Faxon ARAK Upper......Wow!

[The Annoyed Man]

http://www.guns.com/new-faxon-firearms- ... 11290.html

At a time when people are drowning in AR-15 rifles that are mostly interchangeable—they may have many interesting features that cater to specific individual tastes, but remain functionally identical, or at least extremely similar—the Faxon upper receiver is a lungful of fresh air. Combining features from the AK platform and FN FAL, this complete upper is compatible with AR lowers but is completely removed from the Stoner design.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=8h_SkES_Rb8[/youtube]

[AEA]

Interesting......
But, it will have to come down a lot in price for me to "have to have it".

[MadMonkey]

Interesting... I like it, but I don't have a use for it. Definitely looks cool though.

[Excaliber]

It sounds like a robust and functional design. However, the economics aren't competitive yet.

You can buy a first class Adams Arms Upper for $300 less and have a highly satisfactory piston gun with enough left over for almost 1000 rounds of ammo.

[SC1903A3]

The round is interesting. I think I would just buy an ar upper in the 300 Blackout from Model 1 Sales for $385 and use my own ar bolt.

[Abraham]

TAM,

Obviously, some here are complaining about high cost of the Faxon and I assume you knew that'd be a theme...

So, what are the superlatives that make it more attractive over it's less costly alternatives?

Thanks!

P.S. I'm with you on spending more for quality, assuming you get more...

[The Annoyed Man]

TAM,

Obviously, some here are complaining about high cost of the Faxon and I assume you knew that'd be a theme...

So, what are the superlatives that make it more attractive over it's less costly alternatives?

Thanks!

P.S. I'm with you on spending more for quality, assuming you get more...

Well, to Excaliber's point, I actually looked at the Adams Arms gas-piston uppers on Brownells.com, and the one I've been looking at was around $650 (±$15 or so), and it seems to be a quality unit. BUT..... The Adams Arms unit is right handed only. I'm left-handed. Now, that's not a deal breaker as my current AR is right handed (with an ambi-safety selector), but the combination of being able to configure it for a left-handed shooter AND an interchangeable barrel/caliber capability is pretty neat. I think that makes it actually worth the price. The quality of the piece speaks for itself, but it is the features that I find attractive.

Unfortunately (or not), my gun money for the near future is going to go into another (left-handed) .308 bolt rifle which I want worse, but it wouldn't bother me at all to pay $1,200 for an upper which can be configured for a left-hander (and switched back for a right handed user if need be), and which comes with both a 5.56 and a .300 Blackout barrel......and will mate to my existing AR15 lower. Yes, it is $1,200, but it seems like a fair price for what you get. Also (if the hype is to be believed), it brings AK reliability to the accuracy of the AR platform. Seems like the best of both worlds.

[Excaliber]

TAM,

Obviously, some here are complaining about high cost of the Faxon and I assume you knew that'd be a theme...

So, what are the superlatives that make it more attractive over it's less costly alternatives?

Thanks!

P.S. I'm with you on spending more for quality, assuming you get more...

Well, to Excaliber's point, I actually looked at the Adams Arms gas-piston uppers on Brownells.com, and the one I've been looking at was around $650 (±$15 or so), and it seems to be a quality unit. BUT..... The Adams Arms unit is right handed only. I'm left-handed. Now, that's not a deal breaker as my current AR is right handed (with an ambi-safety selector), but the combination of being able to configure it for a left-handed shooter AND an interchangeable barrel/caliber capability is pretty neat. I think that makes it actually worth the price. The quality of the piece speaks for itself, but it is the features that I find attractive.

Unfortunately (or not), my gun money for the near future is going to go into another (left-handed) .308 bolt rifle which I want worse, but it wouldn't bother me at all to pay $1,200 for an upper which can be configured for a left-hander (and switched back for a right handed user if need be), and which comes with both a 5.56 and a .300 Blackout barrel......and will mate to my existing AR15 lower. Yes, it is $1,200, but it seems like a fair price for what you get. Also (if the hype is to be believed), it brings AK reliability to the accuracy of the AR platform. Seems like the best of both worlds.

If one wants and will make use of all of those features, I agree the Faxon would be worth the money. I really like the simplicity of the design and the interchangeable barrel feature. I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

However, for a right hander who just wants a reliable, piston operated AR that uses all standard AR parts except those in the piston kit, there are more economical ways to meet those requirements.

It all comes down to what features are important to you and what you're willing to pay to get them.

[Abraham]

Excellent information.

Thanks!

[The Annoyed Man]

I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

I agree with that. .308 would be more attractive to me than .300 Blackout, but that's what's offered. Another alternative, since we're combining some AR and AK features, would be a 7.62x39 upper. Or, howzabout for the AK afficionados, a 5.45×39mm AND 7.62×39mm set of barrels?

