AR lower best deal these days?

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  • ericoak

    don't drop Aboma on me
    Feb 20, 2010
    6,806
    Howard County
    I haven’t had a problem with an Anderson lower ever.

    I have built two ar’s with Areo lowers, and yes the finish is better, but they fit terrible to my Areo uppers. Loose, sloppy, rattling and with a large gap between the upper and lower.

    They fit great to psa uppers so go figure .

    The Gen 2 lowers have a screw that you can tighten to completely eliminate that if it bothers you... ;)
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    This is true if you order blindly. I buy mine locally and look at it before starting the purchase process.


    You bring gauges, a several magazines, LPK, and an upper to check the lower?

    You should start a business working on and teaching AR's, because you are more skilled than I if your eyes can see the things I'm referring to.

    Narrow FCG Pocket
    Out of Spec Pivot and Takedown Bore location
    Bolt Catch slot cut too far to the rear
    Magazine well not broached properly
    FCG Bores undersize
    Receiver Extension bore/threads off or undersize
    Safety bore undersize
    Safety Detent Bore in wrong location
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    You bring gauges, a several magazines, LPK, and an upper to check the lower?

    You should start a business working on and teaching AR's, because you are more skilled than I if your eyes can see the things I'm referring to.

    Narrow FCG Pocket
    Out of Spec Pivot and Takedown Bore location
    Bolt Catch slot cut too far to the rear
    Magazine well not broached properly
    FCG Bores undersize
    Receiver Extension bore/threads off or undersize
    Safety bore undersize
    Safety Detent Bore in wrong location

    Easy there, Chad. Not saying I have all of that, it's that most people here are talking about buying from somewhere else and having it transferred, blindly trusting that their stripped lower is just as good as anyone else's.
     

    44man

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 19, 2013
    10,129
    southern md
    The Gen 2 lowers have a screw that you can tighten to completely eliminate that if it bothers you... ;)

    thanks, I saw that a while back. its a shame they cant retro fit the older one people already have. I can put up with some slop but these two just don't fit areo uppers, there fine on psa uppers though, tight actually.

    and now I wish I hadn't purchased the Andersons lowers but I haven't had a problem with them so I hope it stays that way. all but three are built and work fine and I hope nothing happens with them. I wont get anymore Andersons since others have had problems and chad thinks there a gamble.

    once again, live and learn
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    thanks, I saw that a while back. its a shame they cant retro fit the older one people already have. I can put up with some slop but these two just don't fit areo uppers, there fine on psa uppers though, tight actually.

    and now I wish I hadn't purchased the Andersons lowers but I haven't had a problem with them so I hope it stays that way. all but three are built and work fine and I hope nothing happens with them. I wont get anymore Andersons since others have had problems and chad thinks there a gamble.

    once again, live and learn

    If you have a functioning AR built on an Anderson lower there is no reason to discard the lower or be worried.

    Some people buy lots of lowers and stash them. Years later they will try to assemble them and then it's too late if they discover a problem. Once time has passed it's too late to get any kind of support from the dealer or the manufacturer.

    If one has a lower they should immediately have it gauged out or assemble it into a complete AR and tested as soon as possible so they can verify they are not sitting on an out of spec piece of metal. Why shops with so-called gunsmiths can't gauge and test a product before they put it up for sale or offer has a service for transfers is beyond me.

    What I mean by functioning is an AR that works on a variety of good quality magazines and does not give the user any kind of odd problems.

    Many people will take another step of building their AR but letting it sit for years before attempting the test fire. It's not until then they realize there are other issues going on with the weapon we can be traced back to a lower receiver issue.
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    Easy there, Chad. Not saying I have all of that, it's that most people here are talking about buying from somewhere else and having it transferred, blindly trusting that their stripped lower is just as good as anyone else's.

    Understood and if I came across as harsh I was not intending to be.

    I see lots of out of spec stuff, especially in the past few years, and I try to transfer that knowledge to others so they are at least aware.
     

    44man

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 19, 2013
    10,129
    southern md
    If you have a functioning AR built on an Anderson lower there is no reason to discard the lower or be worried.

