AR Upper Buy/Build: Left-hand eject

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Risasi

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Okay, I am helping a friend find/build an upper for his Bushmaster lower.

Unfortunately he wants it to have port side eject.

I have found DPMS builds complete rifles and uppers with left hand eject. And Stag Arms completes, completed uppers and kits. Is this it?

I have browsed THR, Perfect Union, AR15.com and TFL. I am coming up pretty much empty. Personally I am left-handed and just learned to adapt, (plus I believe everybody should proficiently shoot from either shoulder). But there is no talking him out of it. He even sacrificed matching the lower with a bushmaster upper because he so badly wants left-hand eject.


Anyway, let me know if you have recommendations, experience, know of any other brands, etc.

Thanks
 
I've seen a number of positive comments on the Stag Arms left hand rifles on ar15.com, they are the only true left handed AR's.
 
as for me,i would leave the ar-15 varient rifles alone because a person has to keep the things pretty clean or they will jam on a person. if you dont believe me then go to ar15.com and check out their trouble shooting area.i know their a great looking rifle and such but if their touchie on their gas operation system and they have to have usgi mags or they dont work.and yes i know their is alot of ar 15 lovers out there but im just giving you my humble op.
 
the only thing i can say is,if you are going to get a ar15 type rifle then i suggest that you get a high quality one.because according to what i hear,the instructors at thunder ranch and other rifle range type of places is that 90% of the rifles that go belly up are the ones that assembled by hand. and that as long as they clean the rifles at the end of the day,then they wont have any problems with them plus they use ammo that they know that will work.so dont go and shoot the kind of ammo thats different to you when you do go.if you do decide to get one get a high quality one or become a statistic because they can an will jamm on a person. ;)
 
My hand asembled one is approaching a case with only bore swabbings, and no malfunctions. I can buy used USGI mags cheaper than new commercial ones, that is no problem. Maybe it isn't the best for dragging around the jungle or desert for a month without cleaning, but I don't really plan on doing that anyways.
 
plus I believe everybody should proficiently shoot from either shoulder
Click to expand...
Easy for you to say. I have a dominant left eye and cant focus in on squat with my right eye. So much so that if I loose my left eye I will be permanently handicapped and won't be able to drive.

I shoot a righty AR and plan on getting a politically incorrect left hand eject upper sometime in the near future.
 
Hi all,

It looks like we are going with a stag arms upper from www.nwtactical.net
Their site sucks, I can't directly link. So here I'll paste the specs:

STAG M4 Lefty Upper w/ ARMS 40A2

SPECS:
CALIBER 5.56 Nato Chamber
UPPER Forged and Mil Spec.
SIGHT Arms #40 A2/Front Post
BARREL 16" Chrome Lined 1/9 Twist
BREAK A2 Flash Hider
Click to expand...
Not too terrible for $545.

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Jem375,

I saw those DPMS units. But it doesn't look like they sell as anything other than a complete rifle. I like DPMS though, so if he were purchasing a new one I would not have issue buying from them.
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Hi Jefnvk,

Would you mind telling me what upper receiver you used? I assume it's the Stag upper, but I wanted to double check.
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Darkside,

I also have no qualms with Stag, as far as I know they are essentially the parts branch of Rock River Arms, and I have been very happy with my AR for RRA.
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Lennyjoe,

Not easy for me to say. I am left-hand, left eye dominant. (Hi, welcome to our Club :D ) I have had to live in the ostensibly right-hand world. I have a busted left collarbone, and I got jumped not too long ago, this left me with a damaged left eye. I can still see and focus, but it has left me with a blind spot on the outside of my vision. So I have learned to shoot either hand, and generally shoot with both eyes open. Either way I'm not whining, just stating fact. And I would exhort you to try and use your right eye. Maybe it's not practical, and maybe I sound harsh. Don't care. But I figure so what, you have nothing to lose by trying except some time and cost in bullets. Gotta try and keep your options open.

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pioneer,

I don't really care, I've shot plenty of AR's. Everything you said in your second post could be said for any platform. I agree, AR's are more prone to jamming, but for paper punching or urban work I would have no problem with them. If I'm headed for the sticks, yeah I'm probably not taking an AR with me.

I've also had other weapons jam on me. So what. Use what you are comfortable with, and KNOW the weapon. It's that simple. If you don't like AR's, fine.
 
