Blackthorne?

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CBS220

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Anyone know what the story is with these guys? I know that they are part of or related to Vulcan/Hesse, but I have heard that they are LMT uppers, Wilson Barrels (Like many J&Ts, for instance), and military bolts. I would be using a DPMS lower for these, so I'm not considering buying a Vulcan lower.

Are the other parts quality, or cheap crap? A cosmetic blemish here or there is no problem to me. Does anyone have some actual experience with these- not "Well, my boss's brother's sister-in-law's aunt's cousin says he heard that..." kind of stories.

The prices look good, and if the parts are of good vintage, I may look into it.
 
Blackthorne is vulcan/hesse. With all the cheap options out there from people with good reputations is it really worth putting your head into the gators mouth to see if you get bit like everyone else?
 
But are the parts Vulcan? That is the question. If Vulcan is selling decent parts and not their own, I would be quite happy with an LMT upper and Wilson lower.

My only concern is if they are putting poorly made parts into their guns. There is also a three day evaluation period after purchase, apparently, so even if a part was broken I could send it back.
 
Have you read the reports of what happens when people try to get in touch with them if they do have problems? That alone would scare me off. Lets be honest when you have to put up a new name and mailing address because the name of your old company sends customers running, that should tell you something.

Anyway I'd read this thread if you haven't read it yet http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=243382 Its full of great information on how a part might be fine cosmetically but still junky. I'd be very surprised if they had an lmt upper receiver, I can't even buy that with a dealer account. To my knowledge the only way to get an LMT upper receiver is to buy an assembled one, although I haven't put much work into the research. You can call any bolt "mil-spec" but you might not know for sure that its been proofed, shot peened and mpi tested. Many vendors use sampling and skip the actual proof shot on each bolt. Are important parts like the FSB cast or forged? Are the springs quality stainless or chrome silicon or did they cheap out? Are the bits that need to be staked actually staked? It just goes way past a smooth black finish on the gun and what you can tell from a visual inspection for some of it.

What sort of budget do you have and what sort of gun do you want? I'd first look at CMMG's bargain bin specials. They're a known vendor with a good reputation and customer service and you know what you're getting.
 
I am interested in the CMMG guns as well. I'm just looking to see what else is out there- I already have a 20 inch with a government profile barrel I built.

I'm thinking a heavier barrel model for varminting. I was hoping to save a bit of money on the upper to put towards a nicer trigger and/or quad rails (Something I've always wanted, if not only because of the looks). I suppose a little over $600 is doable (For the upper, that is), and I'm looking most at a Model 1 Sales upper with 20" stainless fluted barrel, Yankee Hill handguards, and A3 upper.
 
Check out model 1 sales. They seem to be pretty good guys use E.R. Shaw barrells. My buddy has bought 2 uppers from them and is pleased. I am going to buy a 6.8 upper from in the next week or so. I have called there with a couple of questions and got the answer I wanted. Have heard some good reviews about them on AR15.com also. You should also check out legal transfers. They have large variety of RRA also a good rep. I have only heard that Blackthorne is hard to deal with and that there uppers are junk, but have no first hand knowledge.
 
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