303lithgow

I have a Bushmaster lower that didn't work out on my AR22 upper so am now wondering if I should buy a Bushmaster upper for it? We don't hear about Bushmaster a lot here. Any others have one?

78CJ5

I have had three AR's I kept my Bushmaster. It has the heavy barrel on it.

TNWNGR

I have a Bushmaster upper and lower that I had a wanna be M-4 from....

303lithgow

All my other AR's are mil-spec. Any problems with Bushmaster?

78CJ5

It is my understanding that all Bushmasters are commercial and not mil spec. I may be wrong though.

mtncharlie

Bushmaster uses 4150 steel in their barrels, which is a grade higher than 4140, and 7075-T6 Aluminum alloy for their uppers and lowers, which is much tougher than the 6061-T6 which is generally considered to be milspec. In reality there is no such thing as "commercial Mil-Spec", for it to be "Mil-Spec" it has to be FOR the military. But getting back to the subject, just because something is called "Mil-Spec" doesn't mean it's a better product, it just means that a manufacturer has to make a product to at least that specification for the military to buy it; and remember: they almost always buy from the lowest bidder.

OH25shooter

I just bought a used Bushmaster M4A2. The reason I didn't hesitate was because it's a Bushmaster. No, it's not a Colt, but still a quality built rifle. It's the same carbine model used by many LE agencies. I read recently that the company has been bought and will sell the AR's under the Windham Weaponry name. They are manufactured in Windham, Maine. I couldn't say anything negative for the purchase of another Bushmaster upper. Just remember the Bushmaster A2 is not a detachable handle. If you want sight options on a rail, get the A3 upper. Other AR manufacturers should be compatible as well.

Rivers2k

Depends if you have a new Bushmaster or old. I have heard the new Remington Bushmasters have been changed around to only work with new Bushmaster parts and not compatible with other ar parts.

That's just something I heard at my LGS I dont know for sure but you may want to look into it so you don't invest in a new upper you cant use.

brimic

The Bushmaster name is owned by Cerebus/Remington- they bought Bushmaster a few years back and shut down the Wyndham plant. The plant that made the original Bushmaster rifles has reopened as an independent operation and calls itself 'Wyndham arms.
To sum it up-
Bushmaster= Cerebus
Wyndham Arms= old Bushmaster manufacturer

The rifles built at the Wyndham plant up until around the time just before they were bought out by Cerebus/Remington, were quality rifles. The biggest QC problem they had were a run of rifles where the barrel nuts were overtightered resulting in a need to click the windage over 10-15 clicks to zero the rifle. I can't comment on the rifles made by Bushmaster/Remington/Cerebus.

brimic

Any upper should work, I would reccomend CMMG or Spikes Tactical, if you want something better, a BCM.

OH25shooter

brimic:

Good info, I didn't know about that company, but a google search revealed a lot of info. Cereberus also bought Remington, Marlin, and DPMS. Apparently, they are on Colt and FN's heels to obtain the production of the M-16 for the military.
They also have their hands dipped into real estate, government services, retail, transportation and the auto industry. It makes one wonder if they have well wishes for "civilian gun owners" as a whole.

TXDMERC

you are wrong about Bushmaster not mil-spec and only commercial , they made all their mil-spec full auto rifles with the same parts as they do the civilan rifles.

i spoke with a Bushmaster rep shortly before the Windham plant closed down , they used all Bushmaster parts on their civvie rifles with the same specs as they would make it for military and LEO. for example they used Carpenter 158 steel on their bolts and mil spec on the bolt carrier , the only downside was they didnt coat the barrel before putting the front sight base on. other then that every Bushmaster rifle is closest you can get to a mil-spec rifle.

78CJ5

Thanks for the info: My Bushmaster was made in 2006 and has Windham on the side of it.

hightechredneck123

It really depends what you are going to do with it. The AR platform is pretty versatile. The lowers will swap out with multiple manufacturers' uppers. I have a complete Spike .223, and a complete S&W M&P sporter, and a .50 Beowulf upper. Any of my uppers will fit on any of the lowers.

I have a slide-fire stock on the Spike lower and a Mako recoil reducing stock on the S&W lower. This means I can use the .50 Beowulf upper on the slide-fire stock if I feel like dislocating my shoulder . Or use the recoil reducing stock on one of the .223 uppers for an incredibly fast re-acquisition of my target.

Uppers can be bought by themselves, no FFL required.

303lithgow

I'm thinking just an A1 upper. Nothing fancy.