And I would exhort you to try and use your right eye
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I shoot with both eyes open and either hand with pistols. With long arms its a bit harder to do. At 20 yds I can hardly make out the numbers on a standard round wall clock with my right eye. For that reason I just learned to shoot everything left handed.
 
I shoot with both eyes open and either hand with pistols. With long arms its a bit harder to do. At 20 yds I can hardly make out the numbers on a standard round wall clock with my right eye. For that reason I just learned to shoot everything left handed.
Click to expand...

I am truly sorry man, that must really bite. I can deal with a blind spot, but fuzzy would be tough. So does that mean you are near sighted? What I mean is can you focus on the front site and get a clear sight picture, both handgun and rifle?

If I could do that I think I would still try to practice and least for close range defensive pistol and rifle. Seems like that would be practical. To each his own I guess though. As old Clint says "A man's gotta know his limitations". At least you aren't in denial. :D

And thanks Jef, I didn't know there was anyone else beside Stag and DPMS had left-hand uppers. So they only sell complete uppers?

Thanks again for the info
 
My recommendation would be to talk him out of it. Speaking as a lefty, it's just not worth it to get a left-handed upper. Replacement parts can't be as plentiful and cheap as regular parts. IMO, the only thing that needs to be done to an AR for a lefty is to add an ambi safety/selector. Maybe an ambi mag catch, and I haven't scraped up enough disposable cash for that yet.
 
Left eye dominant, Right handed shooter here, it sucks!!

Trust me I know :cuss: ! My right eye isn't too bad, so I try to train out my deficient right eye so that I can handle rifles the way I feel most comfortable, with my strong arm :).

Pioneer, all precision equipment requires up keep. The AR is a precision rifle, the AK and some others, not so much... :)
 
I built a southpaw on the DPMS upper. An ambidextrious safety was used as well as the Norgon ambidextrious magazine release. It works great. However, the Stag is a true left hand as it has the dustcover and forward assist set up for the southpaw. I'll probably get one (and have it sent to Nevada where it can be with my lower :( ).
 
Whew, this is getting ridiculous. I tried calling nwtactical to order. No answer. I'll try later. In the meantime I decided to search ar15.com one more time to see if I can find anybody else making them. This is nutty. There's just not much out there for left-hand eject. Still it's there. I don't know of any other platform so popular that they are willing to build left-right eject for the masses.

Either way, I found out the stag upper has a special left hand barrel extension:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=244866

Which mongo points to link:

http://www.stagarms.com/newsrelase2.htm


FWIW, figured I'd let everyone know not all left-eject uppers are created equal...
 
as for me,i would leave the ar-15 varient rifles alone because a person has to keep the things pretty clean or they will jam on a person. if you dont believe me then go to ar15.com and check out their trouble shooting area.i know their a great looking rifle and such but if their touchie on their gas operation system and they have to have usgi mags or they dont work.and yes i know their is alot of ar 15 lovers out there but im just giving you my humble op.
Click to expand...
You really should base your opinions on first hand experience instead of what you read on the internet. :rolleyes:

I'm a HARDCORE leftie, and have owned MANY Ar15s in the last 12 years... (Only one of which ever gave me ANY trouble, and it was bought used, so I don't know WHAT was wrong with it). I have assembled three uppers, one complete rifle, and NO issues at all. I don't clean them after every range trip either. BUT I digress...

I have seen the DPMS uppers over the years, and I took a serious look at the Stag upper as well. I have decided that, unless the upper costs the SAME amount of money as a left-brained one would, I just don't need it. What I DO use on every rifle is an ambi- safety and the WONDERFUL Norgon Ambi-Catch. I suggest both of those, especially the ambi-safety to everyone right or left handed. I can't tell you how many times an AR owner held mine and said "wow, yours is so much easier to put back on SAFE!"

But if he just REALLY has to have one, my vote would be for the Stag as they have a GREAT reputation and they're the closest to a "regular" AR in looks and function. But definitely get the Ambi safety and Norgon.
 
Okay, the Stag leftie is ordered. Flat top M4L, with the Arms #40 rear site.

I talked to the guy at nwtactical. Basically the Stag is a mirror image of a standard AR. So that explains the barrel extension, etc. I didn't know if I had made it that clear.

I'll let you guys know how it goes after I mate it up with the Bushmaster lower in which I installed a Rock River trigger.
 
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