[Accomplice]

Comparing two used uppers with the same round count and condition, how would you say the values stacked up:

Complete 556 16" rifle upper with green 551 furniture and all fully functioning upper parts vs.

Complete 556 pistol (/SBR) upper with green 550 hand guards (cut to length with holes drilled perfectly by DDLES) with DDLES hand guard retainer and all fully functioning upper parts.

 

[ShootingSight]

Given that no one but SIG makes uppers or lowers, and to the best of my knowlege, they do not sell them separately, the market has got to be pretty tight.

If you have a spare upper, you probably are not going to get much for it, unless it represents an upgrade for someone, because not many guys have an unused lower sitting around.

Hence, I would say the SBR, which might be an upgrade or a variant someone would want in addition to the upper they own, will have some value.

The other thing to check is when they were made. There is lots of information on this forum, and I think it generally suggests that initial production, as SIG was using a lot of imported Swiss made parts, was very good. Gen 2, which represented all the startup pain for US suppliers of the parts, was really bad, and Gen 3, which represents everyone having moved out of the startup phase, has gotten good again.

Someone else can comment on the SN range that was good and bad, but if you are in the bad period, the value might be lower.

 

[ullie]

...in my opinion a used 556 16 inch barreled upper is worth considerably more than a used 10 inch barreled upper because there is a greater demand for carbines than pistols...and to get any practical use...the 10 inch barreled upper ( pistol ) needs to have a stock...

 

[Accomplice]

It seems like so many people have the carbine length (30,000+?) that there may be a few that would want a registered SBR upper that they could swap back and forth.

Edited to add: I'm also kind of wondering what % of value the upper has vs the lower. It seems like the stripped AR style (non-classic) 556 lowers are worth $400-$500 and the complete pistols $1,300+. Does that mean that the upper is worth $800ish?

 

[HermCorps]

Ik this is a fairly old post, but are u looking to possibly sell one of the uppers?

 

[rambo]

If I saw an upper for $800, I would jump on that so fast....

rambo