Why such a big difference in lower receiver prices??

rtmhunter · Jul 6, 2015

I'm very new to the AR rifle scene but after buying my first. Windham Weaponry Hbar I've started doing a bunch of research on building my own for the next go round. I have visited many online sights to find information about the different components available of which there seem to be a tremendous amount!! I sort of understand many items and their differences as far as quality of the build. One gray area for me seems to be the lower receiver. Billet versus forged and brand name recognition. Most of what I find seems to be made of the same materials and on the same equipment. I know there are some subtle differences but, prices between brands seem to vary widely. Now I'm only asking about stripped lowers. Why are some brands almost twice the price of others when the description and materials seem to be identical? Does it really just come down to brand preference and recognition or is there really a distinct advantage of one over the other? I want to build a good and accurate rifle in either .308 or .223 (haven't really decided yet). It doesn't have to be THE top of the line but, I want it to be good. I was hoping some of you with more experience than I could enlighten me on some of the differences. I continue to do my own research but, find a lot of the information on this site quite helpful. Thanks in advance for your time and effort.

lx1x · Jul 6, 2015

Name... Quality etc. To name few

jimbobborg · Jul 6, 2015

I'm not getting into billet versus forged. Among the forged lowers, all are supposed to be milspec. On my last build, I dropped $64 for a Bushmaster lower. If I wanted to spend another $30, I could pick up a Spikes. I'm not noticing any real difference between the two aside from the logo. If I really want to go cheap, I could pick up an Anderson lower for $54, but I've heard some not so good things about them.

dontpanic · Jul 6, 2015

It's what you like for the most part. Otherwise it's about resale value. Spikes, Noveske and Rock River are name brands that have a higher resale. They also cost more upfront.

This applies mostly to the lowers. Upper receivers seem to have fewer differences. Except the Spikes spider or maybe a VLTOR.

Get what you want or can afford. Worry about name brands later. (You do get what you pay for with handguards, cheap handguards suck)

outrider58 · Jul 6, 2015

You've been here a couple years and hopefully you've absorbed some of this stuff, through osmosis, maybe. I'd stay with some of the name brands already mentioned here adding maybe Engage(an Md. company) to the list as well. You pretty much get what you pay for. I would also recommend against billet receivers. They generally not as strong and durable as forged lowers and cost a bit more than their forged brethren. The problem IMO, with the cheaper brands is they can sometimes be out of spec., sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. You should be able to get a real decent stripped lower for less than $200(5.56). You should also be searching for good quality, mil spec. LPKs. No point putting manure into a silk purse.

rtmhunter · Jul 6, 2015

outrider58 said:
You've been here a couple years and hopefully you've absorbed some of this stuff, through osmosis, maybe. I'd stay with some of the name brands already mentioned here adding maybe Engage(an Md. company) to the list as well. You pretty much get what you pay for. I would also recommend against billet receivers. They generally not as strong and durable as forged lowers and cost a bit more than their forged brethren. The problem IMO, with the cheaper brands is they can sometimes be out of spec., sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. You should be able to get a real decent stripped lower for less than $200(5.56). You should also be searching for good quality, mil spec. LPKs. No point putting manure into a silk purse.

This is part of my entire point for the post. How do you know you're getting a real decent lower? It can't just be price because as you mentioned billet cost more but, yet you don't recommend them. To be honest it's damn confusing. I definitely want good quality but, there in lies the rub. How do I know I'm getting it? Name brand only? Mil spec only? I know this is a potentially slippery slope but, after watching tons of youtube and scouring this and other sites I still seem to have more questions than answers. Thanks again for any and all input.

Ifdot · Jul 6, 2015

rtmhunter said:
This is part of my entire point for the post. How do you know you're getting a real decent lower? It can't just be price because as you mentioned billet cost more but, yet you don't recommend them. To be honest it's damn confusing. I definitely want good quality but, there in lies the rub. How do I know I'm getting it? Name brand only? Mil spec only? I know this is a potentially slippery slope but, after watching tons of youtube and scouring this and other sites I still seem to have more questions than answers. Thanks again for any and all input.

Not sure where your located but if your concerned about quality I would go with an Engage lower. They are local and stand behind what they sell. If you have an issue with it they will make it right, you can take it right to them. Go with a forged over billet. Stripped upper and lower should be about $200 from them.

outrider58 · Jul 6, 2015

If you're looking for a best to worse list of lowers, I'm far from qualified to give you that. There are some here who are. Another way to go about this is, Check with some of the IPs here and ask their opinions and preferences and, what they sell. Once you've gotten an idea of what parts you want and can afford, post them and ask opinions of fellow members. We are all here for the same reason. To help others and learn from others.

NateIU10 · Jul 6, 2015

In-house vs variance manufacturing, and scale, have a lot to do with it too.

