[JohnAkaB]

Looking to start a build, now days there are so many manufactures with stripped lowers. Who should I go with? This is going to be a budget build for range/free time use. Which manufactures should I stay away from?

 

[72SS]

Go with a Spikes Tactical.... And thats all I have to say about that. Good luck with your build I just finished my first a few days ago. Was ALOT easier then I thought it would be. Youtube is a amazing place for step by step videos.

 

[Hammer of Dawn]

I don't think you can go wrong with Spike's....especially on a budget....Just ordered one last month and I'm just waiting on it to get here....

 

[blawson327]

cant beat the quality/price of the spikes, should be about $80 shipped from aimsurplus. i recently did my first build with the spikes stripped lower and am completely happy with it

 

[Shaniac]

Spikes makes quality stuff only they are extremely behind on orders. I ordered my Punisher lower (seen below) back on April 19th and was told it would be 4–6 weeks before my order would ship. They are now telling me that it may be up to 8 weeks before they can ship and they are looking for new forging companies to keep up with orders placed...

Here is a current letter from Spike's President:
http://www.spikestactical.com/new/z/ourcustomers.jpg

 

[Fdxpilot]

Try Palmetto State Armory. They actually have lowers in stock with no 8 week wait.

PSA AR15 Lower

 

[gthrift]

Try Palmetto State Armory. They actually have lowers in stock with no 8 week wait.

PSA AR15 Lower

+1

I'm actually partial to their Gadsden flag lower myself. If they're at the gun show here next Saturday or in Columbia the week after I plan on picking one up. If their not at either I'll just ride by the storefront when I'm in Columbia next.

 

[hikeeba]

Due to a combination of transfer fees ($50 a pop) and teh fact that I like convenience, I have purchased lowers that I can readily obtain at or through my local shop. They're not the most favorite brands out there, but I have had zero issues with DPMS and CMMG stripped lowers.

Whatever rollmark you like and however you want to obtain it is up to you. The question of 'which lower should I get' can get pretty subjective. Chances are pretty good that if you stick with a known brand, you'll be OK.

 

[Shaniac]

+1

I'm actually partial to their Gadsden flag lower myself. If they're at the gun show here next Saturday or in Columbia the week after I plan on picking one up. If their not at either I'll just ride by the storefront when I'm in Columbia next.

My next lower will be Palmetto's Gadsden flag lower...
I just couldn't pass up on the punisher lower from Spike's with me being a huge comic book geek, LOL.

I am surprised that they have not advertised the gun show in Charleston...Is it next Saturday? I thought it was later in June....

 

[gordonw1]

My next build will be a PSA lower or one of these.

Surplus Arms & Ammo LOW15 Stripped AR Lower Receiver

 

[gthrift]

My next lower will be Palmetto's Gadsden flag lower...
I just couldn't pass up on the punisher lower from Spike's with me being a huge comic book geek, LOL.

I am surprised that they have not advertised the gun show in Charleston...Is it next Saturday? I thought it was later in June....

I haven't seen it advertised either but I saw the date on gunshows-usa and on mkshows.com. It is going to be June 4th and 5th as far as I can tell.

 

[Shaniac]

I haven't seen it advertised either but I saw the date on gunshows-usa and on mkshows.com. It is going to be June 4th and 5th as far as I can tell.

SWEET! That will make for a good Saturday!

 

[JohnAkaB]

So what sets noveseke/LMT/CCMG/COLT/DD apart from like Spikes/RRA/DPMS?

 

[gthrift]

SWEET! That will make for a good Saturday!

I actually just saw a billboard on 526 right next to the Costco in West Ashely. So I guess it has been advertised.

 

[Shaniac]

I actually just saw a billboard on 526 right next to the Costco in West Ashely. So I guess it has been advertised.

I'm used to seeing the billboard right across from the Bruinswick Bowling Alley on Ashley Phosphate as you are driving towards Dorchester Rd. They have not put it up to the best of my knowledge.

 

[hikeeba]

So what sets noveseke/LMT/CCMG/COLT/DD apart from like Spikes/RRA/DPMS?

Chalk the following up to Internet blah, blah, blah hearsay. I am not an expert on the matter. The following is only my theories/ideas of hwere receivers come from and why they are different.

