Product Spotlight: Foxtrot Mike Upper Receivers

Caleb is again joined by special guest Paul Noonan from FM Products to continue their discussion about what makes Foxtrot Mike products unique. From the outside FM upper receivers may not look that different from a standard AR-15 upper, but the real differences are inside. The entire operating system of the Mike-15 Gen2 upper is contained within the receiver - no receiver extension, buffer, or buffer spring needed. It comes with a Picatinny Rail Adapter that installs in a standard AR-15 lower receiver in place of the buffer tube. This lets you mount a Picatinny folding stock on your rifle without having to buy a special dedicated lower receiver.

You can get the Mike-15 upper with a 16" barrel or, for the shortest-possible carbine build, a 13.9" barrel to which you'll need to pin-and-weld a muzzle device long enough to achieve the minimum 16" barrel length for rifles. Could FM sell the 13.9" Mike-15 upper with a muzzle device already pinned-and-welded on? Sure, but they'd rather give their customers the option to choose the exact device they want.

Anybody interested in a "how to pin and weld" collabo video with Paul and Caleb?

The Mike-15 Gen2 upper also comes in a pistol configuration with a 12.5" or 9" barrel. The shorter the barrel, of course, the "spicier" the operation with a lot more heat, gas, and carrier velocity. The reality of physics is that the bolt on the 9" upper will last about half as long as the bolt on the 16" model. However, the 9" pistol upper is surprisingly gentle-shooting yet reliable because of how well Paul and his crew were able to manage the gas flow.

That handy forward charging handle at the front of the Mike-15 Gen2's handguard is non-reciprocating, so no risk of injury to your support hand from your own charging handle. It's also ambidextrous in that you can easily swap it to EITHER side of the receiver. What's the secret to how smoothly this charging handle works? There's some special geometry. Paul explains.

The Mike-102 upper receiver is an AK-AR hybrid. AK folks will appreciate the 102's simplicity, but AR folks will find it reassuringly familiar, too. The operating system is essentially the same as the Mike-15. Paul explains some of the challenges in designing an AR upper that works with AK magazines. Hint: the Foxtrot Mike carrier rides on rails, so it doesn't have trouble negotiating a large magwell opening. The better the magazine is supported, the more reliably it will feed. The mag seats very securely in the Mike-102 to promote reliable feeding. The well-made AK556 magazines from AC Unity that come with every Mike-102 are also a big help in achieving this dependability.

The Mike-102's baptism by fire was two days of intensive live-fire "testing" at Kalash Bash. Attendees ran 30,000 rounds through those guns, and they became so hot the FM folks had to handle them with oven mitts! The 102s performed so well they earned a lot of respect from serious Kalashnikov fans.

Teaser: Is an "x39" (5.45x39 or 7.62x39) Mike-102 in the works? Paul shares the answer with us!