Jake,
Didn't have time to scribble all this earlier, just wanted to slow you down on the hesse a little bit lest you do something rash.
I bought a Serbu when Mark first got cranked up in full production- my serial number is less than 175, can't recall what year it was. Neat rifle, put an M-60 bipod and a Super Sniper 10X scope (from SWFA) on it and took it to the range with a few friends. We put up a side from a refrigerator carton at the 100 yard berm with a 1 1/2" orange target dot about in the middle. The first shot was about 18" low and a foot left. I calculated the number of clicks of windage I needed, cranked them in and the second bullet went in a foot and a half under the dot. Did the math again and cranked in the adjustment, the third shot hit the dot. First time I ever had a 3-shot zero the way the directions say it's supposed to work.
There's about 300 rounds on the gun now, and it still shoots just fine- I use Talon ball, since I'm not set up to reload. No serious target work, just fun at the range. BTW, I had some health problems starting not long after I got the Serbu that precluded me shooting at all for several years- thus the low round count on the Serbu.
Recently I decided to try out an upper, and after looking around a bit I picked Walter Keller at Safety Harbor Firearms (
http://www.safetyharborfirearms.com/ ) as a builder. He actually did a lot of the work on my Serbu, since he worked for Mark when my gun was built. Walter's machine work and welding are impeccable, and IMHO the magazine fed design of the UltraMag is a worthwhile improvement.
I wanted a gun that would take down, as the 52" overall length of the Serbu is something of a handicap when trying to get it somewhere. I ordered a 22" barrel, same length as the 'carbine' version of the Serbu- which wasn't around when I bought mine. The upper is about 36" long overall, and it weighs about 14 pounds.
I bought one of Walter's purpose built single shot lowers as well, there are several AR platforms here but i didn't want to take out the bolt catch on any of them so as to use the upper with it. The lower is aluminum but is beefier than a typical AR lower at the front takedown pin holes and at the collar where the stock screws in.
I ordered one of Walter's steel stocks as well, not wanting to trust an aluminum buffer tube to stand the stress of recoil. And I decided to try one of his bipods also, again looking for something a bit lighter and shorter than the '60 legs on the Serbu.
I still haven't picked out glass for this one, so it hasn't had its initial range trip yet. But my wife swears she has dibs on the first shot with it when we get there- she really likes it. And she has never had the least interest in shooting the Serbu. Go figure...
Anyway, have fun with your shopping, and good luck getting started with the big guns. It's a blast, I assure you 8^).
hth,
lpl/nc