My understanding is that forged upper and lower receivers come from only a handful of sources. Once the receivers are forged, they are shipped out for final machining and finishing. There are more machining facilities than there are forging sources, but it isn't like every AR brand name does their own machining. Receivers from different brands - and differently perceived brands - may be final machined by the same company. I do not have any docmented examples of this, but I do recall reading about it more that once in my AR-related travels on the Internet.

Well, I did find an example on another forum:

Bold name- milling/machine shop that machines raw receiver forgings.
Non-bold name - AR brand name that has their receivers machined by shop.

Lewis Machine & Tool
LMT
Lauer
DS Arms
PWA
Eagle
Armalite
Knights Armament
Barrett

Continental Machine Tool
Stag
Rock River Arms
High Standard
Noveske
Century (New)
Global Tactical
CLE
S&W
MGI
Wilson Tactical
Grenadier Precision
Colt

LAR Manufacturing
LAR
Bushmaster
Ameetec
DPMS
CMMG
Double Star
Fulton Armory
Spike's Tactical

JVP
Double Star
LRB
Charles Daly

Mega Machine Shop
Mega
GSE
Dalphon
POF
Alexander Arms

Olympic Arms
Olympic
SGW (Schnutzen Gun Works is the custom shop for Olympic Arms)
Tromix
Palmetto
Dalphon
Frankford
Century (Old)

Sun Devil
Sun Devil forged billet receivers

Superior
Superior Arms
Lauer (New)

-------------------------------------

The above list contains the machine companies that machine the raw forgings into usable receivers. Each individual company applies their own finishing standards.

Bear in mind that the FORGING company is very likely DIFFERENT than the company that finishes the milling of the forged receivers. Further the company that does the milling may not be the company that does the application of the finish, it may also not be the company that does the final polish, etc.

The above list is subject to change from time to time! I believe this list is correct at the time I posted it. (11/2008)

Notes - The above list does not include every single AR brand name available in 2008, or now. The above list was quoted and provided as an example and shouldn't be taken as absolute gospel. I have seen other lists like this. It has been some time since I, personally, got into the nitty-gritty origins of AR components, and have no idea who currently milss/machines/makes what for who. Brand names may shift to other milling/machine shops over time as contracts expire and are renewed. Thank you to Melensdad, wherever you are, for letting me lift your post, edit it slightly for clarity, and repost it here.


The quality of the final machining and finish has something to do with the actual and perceived quality of the piece. And the quality of the final machining and finish may depend on the quality control standards a company has in place. And the quality control standards a company has in place may depend on what sort of market(s) they cater to, and/or the volume of product(s) they crank out. Smaller, niche companies can afford to have more attention paid to detail, therefore they produce a finer product, and therefore can charge more money for said product. Larger companies producing higher volumes probably do their best to strike a balance between keeping their production costs down while still delivering a quality product.

I guess in summary, more expensive parts should look better than less expensive parts, but all parts should have all the right holes cut to the right sizes and put in the right places.


Again, just my theories/ideas based on reading I've done.




Fine print: This post has been provided for entertainment purposes only. Don't blame me if it is all wrong. For all I know, Aliens from another dimension make Noveske stuff and then each item is touched by the Flying Spaghetti Monster (aka God) and that's why it's so spectacular.

 

[Shaniac]

+1

I'm actually partial to their Gadsden flag lower myself. If they're at the gun show here next Saturday or in Columbia the week after I plan on picking one up. If their not at either I'll just ride by the storefront when I'm in Columbia next.

According to an email from Palmetto State Armory, they will not be at the Saturday gun show in Ladson. They have a sale on the S&W Bodyguard .380's that I was looking to purchase....bummer....I suppose a trip to Columbia is in order....maybe I'll make a day trip of it and take my mountain bike up to the Harbison State Forest MTB trails....

Just wanted to give you a heads up.

 

[XDm_Shooter]

Looking to start a build, now days there are so many manufactures with stripped lowers. Who should I go with? This is going to be a budget build for range/free time use. Which manufactures should I stay away from?

How about the lower build kits? Any suggestions on which is better then the others...lol...again so many choices...or should the kits be avoided and put the parts together from here and there?