This puppy is $354 after āSAVE12ā code is applied:
https://www.primaryarms.com/radical-16-inch-556-mid-socom-upper-cfu16-5.56soc-12mhr-zs
It is made in USA and has the Bolt-Carrier Group (BCG) and Charging Handle Included.
I like Meloniteā¦
The Troy comes with sights, BCG, etc. but is $512 with SAVE12 discount
Iām not pimping for Primary Arms. I do feel like I pay child-support to them thoughā¦
And this babay:
$474.99 still in stock. $427.49 with 10% mil/le discount if you served.
I think choosing an upper depends on the use of the rifle. If it is going to be a rifle dedicated to home defense, I would save money for a while and get the best possible upper you can afford. The more expensive the upper the more quality control that has likely gone into the assembly and the parts. There is a difference between having a manufacturer inspect a rifle, and a manufacturer inspect one rifle out of a lot of 100 rifles. I personally only use parts for a HD rifle that have been tested and determined to be patrol/duty grade, and have a respected background.
I understand that not everyoneās budget can meet those criteria, and a rifle in the hand is going to be better than the rifle at the gun store in a self defense incident. You have to pick what is best for your budget and balance reliability. That can be a really tough balancing act.
Here is an upper that I have heard many good things about, granted it does not meet your original criteria, and you will have to buy a BCG separately, but it will provide reliable performance for a very affordable price and the company does not make you jump through hoops if something on the upper does not work as designed.
I would recommend that you do just a ālittleā research on uppers, lowers and barrels. I worked in the industry for more than a couple years and did R&D for the govāt and others. There are about 7 mfgās of commonly seen lowers, DelTon gets their lowers from the same place a KAC, Colt used to get their lowers from the same place as PSA. The same story with uppers. There are only about 5 companies that mass produce barrels, there are several custom barrel mfgās such as White Oak but they are spendy. If you are building a boolet hose and donāt expect more than a MOA then any kit will serve your purposes. If you build it yourself YOU are the quality control. The parts themselves are essentially identical with the name being different.
AR-15ās are $500 guns and will shoot MOA or better no matter how much you spend but will be most limited by ammo selection. I like B-4 or SOPMOD stocks but Iām not going to pay $150 because it has a name on it when one that came from the same factory costs me $49 with no name. Just sayān.
Cheers,
Craig6
Well I have been doing more then just a little bit of research. Iāve been all over looking at information and I always come up with conflicting answers. Iāve actually been researching for about a month now and canāt seem to find straight answers. Everyoneās got their own opinions on brands, uppers, lowers, and etc. This forum post was another way of researching I guess you could say. I figured most manufacturers were rebranded. Just like tools such as MAC, Snap on, and etc. I appreciate your input though.
If I had the tools, know how, and confidence, I would build it all myself to be honest.
Thanks.
@CDW15 My power finally came back on. Was wondering if Boogaloo 2.0 was kicking off 
What is your intended use? Your overall budget? What parts do you have now? You are asking some good questions. AR-15s are not light-sabers. Pretty uncomplicated tools. What sucks for a newcomer is the number of choices available. Industry is vested to sell you top-bin parts when all you need is a pew-pew. Most of the folks talking gun talk donāt kick down doors for a living. They arenāt rolling down a cliff-side like in the movies. Make sure you have enough money to shoot your firearms on a consistent basis. Develop your own confidence and then consider moving to something ābetterā.
Go to https://www.pewpewtactical.com/build-ar-15-upper-receiver/
Itās not really that hard and not a lot of tools required. From my perspective, the torque and armourās wrenches are the only tools not everyone has, but if you know someone from the range you can probably get them to loan you theirs. Heck, they might even jump in and help you.
The Big Luau lol. My intended use was from plinking to home defense. Kind of an all around gun. As for an overall budget, I honestly didnāt really have one. I donāt want to go out and spend $1000 + in parts. I donāt want to put so much into the rifle I have that it would of just made more sense to buy a whole new rifle. You know what I mean? I donāt have any parts right now. I just have my stock, very budget minded, DPMS AR. With a a very poorly designed red dot and an annoying fixed front post sight in the way. lol.
I really appreciate everyoneās input on this subject.
Thank you.
I think PSA is a good āvalueā brand. They arenāt cheap as in it falls apart after two uses. They are inexpensive so they arenāt generally using the ātop of the lineā stuff. If you are a low- to mid-volume shooter and have reasonable expectations of durability and accuracy it will be just fine. However, if you are seeking ultra-precision or are hunting insurgents in the desert then maybe look at some other more expensive options.
Just be mindful of the PSA product descriptions, check the barrel material/coating, is it free-floated, etc. They have lots of very similar products. I saw one on sale not too long ago for ~$550 that included a Sig Romeo Red Dot and Magpul backup irons. That was a great deal.
Get a good BCG (PSA sells some Toolcraft on sale from time to time which are really good, just make sure it has the Carpenter 158 steel bolt) as that is what takes the brunt of the stress in an AR.
I agree with a couple people above if this is for home defense, maybe consider saving up a bit more for a higher quality āduty gradeā upper. Iād echo @James recommendation for Sons Of Liberty Gunworks as a newer brand, but totally focused on āhard useā rifles. Bravo Company Manufacturing and Daniel Defense have been supplying military contracts for a good long while.
Now, as a slight tangentā¦ 
if yaāll are bored one day and would like some light readingā¦ The guy that runs Battlefield Las Vegas has a couple of very high value threads over on ar15.com where he talks about what stuff he uses. For those that donāt know, Battlefield Las Vegas rents fully automatic firearms to the public. So those firearms go through thousands of rounds weekly (in some cases daily) and are pretty thoroughly abused. Collectively they go through over 400k rounds a month. His perspectives on what things break most often and which are the most reliable and where that value proposition comes in is invaluable IMO.
True, but a FN barrel is not always an FN barrel. If the company they are producing barrels for wants to skip certain QA/QC steps and not add certain upgrades, then their barrels will not be the same as a company that pays more for a different process. Sure, they will both have the FN stamp, but that is about all that is the same. Also the final fit and finish has to be considered as well. The gun parts could be made well, but if the gas key is not staked you will have a problem.
I have a PSA AR10 thatās niceā¦
In about 2 weeks Iāll be picking up 2 PSA AR pistols.