Question about appropriate upper.

[pullin]

Hello folks. I've just found this site and I'm reading through all of the documents & guides; boy, there sure are a lot!
Right now, my curiosity is about getting an upper & barrel assembly.

FTF Industries sells an 11.5" A3 / Bushmaster flat top upper assembly with a removable flash hider. Is that "OK" to ship to CA as is? And then is it "OK" for me to weld on an approved muzzle brake myself?

Thanks!

[The Gunslinger]

I'm not sure about the shipping aspect of your question, but it would have to be a 4.5-5 inch muzzle break...

[Ballistic043]

the upper by itself is not a firearm. you can posess/ship a 5 inch AR barrel as long as you dont assemble it into a Short Barreled Rifle. there could be 'constructive posession' repercussions though

but you can not assemble an OLL with a barrel length less than 16 inches, unless it is attached with a permanently affixed flash hider or muzzle brake, which puts the total length over 16. a good example of this is the CMMG medcon 11" upper receiver with the 5 inch muzzle device.

[Hopi]

Welcome to the forum!

If you just like the look of the shorter barrel/longer flash hider, ask Randall over at http://ar15barrels.com/
he makes a nice upper that looks the part but retains the 16" barrel and it's advantages.

[pullin]

Aha, I see. 5" hider should be no problem.
Constructive possession won't be a problem yet either, unless they count the lower I printed out of plastic on our 3d printer (but even that's not 100%). I'll have to post pics of that some time.....

I'm interested in this one from this mfg'r due to the fairly low price ($375), although that doesn't include a bolt (and I assume no carrier either).

As for the OLL lower, well, I'd like to machine my own lower from a billet on our CNC, but I know that's a whole legal can of worms in and of itself, so I'll read up before I do that!

[Hopi]

Aha, I see. 5" hider should be no problem.
Constructive possession won't be a problem yet either, unless they count the lower I printed out of plastic on our 3d printer (but even that's not 100%). I'll have to post pics of that some time.....

I'm interested in this one from this mfg'r due to the fairly low price ($375), although that doesn't include a bolt (and I assume no carrier either).

With the bolt and carrier group, you're looking at $550+. Not that there is anything wrong with the upper you posted, but you might want to contact Randall, or a Calguns supporting vendor to see if they can work with you to match that price for similar/better equipment.

Again, if you just like the looks, talk to Randall and see what he can do for you on the 16" barrel that looks like the 11.5"/5.5" version. With the 11.5" barrel, the loss in velocity, the loss of effective range, and the reduced bullet fragmentation might be something to look into...

[Hopi]

As for the OLL lower, well, I'd like to machine my own lower from a billet on our CNC, but I know that's a whole legal can of worms in and of itself, so I'll read up before I do that!

Perfectly legal, just adhere to sb23 when building the complete rifle and you'll be fine. No registration is required for a homebuilt rifle receiver.

Check here for some goodies.....

http://www.cncguns.com/

Note: the following rifle is not mine, it is not in CA, and it is not sb23 compliant.