Our lowers are $120 because they cost us almost 3x what an Anderson sells for online (yes, we would make more money just transferring lowers and giving up the manufacturing of them.) We think we sell a great lower, and better yet we put our money where our mouth is when it comes to MD and its BS. We will always stand behind something we make.

If you're local come in any time and check out our forged lowers and uppers.

outrider58 · Jul 6, 2015

NateIU10 said:
In-house vs variance manufacturing, and scale, have a lot to do with it too.

Our lowers are $120 because they cost us almost 3x what an Anderson sells for online (yes, we would make more money just transferring lowers and giving up the manufacturing of them.) We think we sell a great lower, and better yet we put our money where our mouth is when it comes to MD and its BS. We will always stand behind something we make.

If you're local come in any time and check out our forged lowers and uppers.

I did.

Blacksmith101 · Jul 6, 2015

There are Metallurgical differences between forged vs billet receivers. There are also differences between companies in what they consider acceptable manufacturing tolerances as well as company quality control. The quality and specifications on the finish can be another variable. Finally there is the brand name and it's perceived value. So there are real reasons prices vary and there are emotional reasons. Add in that the same item will be priced differently at different vendors and no wonder prices are all over the map.

Do your home work, solicit advice from trusted knowledgeable people, decide what you want then select the vendor that gives you the best value for your money for what you want.

jimbobborg · Jul 6, 2015

My list of good-to-go lower manufacturers, from personal experience.

Yankee Hill Machinery
Spike's Tactical
Aeroprecision
Bushmaster
Rock River Arms

I have an Anderson lower, but I haven't put an upper on it yet. Parts kits went in okay. Jury is still out.

I'd like to get my hands on a Wilson and a Noveske but I'm not paying over $150 for a stripped lower. Unless it's FTF, then I'd consider it.

Oldcarjunkie · Jul 6, 2015

Sticking with the standard Lower, not ones done by companies in house or billet lowers. if you have say 40 company names and all the lowers look nearly identical, its because they are made by the same 5-10 folks.. I do not buy into the Name brand BS. I have had zero issues with any of my LRB, extreme machine or a few others i have tried.

rseymorejr · Jul 6, 2015

NateIU10 said:
In-house vs variance manufacturing, and scale, have a lot to do with it too.

Our lowers are $120 because they cost us almost 3x what an Anderson sells for online (yes, we would make more money just transferring lowers and giving up the manufacturing of them.) We think we sell a great lower, and better yet we put our money where our mouth is when it comes to MD and its BS. We will always stand behind something we make.

If you're local come in any time and check out our forged lowers and uppers.

Do you all manufacture AR-10 lowers also?

Vile Shadow · Jul 6, 2015

Who's bought a Nodak Spud lower? How do those rate?

Bafflingbs · Jul 6, 2015

I've also noticed the market is saturated with multi caliber lowers. I was forced to pay more, for a lower marked for 5.56. I also don't like the lowers that have the bullet markings vs. the "safe" & "fire" markings. I know, I'm picky. But I know what I want, and it isn't the generic crap. Last build, I paid $90 for a CMMG lower, and $120 for a BCM upper. Gotta pay to play, I guess.

jrumann59 · Jul 7, 2015

More often than not most lowers are made by someone else, so the it gets marked up twice. I believe Seekins now makes Spike's lowers. But also many manufacturers have better fit and finish even though its milspec. To tell you the truth wait around for one of the bigger manufactures offer blemish lowers most you cannot find the blemish.

rtmhunter · Jul 7, 2015

jrumann59 said:
More often than not most lowers are made by someone else, so the it gets marked up twice. I believe Seekins now makes Spike's lowers. But also many manufacturers have better fit and finish even though its milspec. To tell you the truth wait around for one of the bigger manufactures offer blemish lowers most you cannot find the blemish.

That was something I was wondering about but , forgot to ask. Blemish lowers. I recently bought a blemish Kahr P380 for a real good price and I'll be damned if I can see any blemish so I did wonder about "blemished" lowers.

Thanks guys for all the responses. Some good information there. I live in Sparrows Point so maybe a trip to Engage would be worthwhile. I've just looked at so many different lowers online lately that my head spins from the multitude of choices and the huge variance in pricing. I'm kinda getting a handle on who the major players are in the game but, as soon as I think I have it figured out I hear about a different one and off we go again.

pwoolford · Jul 7, 2015

I've built many AR's from basic mil-spec lowers like LRB, Spikes, Aero, DPMS, CMMG and they all function fine. Personally, I like lowers with built in trigger guards like Seekins but they are usually north of $225.

rtmhunter · Jul 7, 2015

pwoolford said:
I've built many AR's from basic mil-spec lowers like LRB, Spikes, Aero, DPMS, CMMG and they all function fine. Personally, I like lowers with built in trigger guards like Seekins but they are usually north of $225.

What's the real advantage to that and why so much more money?? These are the things I'm trying to learn. Thanks.

Why such a big difference in lower receiver prices??

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