Spike's Tactical AR-15 Upper Receiver Assembly

I didn't read all reviews. They jump around on dates so much that it's difficult to learn if there were improvements over the 14 years worth of reviews. Sheesh.
Anyway the upper is high quality. Solid product. Fits very well to a Spike's lower purchased at the same time, March 2025.
The finish is quite different though. The upper is more of a semi sheen vs. a matte sheen on the lower. The upper is a lighter shade, looks pretty good, reflects light. But Spike's lower is dark, beautiful, zero light reflection.
It's obvious a different company makes the Spike's uppers but in the end they work well and are solid. The upper also fit's well with a newer Anderson Manufacturing & older Aero Precision I've had for 10 years. The Spike's upper is almost a perfect match to an Anderson Manufacturing regarding the finish (sheen).

The exterior texture is a little more coarse than my Busmaster lower from 1993. Good for me the anodizing is a bit purple in sunlight. That may not be good for someone looking for a finish that looks black.
Upper works fine though, just a cosmetic issue.

Fantastic company, great forged upper! Works flawlessly with my Spike's lower. One of the best parts build companies. This AR 15 is in 350 legend for my son's birthday and I couldn't be happier with the build and I have no doubt he will love it! I recommend Spike's to anyone building an AR!

Looked perfect upon opening!! Building a new upper with a E. Arthur Brown…….“HBAR 24" ACCURACY BARREL BY EABCO - STAINLESS FLUTED THREADED 5.56 NATO/.223 REM NATIONAL MATCH BARREL.

I recently bought this to put on a Spike's lower. The lower's base color is a standard matte black, like 99% of all black tactical products. However, this upper's finish has a lighter reddish tinge to it. The difference is painfully obvious when matched up to a standard lower, handguard, etc. QC must have gone down.

Purchased a zombie spikes lower and this upper separately from PA back in 2015 and the fit was extremely tight. I still have that rifle and it feels like it's one piece, rock solid.

I had a 2nd Zombie lower so I ordered the spikes BCG, upper, & buffer tube to replace cheaper parts. Bottom line - I'm not happy at all. As others have noted there is an abnormal amount of play. I installed an accuwedge in mine and that wasn't even enough to remove the play. That's how bad it is. An Anderson upper and lower fit together better than this crap. If it weren't already put together and loc-tited-up, I'd ship it back. Now, not worth my time.


This is no reflection on PA. PA shipping and service is great. Been a long time customer and will continue to use them.

Purchased one at a great discount. Also purchased a Spike's lower at my local gunshop. I enjoy this upper quite a bit and I really have no complaints at all.

The play in spike's upper/lower combos is extremely minimal. Definitley not enough to cause any concern. Any body complaining about play at this price point must be quite a snob. Any upper/ lower combo is going to have some play. And there is plenty of ways to fix that if you are really that concerned.

The finish is great, I've treated my AR like it is a tool (1,000+ rounds), not a trophy and the finish on this upper has remained high quality.

With that said, if you're trying to build a pristine multi-thousand dollar rifle, then shame on you for cutting corners and then complaining about it.

I was very disappointed. I figured that Spike's uppers would be just as good as there lowers. I was wrong sloppy fit .last 2 uppers I will ever buy from Spike's....

I purchased this Spike's upper to use on my Spike's lower. Has alot of play. The inside is not finished very poor finish on the outside. Tried installing 3 different barrels and all had play and had a loose fit. For the money I payed I hoped for a better product from spikes. Very disappointed. May not be safe to use as barrel fitment is very loose. On a brighter note primary arms delivery was fast.

Bought this upper for a recent build because my lower is a spikes crusader and I love their lowers so I figured there uppers must be just as good... I was mistaken. Got this thing and inspected it and found a few disappointing issues. There was a little chunk taken out of the threads where the barrel nut screws on, but it was shallow enough where it doesnt mess with the barrel nut. On both sides just under the rail there are long deep scratches going from the front to the back of the receiver and the inside looks almost like there’s no anodizing at all. Not to mention the bottom of the receiver looks like the anodizing is about to pee off? Definitely not impressed at all. Will be sticking to bcm uppers in the future