    Some people buy lots of lowers and stash them. Years later they will try to assemble them and then it's too late if they discover a problem. Once time has passed it's too late to get any kind of support from the dealer or the manufacturer.

    If one has a lower they should immediately have it gauged out or assemble it into a complete AR and tested as soon as possible so they can verify they are not sitting on an out of spec piece of metal. Why shops with so-called gunsmiths can't gauge and test a product before they put it up for sale or offer has a service for transfers is beyond me.

    What I mean by functioning is an AR that works on a variety of good quality magazines and does not give the user any kind of odd problems.

    Many people will take another step of building their AR but letting it sit for years before attempting the test fire. It's not until then they realize there are other issues going on with the weapon we can be traced back to a lower receiver issue.

    thank you for the clarification. the rifles I have built on Anderson lowers have been fired and work fine, as best I can tell since I only used p mags and some gi mags, but they haven't been fired a lot. I usually fire a couple mags out of the rifles I build and then put them in the safe and start another as money allows. now I feel the urge to at least complete my remaining Anderson lowers and put a known upper on them and run a few mags out of them asap.

    damn, now I have the itch again. I think I have 5 or 6 lpk's laying around. I will wait for a day of really bad weather and put these lowers together so I can test them. I wont be getting or building any uppers until I scratch up the cash for my second pistol suppressor and its new host.

    everything in its time though

    again thank you for your advice.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    Understood and if I came across as harsh I was not intending to be.

    I see lots of out of spec stuff, especially in the past few years, and I try to transfer that knowledge to others so they are at least aware.

    I see what you're saying, no problem.

    BTW, I've had out of spec parts from LPKs that have managed to throw wrenches into builds. Mostly DPMS kits and parts/pieces from unknown manufacturers. Roll pins that are too thick, too long, bad springs, broken springs, bent detents, and a few other things that I have to go get from the store that sells individual parts. You've mentioned gas keys that aren't torqued to spec, while I've had BCGs that have the keys that are hand tightened!
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I am only using one of my two Anderson lowers and it is perefect. Got them at the same time. I’ll build out the other one sooner rather than later. Good idea on checking them out. If nothing else, things like midway’s LPKs are on sale a lot lately and one of the without FCG and one of their “enhanced” FCGs total is less than $50. I don’t need all of my ARs to have amazing triggers or handpick each and every lower part.

    That said, I am thinking I’ll get just one or two more AR-15 lowers and really thinking I’ll make those aero precision lowers. The only way I see needing more than 7 lowers in my life is a rash of them breaking or giving them as gifts to my kids. If it is the later, then that probably means MD/feds haven’t banned them and I can just pick up another power to build a new rifle for them.

    Heck the 5 lowers I have now feel like it would be more than enough. A 20” .223 and .223 AR pistol are the only two I have built. I’ve got a 16” .223 upper I built that could use a permanent home. An 18” 6.5 grendel upper I just finished that could also use a permanent home. After that...dunno. Maybe a varmiter/long range build on a 24” .22 nosler or .224 Valkyrie or something some year

    If/when I go 300BO for a rifle or pistol that can just be a spare upper that goes on the lower for my AR pistol or the rifle lower the 6.5 Grendel lives on.

    A dedicated lower that takes Glock mags would be nice, but I feel like that isn’t really an AR-15 lower.

    But because they are cheap, life is short and politicians lie a couple of spares for some future decade wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

    What I really want are a couple more ar-10 lowers. The single one I have doesn’t feel nearly sufficient.
     

    Rob R.

    Active Member
    Oct 29, 2016
    771
    Harford Co
    Grabbed one of these new M4E1 Aero’s
     

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    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    I prefer to avoid lists as quality from a Manufacturer can always change.

    I have been well served by the understanding that cheap does not mean a good deal and expensive does not always mean quality.

    I hate billet lowers (yes I own them).

    I can tell you that I have never experienced a problem with a Colt, Knights, or FN Lower.

    Aero, Spikes, and PSA are not bad, but have issues from time to time.
     
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