AR-15 lowers

[williamcjones1988]

So im considering buy 2 or 3 stripped lowers, not for anything in particular, just to have in the event of a ban. So what lowers should i consider and would it be better to by upper/lower sets?

Read More

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

gen 2 aero precision lower and upper. awesome company awesome product.

 

[slimmer13]

In reality there is only a few companies that make all forged lowers and put whoevers roll marks on them to order, so any decently recognized brand that you get a good deal on should be gtg.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

^^this. keep that in mind. i rec. aero because ive done business with them multiple times. theyre top notch.

if u are looking for in expensive but good quality look at anderson. palmetto state armory sells blems for cheap too. usually never can see the blem anyway.

 

[Stomper]

MILSPEC forged. You'll have greater compatibility with other common components. As mentioned, there's only a few manufactures of forged uppers and lowers that supply the "end-user"
companies.

It's like buying designer blue jeans... the brand name on the side is what "fashionable" people pay more for, but it's STILL just denim.

 

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I've done business with Sherwood Armory and they are top notch. They have some "blem" stripped lowers for $29 or so.. I ordered two.
http://www.sherwoodarmory.com/category-s/1945.htm

 

[Stomper]

Another (very viable) option if you want "paperless" guns is to buy 80% forged lower receivers (if you have the ability/resources to complete the remaining steps). Legally they're just a hunk of metal, and you can leave them in storage until "needed".

 

[rds801]

So im considering buy 2 or 3 stripped lowers, not for anything in particular, just to have in the event of a ban. So what lowers should i consider and would it be better to by upper/lower sets?

Great minds think alike
I figured election time is coming around so I better get some lowers to put in the safe.

I ordered a Spikes Crusader lower and an Anderson lower from AIM and then ordered a PSA blem lower from PSA.

 

[B5Ben]

I've done business with Sherwood Armory and they are top notch. They have some "blem" stripped lowers for $29 or so.. I ordered two.
http://www.sherwoodarmory.com/category-s/1945.htm

$29 for blems, but none available from Sherwood BTW

 

[fxdc]

CMMG
My 2 cents.

 

[B5Ben]

You can get Anderson lowers from wideners for $37 on occasion and they are fine. No issues yet for any of mine. PSA is good as well and blend can be had for ~$40 once in a while. I have never spent more than that because I don't see the point to pay more based on who has their logo struck into the side.

 

[mjbskwim]

Unless all has changed in the last year,most of the lowers are about identical except the roll marks
Until you get to the billet lowers I would buy any brand except the poly ones
( I don't really care what good luck YOU have had with them ,I wouldn't buy one)
And it wouldn't be that bad to buy a box of them. Palmetto State Armory used to sell belms for cheap.We had a couple guys that would buy 10 at a time
Say $50 ea for 10,then after the witch is in office they would be worth around $200 ea?

 

[Ron Eagle Elk]

$29 for blems, but none available from Sherwood BTW

Sorry, they tend to run out quick when they have them.

 

[IronMonster]

I get a little tired of the "they are all the same" nonsense. Its true there are just a handful of forge shops that produce all the forgings, 7 that I am aware of.

Those 7 forge shops supply 0% lowers to hundreds of shops that produce finished lowers. Many of those manufacturers make lowers for multiple retail outlets. If you want to file the papwerwork and buy 500 lowers you could even have your own mark and serial number series put on them.

That in no way means that because they are forged they are all the same. The vast majority of them are finished to the military specification, so if they are machined correctly they should be indistinguishable. In reality the machine work, fit and finish vary. Some very inexpensive lowers are consistent and reasonably good (I have used maybe 20 Anderson lowers, I have had just a few fit up problems but for the most part they seem pretty good) But that does not mean you are not getting something when you buy a Aero over an Anderson for a few bucks more.

There are 6061 lowers out there which is an inferior alloy, make sure you are buying a 7075 forging. There is a range of coatings, not all anodizing is created equal. On some cheaper lowers you can see machine marks due to lack of clean up. And I have seen out of spec lowers from both high and low end makers.

