I recently received my BRN-4 Stripped Upper Receiver and my BRN-4 Upper Receiver Kit From Brownells

The BRN-4 Upper Receiver Kit comes with a Surplus HK Upper and Surplus HK 9” Quad Rail

The BRN-4 Upper Receiver is not forged, like the real receiver, it is billet.



I have not found a lot of good reference info on the kit or the assembly process

So I will use this thread to compare the receivers and to document my build process, when it differs from the typical AR-15 assembly process




Comparison of the BRN-4 and HK 416 Stripped Upper Receiver


THE SURPLUS HK UPPER IS THE TOP RECEIVER IN THESE IMAGES

BUILD VIDEOS & PICTURES


ORIGINAL BROWNELLS BRN-4 BUILD VIDEO





INSTALLING THE GAS BLOCK ROLL PINS







INSTALLING THE OPERATING ROD RECEIVER BUSHING

FAQ


Q : Does the Operating Rod Bushing come preinstalled in the BRN-4 Upper Receiver

A: I can’t speak for everyone, but it was preinstalled on the upper that I received





Q : The Forward Assist Roll Pin was really difficult to install.  IS that normal?

A: No, not for a typical AR-15 upper receiver build.  
Several people have reported that was very difficult to install this roll pin.  Mine started to flare half way in so I removed it, and I tapered the end of the replacement pin and polished it prior to installation.  That seemed to make it easier to install

FINAL PICTURES

That BRN receiver looks like shit.

... I believe that's an actual HK stripped receiver, though. It's not BRN's own recently announced one - which is also for sale on Brownells on its own.
That one - I really dislike; the "surplus" one that comes with the BRN-4 kit is not too bad imo

ETA you're right; one is BRN's own (which I dislike) the other one (the one that comes with the kit) is the actual HK's one, which is the one I also have.

I don't like Brownells' own either

Boy I'm glad i decided to hold out..

And so,
today I got to shoot my build.

Absolutely fantastic. Shot with no hiccups whatsoever, steel ammo and brass - suppressed and unsuppressed.

I present you here with a mere bunch of rounds shooting suppressed (I shot more of this not on video for a good while to test it all thoroughly)

I'm so glad I purchased this upper from Brownells; it's allowed me - afforded me - a rifle I could hardly afford otherwise.




Suppressed 416 by Solo__, on Flickr

@Solo_ always love your builds. The thought and passion that goes behind each one. Wouldn't even know where to start with a BRN clone. Last time I checked it seemed like they were out of stock on some important bits.

Immensely grateful for this comment of yours.

My passion comes from decades of being denied any firearms ownership, back in Shitaly where I used to reside (...and where it is so hard to just own and can't own most of the ones I wanted to, even after I got the several licenses I was supposed to get).

I started from the most humble components, a stock and a (battle) grip.
Then, Brownells thought they'd implement that Brn-4 of theirs and I saw the light (laughs).
In reality, that upper kit is all we need.

Yes, it is OOS as of now but they said they're making more - I trust them.
I love so so much the one you see above that I am planning on making another one (with a different rail).

Yes, it'd be 1.5k USD more.

Why not just the rail then, Solo? Because I installed the gas block of my life (laughs) - the one with the two sling-rings on the side (I had to buy it on the side, since Brownells provides a ring-less one which is not my favorite type).

Those aren't compatible with any newer rail (Geissele, H&K own, ... ) - and need be removed OR you need to buy another gas block.

Thing is brother, if anything, I don't think (anymore) we're going to see less and less 416s... but more.
Clones, replicas, replicated parts, original ones - all of it together.

By the way, I remember watching and reading content that stated that 416s have a stout recoil. I had a 13 years old firing mine with me yesterday and we both couldn't tell a difference from standard, SBR AR15 recoil - which we also had there at the range yesterday.

Like no difference whatsoever.

I also plan to build 2,   The 10.4 upper is 100% BRN-4 and I'm using the surplus HK upper and 9" quad rail from the kit to build a 14.5 or 16.5" Rifle




What rail are you using for your next build?


You should get on the list for a Black Opps Defense Lower that should be available at the end of the year

I may go your same route - get the BRN stripped upper (it looks worse than HK's own but it still works), buy the barrel and piston combo and go with a Geissele rail. That feels the most logical choice so far - and cheapest, too

Good plan, sounds like mine, but in reverse :)

I think the tool path marks on the BRN-4 Upper will look  consistent with the machine tool marks on the Geissele rails, especially once my upper is re-anodized RAL8k

I bought my SMR rail as a blem for $198

I'm sure the HK rails will end up back in on the blem page, which saves you $200

... great minds and all

Watching zero dark thirty
Definitely need a 416

Yesss... just finished up mine.
Brownells option truly allowed me (in the sense of afforded me) something I couldn't have afforded otherwise now

This is my final configuration.

BRN-4 416D Geissele by Solo__, on Flickr