

 

[hulley]

Congrats! I just did the forms for a supressor and am wanting to do the forms for both of my lowers so that I may go with a SBR. I got the bug for gas piston but I decided against it unless ht egun was designed for piston from the get go i.e. SCAR, ACR, etc. Gas piston conversions dont seem to be the way to go. Post pics when you get it.

 

[Willie Lowman]

Have you used that side cocker upper yet? (on another gun, the one you are building clearly isn't put together yet)

I haven't seen a AR side cock upper in person so I wonder how nice they are.

 

[Uncle Malice]

Yes, I've handled them a lot and shot one.

They are very nice, and in my opinion, easier to actuate. It's nice that you don't have to move your cheek from the stock when shooting. ASA also has great customer service. If you only get the side charger upper, it's a little expensive. If you add it to a complete rifle, it's only a $200 upgrade.

The handle is non-reciprocating and doesn't leave much open space for crud to get into either. There is less open space than on an AK with the safety off.

After all is said and done, this build will be close to the $2,000 mark, but I think I'll be very happy with the results.

Next up: a pure budget AR build. I saw a Spike's 16" lightweight flat top for $499.

 

[Uncle Malice]

Picked up my upper today! It's gorgeous. I'll put up some pics tonight or tomorrow.

Can't put it together of course until I get my paperwork back. I've heard the wait time is now upwards of 5 months! *sigh* Maybe I'll be able to shoot it by Easter.

 

[Uncle Malice]

Well, I'm a little late on the pics. Sorry guys. I was waiting on my pistol buffer tube from Phase 5 Tactical. Got the gun all together now, set up as a pistol until I get my paperwork back. I'm really liking it. I'll be taking it to the range tomorrow to try and put a few rounds through it. It's just a phone picture indoors, so not very good, but I'll try to get some better ones this weekend. I can't speak highly enough about the quality of ASA, their side chargers, or the Samson Evolution rails... very good quality stuff.

 

[usmcxd]

Question

@Uncle Malice- is that the Phase 5 pistol tube? Does it actually say "Pistol" on the tube itself? Where did you acquire it? Thank you for your help.