If the basic system is sound, it ought to be adaptable to a number of different caliber/barrel combinations.

[Excaliber]

I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

I agree with that. .308 would be more attractive to me than .300 Blackout, but that's what's offered. Another alternative, since we're combining some AR and AK features, would be a 7.62x39 upper. Or, howzabout for the AK afficionados, a 5.45×39mm AND 7.62×39mm set of barrels?

If the basic system is sound, it ought to be adaptable to a number of different caliber/barrel combinations.

Agreed.

If they offered all of those calibers with interchangeable barrels and a lower receiver that would somehow adapt to all the different magazines, they'd have a very attractive package that would be worth paying extra for.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

I agree with that. .308 would be more attractive to me than .300 Blackout, but that's what's offered. Another alternative, since we're combining some AR and AK features, would be a 7.62x39 upper. Or, howzabout for the AK afficionados, a 5.45×39mm AND 7.62×39mm set of barrels?

If the basic system is sound, it ought to be adaptable to a number of different caliber/barrel combinations.

Agreed.

If they offered all of those calibers with interchangeable barrels and a lower receiver that would somehow adapt to all the different magazines, they'd have a very attractive package that would be worth paying extra for.

THE ANSWER

[Dave2]

I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

I agree with that. .308 would be more attractive to me than .300 Blackout, but that's what's offered. Another alternative, since we're combining some AR and AK features, would be a 7.62x39 upper. Or, howzabout for the AK afficionados, a 5.45×39mm AND 7.62×39mm set of barrels?

If the basic system is sound, it ought to be adaptable to a number of different caliber/barrel combinations.

Agreed.

If they offered all of those calibers with interchangeable barrels and a lower receiver that would somehow adapt to all the different magazines, they'd have a very attractive package that would be worth paying extra for.

THE ANSWER

Just one small point/question... That article says it uses standard PMags for .308, but I've heard that it uses some special PMag variant. Does anyone know what the case is?

[The Annoyed Man]

I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

I agree with that. .308 would be more attractive to me than .300 Blackout, but that's what's offered. Another alternative, since we're combining some AR and AK features, would be a 7.62x39 upper. Or, howzabout for the AK afficionados, a 5.45×39mm AND 7.62×39mm set of barrels?

If the basic system is sound, it ought to be adaptable to a number of different caliber/barrel combinations.

Agreed.

If they offered all of those calibers with interchangeable barrels and a lower receiver that would somehow adapt to all the different magazines, they'd have a very attractive package that would be worth paying extra for.

THE ANSWER

You beat me to it, CaK. This was the first thing I thought of.......but I had to take a nap. The problem is that the Colt 901 upper will not fit on a standard AR lower, and I think the reason (I'll have to reread that article, which I had just read about a week ago) has something to do with the length between the main pins, and the location of the front pivot pin, necessitated by the need to accept the larger .308 magazines. OTH, if you want to invest in the Colt lower and the two uppers, rumors are that Colt will be coming out with uppers in additional calibers down the road, with speculators predicting .300 Blackout and 6.8 SPC. The fact that the Colt uses a proprietary lower is irrelevant IF you haven't already invested in AR platform rifles.

OTH, the Faxon upper does fit a standard lower. So if you've already made that investment, you don't have to reinvest. But, .308 and other similarly sized or larger cartridges would be excluded by virtue of the magazine size limit. I think that's why they probably went right to .300 Blackout for the second barrel.

The Colt MSRP is $2,129.00, and because it is a Colt it will sell for something close to that. That's $930 more than the Faxon upper with two barrels, which will fit your standard AR lower.....if you can do without .308. Kind of a tossup.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'd like it even more if the alternate barrel was a .308.

I agree with that. .308 would be more attractive to me than .300 Blackout, but that's what's offered. Another alternative, since we're combining some AR and AK features, would be a 7.62x39 upper. Or, howzabout for the AK afficionados, a 5.45×39mm AND 7.62×39mm set of barrels?

If the basic system is sound, it ought to be adaptable to a number of different caliber/barrel combinations.

Agreed.

If they offered all of those calibers with interchangeable barrels and a lower receiver that would somehow adapt to all the different magazines, they'd have a very attractive package that would be worth paying extra for.

THE ANSWER

Just one small point/question... That article says it uses standard PMags for .308, but I've heard that it uses some special PMag variant. Does anyone know what the case is?

This article says that the magazines are not interchangeable with other .30 caliber ARs: http://www.policeone.com/police-product ... r-Carbine/

There is almost zero parts interchangeability between the various .30 caliber AR rifles, except for those parts they have in common with the AR15, such as lower-receiver fire control parts, sights and buttstocks. Even magazines are unlikely to interchange between brands.