Looking for a cheap GI A2/A3 carry handle.

Good luck. If your willing to do it there are detachable rails that are in the $60 range that will suffice, but if you want a true a2 style upper receiver then get prepared to spend complete upper money on a stripped upper. I bought one used on here about a year and a half ago for 75 bucks when stripped flattop uppers were available as cheap as 40 bucks. They just aren't common anymore, and not common means not cheap.

Check Wally-World, you'd be surprised!

Maybe this will work for you.
https://parts4myar.com/ar15-aluminum-carrying-handle-made-in-the-usa-lifetime-warranty/

I've had bad luck with a cheap carry handle.

First, the handle didn't work as a carry handle. Was too narrow. Couldn't put my fingers in it comfortably. Couldn't use it.

The a2 sight on the handle was a joke. Sloppy, untrustworthy.

Just my two cents. For bare bones. Buy the Daniel Defense fixed rear sight and build with military front sight.

I have an A2 upper that I'll never get rid of, it wasn't so long ago that people were throwing them away, go figure.

But if you just want a clamp on there are a lot of online vendors that sell them. A quick google search and you've got plenty of options.

Sarco has them.
http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/ar15carryhandle5thgeneration.aspx

PSA has them. The UTG ones are not bad from what i hear

I’ve got a UTG. $30 wasted.
Windage is ok, but elevation is loose and wobbly. Anything but cranked all the way down, is “floating”, due to slop. It’ll move every time the rifle is fired.

You get what you pay for.

I’ve got a PSA that is decent. It’s a 300-600, and windage & elevation are snug and repeatable. It’s the cheapest I would go.

Mixed Nuts said:

Just my two cents. For bare bones. Buy the Daniel Defense fixed rear sight and build with military front sight.

Click to expand...

This is good advice.

http://www.primaryarms.com/daniel-defense-a1-5-fixed-rear-sight-19-064-11002

I just saw aero precision had some in an email they sent. Might be a good compromise between the 30 cheap ones and the $100 BCM. Think they were $60-70

PSA

https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/ar-platform-carry-handle-rear-sight


I have good experiences with their barrels. I'd trust them far more than UTG, Ozark or target sports. Equal to PSA and less than Aero or DD.

Does it work as a carry handle? Or do your fingers feel trapped or awkwardly wedged when you use the handle to carry the weapon?

UTG makes two different lines of products. UTG Pro is American made and decent quality. Stuff simply labeled UTG is Chinese made and usually airsoft or BB gun quality.

I recently went through this dilemma, and elected to buy an A2 upper. Every Chinese made detachable carry handle was off bore center or had a very poorly made rear sight assembly. The higher-quality detachable carry handle seemed OK, but were almost as expensive as a whole new A2 upper.

CaptTripps said:

I have small hands. It works as a carry handle for me, if I am carrying it by the outer-most 2 phalanges, or segments of the 4 fingers on either hand. As well as I can measure with a tape measure, the opening is apprx. 11/16"x4-3/8" and is the same width, (not tapered) the whole length of itself. The capiteve attachment nuts and clamping bar appear to be parkerized. The windage and elevation drums, I am not sure, if they are aluminum or steel. The W&E housing appears to be parkerized steel. The large aperture is marked 0-2, and the smaller is marked C7. I know about 0-2 but what is the C7 stamp for? I haven't found anything online yet about it. The elevation drum is marked 6/3, there is a small lowercase z and further along the drum, the number 4, and 5 after that.

Click to expand...

Thanks for responding to my question.

It sounds like the detachable carry handle works for carrying if said carrying is done consciously under relaxed circumstances. And I don't mean to sound antagonizing. If one is a fan of the A2 sight and wishes to cover the rail segments atop the upper the detachables are a reasonable choice. I always liked the forged in carry handle on the A1, though. Easy to grab and to release. It was a clever design element that accommodated the rear sight above the the inline stock and action while also giving an additional means of carrying the weapon while negotiating terrain. A sort of twofer.

Without the carry handle the AR platform doesn't really have a good, balanced place to carry it. Methinks this is why the one and two point slings are so popular. They are, at least in part, a kind of compromise solution to gun that's been ergonomically downgraded to make room for optics and to lower the cost of upper manufacture.

Anyway, I'm just rambling now. Good luck with your Aero stuff. I've got a pair of their lowers. Good stuff