Yikes
Bad finish, worse fit. Lotta sharp edges, especially on the carry handle. Burrs and machine marks galore.
Upper out of spec
I recieved this upper for my car-15 build, and it was machined incorrectly. The upper wouldn't receive a mil-spec bcg/charging handle properly. I ordered a new one, and returned the out if spec upper so hopefully I have better luck on the next one.
Not Good
I have several of these C7 uppers now, and I previously gave them a 5 star review. However, today I attempted to install a forward assist in one C7. Something is amiss with the upper. The roll pin makes contact with the forward assist, and completely prevents movement. I tried different forward assists, different roll pins, etc. I use roll pin starter punches, and ball tip roll pin punches. I’ve been working on ARs since 1983, and I have training documents going back that far. I suspect that the hole for the roll pin is misaligned or otherwise not straight. Regardless, something is amiss. I won’t buy anymore of these. Also, a quick internet search indicates this is evidently a known problem.
Blems
These are most definitely blemished uppers. They are finished to where one side hangs off the edge of the lower. The upper is also not in spec and will not rest freely on the lower without pressure. These should not be sold even as blames.
Buyer Beware
Me and a local dealer ordered about 14 of these. Half were milled correctly, the other half were milled offset so they overhang one side and don’t cover the other side of a lower receiver. These are probably “blems” so buyer beware.
Previous problems still
I previously reviewed one of these that I ordered in April. It was fine and a good deal. I ordered a second one since I had good luck on the first. (Both with the part AND the shipping.) Well, this one had all the problems previously reported, mis-machined and improperly packaged. Looks like the relationship between the front lug and the rest of the receiver is off by about 30 thou, results in a noticeable gap between the back of the upper and the lower. Not sure about any other problems with this one but that's a spoiler for me. Likely this would be an OK functionally so if that gap would not bother you, you might give it a try. The OTHER problem is the upper was shipped in just a bubble wrap bag and there are dings breaking the anodize in several areas, including damage to the barrel nut threads. Another reviewer had this same problem - Brownells, you REALLY need to do better on packaging, your shipping department likely just scrapped this one. Anyway, it's going back.
Poor Product
- This is my second C7 upper from Brownells. I returned the first one because of the poor fit to a variety of lower receivers. The second upper has the same problem. The gap between this upper and two different lowers is .014 along the bottom edge. (for comparison, this gap is only .005 on my 15+ year-old RRA carbine, and the upper at the receiver extension fits flush.). - This receiver also came with three chips down to bare metal on the edge of the carrying handle . I would think this would have been labeled a blem, but it was not. - This one is going back and I won't be getting another one from Brownells. I would caution anyone that wants a C7 upper to avoid this current product.
Are you kidding me?
I pinned this stripped C7 Upper on several different lowers, and noticed a significant gap where the upper mates to the lower near the buffer tube or receiver extension area. Let be clear, there is no-gap between the flats on the upper & lower receiver. the fit is tight, but it almost looks like the upper receiver was made about 1/16th of an inch short! I kept looking at this issue & tried to understand what was amiss. I found it curious that I was having difficulty getting the take-down pin to pass through the receivers. However, I noticed that when I pushed the upper-receiver forward, I was able to slips the pin. Upon closer examination, it appears that the rear take-down pin hole on the upper has been elongated. The hole is actually oval & slightly elongated. If you connect the take-down pin, but the leave the front pivot pin disconnected, you can actually rock the upper receiver forward and back. That's not good! I put a feeler gauge through the upper & lower gap, and noted that it was a bit over .25 MM. I tested other upper & lowers, I couldn't fit the smallest feeler gauge between them. This Brownells C7 has problems. I suspect that somebody missed when they machined these, and subsequently elongated the pivot pin hole to allow these to fit. This doesn't look right & it doesn't feel right. This is not good Brownells. These are not blems; they are mistakes that should be destroyed.
