LOWER RECEIVERS QUALITY

[Tigereye]

I've got DD, BCM, Noveske, Mega, Aero, and Rainier. They all work as they should. Fit and finish are also good.

[Singlestack Wonder]

BCM, LMT, DD, and Colt.....with these one spends time shooting, not fixing things.

[Hammer_Man]

I have used Aero Precision with good results. I have built 3 rifles using their receivers, and they all seemed very well made. In contrast I bought 3 Anderson receivers during the 2012 panic, and they were not as nicely made as the Aero Precision units. One of them had so much material removed from between the ears of the front pivot pin holes, that every upper receiver I tried with that lower seemed to have about 2mm of side to side play when mounted. Needless to say I sold that one off, and the remaining two I sold off not long after.

[TomMontana]

OP, I wouldn't avoid billet. (I just went there! ) It's probably unnecessary money from a functionality perspective, but some of them are a work of art and the finish is much nicer than forged.

[JasonB1]

In contrast I bought 3 Anderson receivers during the 2012 panic, .

2012-2013 and 2016 might be a good reason to avoid ANY new old stock lower sans some guarantees of service after the sale.

[Singlestack Wonder]

anderson = walking pins... several folks at our club purchased andersons over the last few years going against recommendations. All now have hammer and trigger pins that walk and require a kns pin set to keep them functional.

Don't waste money on low tier crap...

[phixion]

anderson = walking pins... several folks at our club purchased andersons over the last few years going against recommendations. All now have hammer and trigger pins that walk and require a kns pin set to keep them functional.

Don't waste money on low tier crap...

Let me get this straight: out of the several who have purchased Anderson lowers at your club in recent years, every single person has issues with their pins walking? Every single one? Okay.

Low tier crap? Sigh.. it's not even worth the effort.

OP, just pick a lower with the rollmark you like best and chances are you'll be good.

[TomMontana]

Is the OP referring to complete lowers or stripped lowers? Some of the posts above mentioned Companies that I have not seen their stripped lowers for sale, ie DD, BCM, Colt, LMT. Theoretically, wouldn't there be more "QC" on complete lowers than just stripped lowers? In addition to the normal stripped lower QC, the person assembling the complete lower/rifle would have to ensure all the parts fit and check functionality; the hammer drops like it should, the mag fits and pushing the mag button releases it, etc. So the chances of getting a lemon is much less with complete lowers. Whereas Anderson probably sells 1,000 stripped lowers for every complete lower/rifle.

[Singlestack Wonder]

Let me get this straight: out of the several who have purchased Anderson lowers at your club in recent years, every single person has issues with their pins walking? Every single one? Okay.

Low tier crap? Sigh.. it's not even worth the effort.

OP, just pick a lower with the rollmark you like best and chances are you'll be good.

Do yourself a favor and do some research....anderson ranks at the bottom along with dpms, bushmaster, rra, etc.

[RobertTheTexan]

Hi all.
I know that this question has probably been asked before, but I went through the search and couldn't find any answer directly pertained.

I'm in the process of building my second AR and I'd like to know if there is really any difference between the various manufactures out there concerning lower receivers.

Opinions gentlemen...

Thanks to those that answer

You asked if all lowers are created equally. (More or less). While the number of true lower manufacturers are far fewer than those who sell, it is my understanding that one of the differences are wis the level of quality assurance inspections. I am referring to the X out of XX lowers that gets inspected kind of QC. The higher the ratio, the more bad lowers that are caught, the better the lower that is available to the consumer. I believe the inexpensive lowers have fewer QC checks, because it generally takes a person to do that visual inspection and people cost money and that money is one of the factors of consumer cost. That said I have also experienced quality issues where you would think there wouldn't be an issue. And I have had lowers where so many on here have said they are a POS, but mine worked better than the expensive "name-brand". So all I can do is offer up what my sampling of data is.
All my AR's are from stripped lowers.
I've built 6 Aero Precision lowers. They have all had a consistent fit and finish. I have not had a single problem and honestly when I want to build, I'm going to probably buy an Aero. I use DSG Arms LPK, in all my builds.
I have built one Noveke Gen 2 lower. It had the absolute best finish of any lower I have bought. It just doesn't match with any upper. But meh... don't really care. But fit and function were perfect. I prefer the Gen 2 because I use Redi-Mag's on all CQ rifles.
I have owned two KAC stripped lowers. One I sent back, the replacement I kept. (Excellent customer service.) Good thing I don't wig out on the finish, because this one has issues. It's chalky whitish. Weird. But it shoots and the KAC trigger guard even fit (can I get an amen?)
I own two Anderson lowers. My very first build was an Anderson. This was in 2014. I shot the mess out of it before reading here that it was....ahem... a bad lower. Unfortunately it still keeps operating as advertised. Caveat, it has a CMC trigger which uses anti-walk screws so... I don't know if standard pins would walk out. I have just read on another thread that anti walk pins are borne from the bowels of hell and are evil, but I put those opines in the "DGAFBA Category". I have one Anderson 80% and if the trigger pins walk out of that it's my own fault since I made them. So that doesn't really count.
So BLUF?
I buy Aero's because in my experience they are well made and I have had ZERO issues.
I bought the Noveske for a very special build, but they are expensive. I bought the KAC because it was a KAC stripped lower (and pretty expensive. But If you check my spare part bins, you will find Aero stripped lowers, some built out, others waiting for a project.
I would recommend Aero lowers all day long.



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