Thinking of bulding a AR-lower reciver?

[2 gun]

I am thinking of building a AR in post ban configureation while I can. ( thank you BUSH) What I need to know is about lower recivers stripped no guts. I'll worrie about the rest later.


What I would like to know is :

1 who make the top of the line lowers and how much they will cost?

2 who makes the mid line lowers and what do they cost and what are the problems with them.

3 who makes the junk and why?


4 witch ones will accept all mil spec parts?

5 what can I expect to pay for a good top to mid line lower reciver?

6 can I buy a good stripped lower for around 100 bucks ?

[quadfan]

I assume you are'nt talking about 80% finished receivers? If you are indeed talking about ready to assemble lowers,the only ones I'd avoid are the one's with the sear blocks built in to them(so they can NEVER be made full-auto). Colt is the only one I'm sure of,but have heard of others.It's really no big deal,but most people would like to have the option open to them "if the sh_t ever hits the fan! I've had DPMS(both cast and forged),Bushmaster and Olympic,and all have functioned very well.The fit and finish was about the same as I remember,although it seems the cast ones have a little overcast in some areas(does not hurt them in any way).I'm currently building a match-target AR and am using a DPMS forged(they are the ones with the panther on the side,the cast ones only have DPMS stamped on them).The reasons I'm using this particular brand are...I like the panther on the side,good luck with DPMS in the past,a dealer friend of mine had 3 of them and gave me a really good deal!! I've heard good things about the other major brands(there are too many to list) and I think most all are "milspec" and parts interchange(It just makes good buisness sense). I never had any formal gunsmithing training,and used a diagram to put the lowers together,it's really quite easy,and mistakes point themselves out quickly and are easy to fix(in other words,they go together ONE way,and if you miss a step,you won't get far and will have to put the parts in when they are supposed to go). You should be able to find a name brand lower for around $100,I see them all the time. One thing to consider is using the same brand lower as upper,so the finishes will match!!

[2 gun]

QUADFAN COULD YOU RECOMEND A GOOD LOWER THAT WILL ACCEPT A SMALL TATICAL KIT AND A LONG RANGE KIT FOR AROUND 100 BUCKS?:ar15: :sniper:


What are 80% finnished recivers do they require a FFL?
Why are they bad?

[quadfan]

Go to Gunbroker.com and search for "AR15 lower" there are several from DPMS,Bushmaster and Rock River Arms for around $100. I buy alot of parts and guns through them and recomend the sight highly! You could also check with Midway USA,CDNN,(www.gunsnstuff.net (http://www.gunsnstuff.net) has forged Olympic Arms lowers for $89.95).That's a real good deal!
80% finished receivers are sold without an FFL,but require some machining.www.ar15.com (http://www.ar15.com) has some good threads about building one of these.I did'nt say they were bad,it just looks kindof complicated,and not near as easy as it sounds(just my opinion).

[2 gun]

Thanks for the grate advice I'll try to keep you posted as the project progressies

[GreenLantern]

Definately go to ar15.com and check out the equipment exchange forums. There is a guy who posts there by the name of Pete-in-NH (or something like that). From what I've heard he has about the best prices of anyone on Rock River Arms products. Unfortunately he doesn't have a web page or anything.

[PSG1]

DPMS (Panther Arms) or Olympic Arms.BUT!! They both make CAST recievers too that are a little less $$$.Spent the litte extra and get the forged.You'll see the forging lines in the trigger well & front mag well.Bushmaster is good too,I just don't like the snake.All are mil spec.

[Camera man]

I like the way my ASA looks and the fit and finish are get. My SF, race gun buddy says that a lot of his people like the ASA too. Thats why I got one. It matched my FN, A3 M4 upper like they where made in the same shop. And there forged. All mil spec and so on. All of my fire control group is made by Colt.

[2 gun]

Hey thanks guys grate response I have a couple of questions.

