Words: Rich Norman
If you follow Geissele’s IG feed you’ll have seen their “URG-I”, or “Upper Receiver Group – Improved”.
This upper includes Geissele’s Mk16 SMR and Airborne Charging Handle (with subdued trades). The URG-I is part of a United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) upgrade package, as I understand it.
USMC tested something similar. Also note the B5 Bravo stock, which a Geissele employee has stated was spec’d for USMC from the start:
This article isn’t about the URG-I per se. However, there’s a really great clone thread here if you want to know more.
I was tagged into this post on Geissele’s IG, by my good buddy Milsimminded.
It depicts a handsome blaster, sure. But this is the important part:
I’ve talked about the many practical reasons why dropped-in parts are observed on rifles in the wild, but up until now this additional reason has eluded me.
Maybe we can now postulate that the reason for some of those painted Block II lowers and unpainted uppers comes down to breaking up the rifle’s outline?
In any case, it gives replica builders a reason beyond aesthetics to deliver the dropped-in look.
The Reptile House 