Buy once cry once! - Nordic Components 22RB Dedicated 22 Upper Receiver

Ive had this upper for one month and have cycled 5 different loads, cci mini mag, cci suppressor,cci quite, rem thunderbolt, and an intentionally random mix for action drills . All in all about three thousand rnds through it. I have really good things to say about this nordic rb .22lr upper but first some cons. A. For the money and nordics reputation i would expect better customer service. My personal experience so far has been of limited response. B. There was an obviouse cosmetic blemish on the barrel face. It looks like the cutting tool smeared a burr across it. It does not affect function but its unsightly for the price. C. This upper is proprietary and has a limited aftermarket for parts. This is important (hey NORDIC!) for many reasons. One example is that the firing pin and bolt are designed to function only with gi geometry hammers. An accidents happens and where do i get my replacement?......................................................Now on to how awsome this upper really is! A. This is the best ar simulator in .22lr hands down. First hand goes to inovative handling of the extruded upper mating to the hard chrome bolt assembly. Fitment and finish is excellent with lite machine marks in non critical and non friction areas. Its mirror on contact surfaces. The recoil spring is captured but the "buffer block" does rotate and needs to by timed right up or down and is not a big deal . This block protrudes further than an ar bolt so push it in when locking the rear pin. Also you have to leave your buffer in because it bears on that "buffer block" and does affect cycleing. I could not get the bolt to impact this block despite ammo types but the ar buffer would absorb remaining energy if it did. The second hand goes to how well that bolt is designed. One inovative feature is the extractor. It is pinned to the barrel which is clever because it keeps an standard ar lower from needing insert blocks or other mods. The bolt is easy to disassemble for cleaning and the robust dimisions of the individual pins amd assembly parts helps explain the outstanding reliabilty. The firing pin is not your tipickle floating bar thats pin retained but a fully machined spring loaded pin that is a redesigned ar pin. By demision the hammer pocket measures the same allowing a positive reset on the trigger. The bolt locks back on the magazine follower and goes to batyery when removed. Thats about the only thing this upper cant imitate from an ar but i wasnt bothered by that. I though i would be but my first round ftf drill is on game now. B. And speaking of similarities to an ar its wieght imitates its m4 heritage well at about 4 ounces less. The barrel is m4 profile but it does not have a grenade launcher cut. Its overyly heavy and poorly shaped but this is a simulator. Saying that the barrel does remove easily. C. The reliability of this upper is outstanding with every ammo i put into it and the only failures to fire happened with the rem thunerbolts. Failure to eject occurred on all the cci quite but the cci suppressor was flawless. It didnt clean the rifle for those 3k rounds either. Part of this i attribute to the hand finishing on key parts. The extractor is polished as well as the feed ramp. D. How about that accuracy. I did expect it to be good based on other reviews. This upper is sub moa with cci suppresor and mini mag ammo at 50 yards. With a 10x swfa scope i was getting awsome shots at 200 yards. Definitely the most accurate out of the box semi ive shot ro date. E. Final thoughts on this upper are that the pros far outweighed the cons and that the price is fair. Try to get one on sale and its a great deal. Im really impressed with this product. I think it represents a step, in design philosphy, above any competing rifles because its not worried about modifying or fitting into what exists. It rides on a proven lower and is truly a 21st century tool.