1. I've looked around at some sites AR.com,GB ect... and I see a lot different kinds of receivers colt, bushmaster ,asa,dmps,rra,olympic,century and I see some in the shot gun news for 89$ what should I look for in a receiver I plan to make it into a car or a long-range hole puncher .I've heard about colt using a block in the manufacture of it's post ban and also some odd pins .Is there any other manufacture who uses the blocks or the odd sized pins?I don't care about color as much as I do function and fit , what is good price on a mill spec forged receiver ?


I plan to make the puchase around the end of FEB .I like to research it about a month before I buy any gun parts .

[Camera man]

I'm not sure, but I think Colt was doing that right after the ban went in, but not any more. My ASA was about $120.00. And its mil. spec. I have seen Bushies for about $140.00 and DPMS about $120.00. I can say that its worth spending a little more on the lower. The cheaper ones are just that. Cheap. Here is where I got my kit. It may be worth the free call. And they now have nice lowers. I have read several good write ups about them.
http://www.jtdistributing.com/
Good luck and good hunting.

[2 gun]

Camera Man I went to J T site that you gave the link to but in lower parts it said they don't sell lowers only parts ,kits and complete guns.

Another question I have is about wear .I have heard that some brands and types of lowers will wear badly. Could someone please explane?

[Camera man]

Call J&T' on the toll free number and ask them. There brand new. I guess they have not had time to put them on there site yet. I think their lower name is tri-star or something like that. Its worth the free call.

[2 gun]

Thanks Camera Man:)

[Camera man]

Amen 2 gun. I look at it this way. Guns are like happiness, you can never have enough happiness. As for your wear question, just about every thing I have seen says that the upper takes most of the wear and tear, not the lower.

[Camera man]

One more thing 2 gun. This is what I did. And I love it. The fit and finish is great. Looks like it came from the factory already built once I got it all together. The colors matched right up. And she's a dream to shoot. I posted this last month. Every thing but the lower came from J&T. The ASA lower came from a friend of mines gun shop. He uses ASA to build race guns for 3 gun and SF guys.



Building one Ok guys, here is what I did. I am building this one from the ground up. A complete FN, M4 upper. It has a 16in. Shaw flat top bbl, heavy match grade, with a tactical muzz. break. Shaw makes bbls for Colt. And a forged ASA striped lower. Colt fire control group. All parts and pieces are mil spec. The folks I'm buying the complete upper from will test fire it for me before they ship it out at no extra cost. The total cost to me is $581.50. It should be in in a few weeks. I am having a retired S.F. smithy put it together for me. I'll run some rounds threw it and report back. I know most of you love Bushmaster and I do to. But I do not have the kind of $ to get another.

[2 gun]

I have decided to go with dmps for my 1st purchase because of the added coating plus the 3 year warranty as the others do'nt have the extra coating plus the fact that it may take more than a year to complete the gun and if there's only a 1 year warranty it'll be out of warranty in the unlikely event somthing is wrong.However I was thinking about it last night and as my name implise 1 gun just won't do so I will delay buying the lower parts kit for a month or two to buy a second stripped lower in two or three months from now and for my second purchase I have chossen to go with RRA stripped lower because they offer a good warranty and from what I have heard good costomer service .I beleive it will be a good platform on which to build a short car commando type of gun and I'll use the dmps to build a longrange hole puncher.I have looked at all the brands suggested and determinded that from your other post the best one to sute my needs are DMPS and RRA.

Nothing is written in stone and this may change due to avialabaility,price and costomer service.

THANKYOU ALL!

[quadfan]

Good choice going with the DPMS,but you could'nt go wrong with any of the suggested choices.The easy way to tell a forged DPMS receiver (postban)is it will have the panther head etched into it. The cast receivers just have DPMS letters.There are several other ways to tell the difference between forged and cast,(belive it or not,some people can't tell,don't know,or might try to pass a cast off for a forged)but with DPMS,this works. I think I paid $113.00 for mine last summer,and the same guy had them at a show 2weeks ago for $135.00.