So the long and short of it is if you dont care what you get, then yes almost any will do. But its just plain ignorant to say that a $29 lower is "identical" to a $189 lower because they where made from the same forging. Its everything that happens after it leaves the forge shop that matters.

 

[slimmer13]

I get a little tired of the "they are all the same" nonsense. Its true there are just a handful of forge shops that produce all the forgings, 7 that I am aware of.

Those 7 forge shops supply 0% lowers to hundreds of shops that produce finished lowers. Many of those manufacturers make lowers for multiple retail outlets. If you want to file the papwerwork and buy 500 lowers you could even have your own mark and serial number series put on them.

That in no way means that because they are forged they are all the same. The vast majority of them are finished to the military specification, so if they are machined correctly they should be indistinguishable. In reality the machine work, fit and finish vary. Some very inexpensive lowers are consistent and reasonably good (I have used maybe 20 Anderson lowers, I have had just a few fit up problems but for the most part they seem pretty good) But that does not mean you are not getting something when you buy a Aero over an Anderson for a few bucks more.

There are 6061 lowers out there which is an inferior alloy, make sure you are buying a 7075 forging. There is a range of coatings, not all anodizing is created equal. On some cheaper lowers you can see machine marks due to lack of clean up. And I have seen out of spec lowers from both high amade nd low end makers.

So the long and short of it is if you dont care what you get, then yes almost any will do. But its just plain ignorant to say that a $29 lower is "identical" to a $189 lower because they where made from the same forging. Its everything that happens after it leaves the forge shop that matters.

Meh
Aero probably makes half the lowers on the market. Spikes finish is a little glossier and some think that means the F&F is better than say a SA&A but mechanically they are identical. The Surplus is $75 and the Spikes is $120 and better yet the Aero can be found for $70 or so, but they all were probably made on the same machine.

 

[Brutus57]

^^this. keep that in mind. i rec. aero because ive done business with them multiple times. theyre top notch.

if u are looking for in expensive but good quality look at anderson. palmetto state armory sells blems for cheap too. usually never can see the blem anyway.

I have an Aero Precision on my BCM HBAR upper and it's a sweet MSR.

Just picked up a complete pistola blem lower from Palmetto for $121....screaming deal and there is just a slight shadow in the paint. Functions just fine.

Brutus

 

[jluck]

Meh
Aero probably makes half the lowers on the market.

Any factual information to support this? I'm not saying your wrong, I'm curious. I had no idea Areo was that big. I just recently started playing with there stuff (M5) and I am totally impressed. Three more builder kits got ordered yesterday for friends and fam.

My (limited) research/info suggests Anderson makes a huge percentage of finished lowers hitting the market for a multitude of popular gun "manufacturers".

I started to decipher whos who and whats what in the AR underground on AR15.com but that place hurts my head.


OH... And FWIW,
At first I wouldn't touch a Anderson lower but ended up building a few AR's from them, Of the 70+ that I personally have seen processed none had and visual issues and of the 20 or more that have been assembled none had "Out of spec" issues. A couple were suspect until it was narrowed down to the LPK's.

This was also the case for the 6 or 7 Mag Tactical lowers and a few Rock river ones.

 

[IronMonster]

Aero makes lowers for a number of retailers but it is a small fraction, maybe 10-15%, not 50%. They build a lot of lowers which is one reason why they can produce a high quality unit at a reasonable price. I have no facts to support that other than there are at least 4 or 5 other manufactures that make at least as many if not more lowers than Aero.

I think currently CMT (Continental Machine and Tool) machines the Spikes lowers but pretty sure they have been made by several other manufactures over the years as well including Mega.

There is a relatively few manufactures that produce a large number of lowers but there are still hundreds of individual manufactures. Many of them you have most likely never seen and have only produced hundreds of lowers, not the tens of thousands someone like Aero makes.

 

[slimmer13]

Any factual information to support this? I'm not saying your wrong, I'm curious. I had no idea Areo was that big.

Nope, just pulling percentages out my butt. I know they make a ton and also manufacture OEM parts for the aerospace industry, so they are a big outfit. They have or had made lowers for major companies like SAA, Spikes, PSA etc.

 

[mjbskwim]

They had some pretty cheap 'complete ' lowers at PSA this morning