Colt Large-Hole A1 upper

[rhenry545]

I'm looking for a VG-Exc. condition Colt large-hole A1 upper. These came out on some of the early transitional "AR-15A2" rifles. I really just want the receiver shell, with the rear sight, forward assist, and the double headed front pivot screw. Please let me know if you have one that you're interested in parting with or if you know of a source for one.

[Epinephrine]

I recommend you place this in the Buy/Trade Forum as it will get more attention. I also recommend you look at Gunbroker and the like. Also, Give Shotgun News a try. They got all kinds of old guns and parts that are hard to find.

[azreloader]

Saw some Original Colt M16 upper receivers on SARCO's website!

Edit: One was $145 the other was $125

[rhenry545]

Epinephrine and Azreloader, thanks for the suggestions. I did find a posting, from late April, on another AR-15 forum from a guy who indicated that he had, among other parts, 4 new uppers exactly like what I had inquired about. However, $350 each for only an upper receiver seems very expensive. I think I'll keep looking for a better deal. It would be nice to have this type of receiver as it would match with the Colt SP1 lower that I have. I would like to have the all-Colt "AR-15A1" SP1 series rifle that Colt never made. Except for this upper, I've got all the parts. It's interesting how they went from the no forward assist AR-15 to the AR-15A2 series that had, initially, no forward assist, then, forward assist A1 type upper, and finally forward assist A2 type upper. What I want to build is an "AR-15A1" (A1 stock, triangular handguards, lightweight profile 1:12 twist barrel, A1 upper w/o brass deflector), the missing link. I wonder if Colt had decided to make such a rifle but gave it the axe because by the time they made the large-hole A1 uppers for semi-auto rifles the military had already adopted the A2 features. It would make sense from a manufacturing standpoint to standardize on the A2 features and then use all existing non-forward assist and then all A1 uppers (transitionals) before actually putting true A2 uppers on the AR-15A2 rifles. Colt ads in some of my Soldier of Fortune magazines from the mid to late 80's show each of these 3 different uppers on these rifles. Any feedback is appreciated.

[shamayim]

Well, I know I'm a bit late in responding to this, but I hope rhenry will spot it.

The big hole A1 type uppers that Colt put on some of the ARs were in fact built out of forgings that had been acquired for M16A1 rifles, and were left over, unbuilt, when the A2 was adopted. Colt has always used leftover "old type" pieces for civie production. That's why the SP1s and 2s were totally flat sided. They were built from lower blanks from the very first production Air Force contract rifles.

There are occasional big hole A1 uppers around. Mainly, I think, they're takeoffs from rifles that the owners "updated" to A2 or M4 configuration. Found the one I have at a gun show, for $90; so, after twenty years of my XM177 clone having a smoothside upper, I finally got to make it into a real XM177E2 type without having to use an adapter front pin ;)


The only big hole A1 type upper I've seen on the internet the past year was a piece the Legal Transfers had some months back. He wanted $175 for it, as I recall, and I thought that was a bit much.

My best advice would be to haunt the shows in your area to see if you can luck on to one. If you're in a hurry to get the show on the road, there are plenty of M16A1 milsurp uppers out there at the moment, which you can mount using an an adapter front pin. You can find those by the bushel these days, and they usually go for about $90-$100. Build up a rifle using one of those, and you can take your time in looking for a big hole piece to replace it later on.

Good luck w/the search.