[Sniper]

When you do get the lower parts kit I'd suggest going with DPMS. It's a smooth set up at a reasonable price.


:sniper:

[Bill]

I put the DPMS lower parts kit in a Oly Arms lower, and it is much smoother and crisper than my Oly Arms lower kit.

[quadfan]

I would have to agree on using DPMS parts to build your lower. It does make for a pretty good trigger feel,and the quality is top notch! I got my lower parts kit off E-bay for $46.00,and I see there are several DPMS lower kits on there most of the time.If you aren't in a big hurry,watch some auctions,you could save some $$$.Just a thought!

[2 gun]

I haven't studyied lower parts kit yet I was going to look at Bushy ,DMPS,and RRA first and I as I will be building both a long range and a tatical I'll need a smooth adjustable trigger and a heavy made parts kits but I'll have to wait untill I get my lowers.

[one good cop]

I'll throw my opinion in for rock river and bushmaster because I own a couple of each. the top of the line has to be those two I did a little research on the both of them alot of the competition says that they are mil spec but arent. i bought parts kits and the competion was not up to spec. more than a few. . Quite frankly disapointed with colt blocking it's recievers that ruled them out of my decision in buying an ar-15 .Just rember when building an ar-15 keep the parts specific to the maker of the upper and lower do'nt mix n match you'll regret it. When building an ar-15 rember you get what you pay for my last build was a rock river 100.00 for stripped lower 58.00 for the lower parts kit 19.00 for the hogue grip 400.00 for the m-4 a-3 upper and did some swapping for the carry handle all in all it is the prettiest ar-15 I've owned and shoots damn sweet..enjoy the pic...

[2 gun]

Nice M4 ONE GOOD COP!.The hardest part I've found so far is picking the parts.

Should I get a complete upper from RRA for 470?

Should I buy a upper from J.T for 360 and then buy the bolt and carrier from bush or dmps?

I can't realy afford to pay 600.00 or more for an upper ,so do I buy a barrel from bush,dmps,RRA,or JT and build my own?

do I want a shaw barrel or a duglas?do I want to go all out and get a bush barrel?

do I need a cromed carrier or bolt?

The choises seem endless.

The only thing for sure is if I rush it it won't be as good as it will if I do my home work!


ok this is what I am thinking today!

1.A Les Baer lower it 's not much more than a DMPS and it adds style and value to the build plus it on of the best made.A __________ lower parts kit and a ___________ national match trigger. A _________ upper with a _________ barrel with a twist rate of _________ .A Les Baer cromed carrier because it is one of the most critical parts.A one pice free floatind hand guard .


My goal with the first gun is 1/4 inch groups at 100 yds and 3of 5 in the kill zone at 600

My second A3 M4 will be mostly RRA and a fast plinker.with as short a barrel as leagal under post ban law.

[Sniper]

Now we're talking upper components. Are you looking to buy complete or put together by the piece? Do you want to shoot 55 to 70 grain or step-up to the 80 grain Bergers and JLK's? The two latter shells are for long range shooting.

Whatever you decide, I'd get the upper, bolt and carrier from the same place. If you're wanting a different barrel and to mix and match parts, I'd find someone who can put it together if you don't have the facilities.

No matter what. People will argue that there is no difference in 223 and 5.56. Trust me....THERE IS. I have what I call a "Space Gun". It has a throated-match 223 chamber, 28" heavy-barrel . It will never see 5.56 ammo. Military ammo is hotter and the pressures it creates are not compatible with the chamber on the "Space Gun". In short, SHOOT WHAT IT'S MADE FOR....IT WORKS BETTER!!
:sniper:

[Sarge8497]

The Dealer Warehouse www.tdwsales.com (http://www.tdwsales.com) is selling a Armscorp AC-15 forged receiver for $109.95 that might be something you'd want to check out.

Sarge:D