Cheap Upper and Lowers

[usafcustomM4]

What are some good, fair priced complete upper and lowers. Where to get them. I would like to throw a AR together for the lowest cost but without losing all the durability.

[hipower]

Originally Posted by usafcustomM4

What are some good, fair priced complete upper and lowers. Where to get them. I would like to throw a AR together for the lowest cost but without losing all the durability.

Ameetec in AZ is running a 200.00 complete lower special. 400 for a Cromoly upper, 30 bucks more for the Chrome lined upper.

[C4IGrant]

Originally Posted by usafcustomM4

What are some good, fair priced complete upper and lowers. Where to get them. I would like to throw a AR together for the lowest cost but without losing all the durability.

Durability comes at a cost. Does the saying "can't get there from here" ring a bell?

If your idea of durability is about 5,000 rounds, then any of the tier 3 manufacturers will do just fine I think.


C4

[MudBug]

Originally Posted by C4IGrant

Durability comes at a cost. Does the saying "can't get there from here" ring a bell?

If your idea of durability is about 5,000 rounds, then any of the tier 3 manufacturers will do just fine I think.


C4

I hate to disagree, but my very first home built AR was built with a Mega lower, RRA Upper, a RRA B/BC group and a DPMS 16" pencil barrel (not chrome lined). I put 14,000 rounds though it before I sold it, about 9k of that was Wolf and the last 5k was a mixture of Xm193, Q3131, and BH 55 grn. 4k of which were fired during one 5 day class.

I checked for throat erosion in the barrel before I sold it (the whole upper) and it didn't look bad, but I sold it to an acquaintance cheap and told the buyer I estimated the barrel had about another 3k before it really started to show degraded accuracy. It's been a few months now and as far as I know the buyer is still shooting it (He's a plinker) with no problems.

[C4IGrant]

Originally Posted by MudBug

I hate to disagree, but my very first home built AR was built with a Mega lower, RRA Upper, a RRA B/BC group and a DPMS 16" pencil barrel (not chrome lined). I put 14,000 rounds though it before I sold it, about 9k of that was Wolf and the last 5k was a mixture of Xm193, Q3131, and BH 55 grn. 4k of which were fired during one 5 day class.

I checked for throat erosion in the barrel before I sold it (the whole upper) and it didn't look bad, but I sold it to an acquaintance cheap and told the buyer I estimated the barrel had about another 3k before it really started to show degraded accuracy. It's been a few months now and as far as I know the buyer is still shooting it (He's a plinker) with no problems.

That is great, but isn't the norm. You have to look at the law of averages. If I took 100 of the setup you described, how many of them would last that long? Not many IMHO.


C4

[DBLTAP!556]

Originally Posted by usafcustomM4

What are some good, fair priced complete upper and lowers. Where to get them. I would like to throw a AR together for the lowest cost but without losing all the durability.

What's your budget range? and what barrel length/ twist.. and also what type of use will it be for.


DT!

[Lowspeed-Highdrag]

Originally Posted by C4IGrant

Durability comes at a cost. Does the saying "can't get there from here" ring a bell?

If your idea of durability is about 5,000 rounds, then any of the tier 3 manufacturers will do just fine I think.


C4

Where does this "tier" BS come from? Grant please supply me a source (other than you) for this mythological system of ranking AR builders and parts

Edited to add: If you don't sell it. It ain't tier 1. Am I warm?

[C4IGrant]

Originally Posted by Lowspeed-Highdrag

Where does this "tier" BS come from? Grant please supply me a source (other than you) for this mythological system of ranking AR builders and parts

Edited to add: If you don't sell it. It ain't tier 1. Am I warm?

Welcome to M4C! Glad to see you used your VERY FIRST post on me. I hope your not a tier 3 AR manufacturer hiding behind a fake screen name.


Tier one manufacturers is a KNOWN term used in the firearms industry to describe a company that has the official .Gov issued TDP.

Technically speaking, you cannot buy a tier one weapon (has to be issued to you). So even when people are buying a Colt 6920, they are still not getting a true tier one product. It is however as close as one can get.

As I have said in another thread, the tier 2 and tier 3 system is simply MY opinion on where the other AR manufacturers reside when compared against a tier one manufacturer. If you would like to discuss why I put companies in the tier 2 or 3 brackets, I am all for it!

There are two tier one companies (FN and Colt). There is no question that they supply the Military with weapons. You and I cannot buy either of these weapons. You can get close with the Colt, but FN has no Civy version of what the Military buys from them. The other truth is that I am NOT a Colt fan (no longer own a single one). I do however sell them as they put out one of the best AR's on the market today.

Your comment that if I don't sell it, it ain't tier one just doesn't hold any water. I sell several different AR's that do NOT fall into the tier 1 slot (sorry to disapoint).

If you would like to discuss why companies are considered lower quality than say a tier one product, I am all for it. Please post a list of companies that are tier 1 and why (parts used, where they got the TDP, testing done, etc).



C4

[Cold Zero]

low drag high speed;

Since your new here, I will point out that we just finished a lengthly thread about the tier system and where each manufacturer ranks on the list. Many guys besides Grant gave his opinion. I gave mine, as well as many others. Check the thread out. Basically, Colt and F.N. are tier 1 and no one else. the rest of the food chain is a matter of opinion.

You may not agree with the ranking, but I do not feel it is b.s.

[Stickman]

You can call it Tier 1-3, or characterize makers as A through C, or give any other number of labels, but it doesn't change that there are different quality levels throughout the AR15/M16 platforms.


Unless I missed something, I don't think Grant is saying anything different than that.

[David Thomas]

Originally Posted by Lowspeed-Highdrag

Edited to add: If you don't sell it. It ain't tier 1. Am I warm?

Not appropriate or accurate.

[MudBug]

Originally Posted by David Thomas

Not appropriate or accurate.

True, I may like to debate, and sometimes even argue with Grant, but I don't question his integrity.

Yes he may only carry top shelf stuff for sale, but I can think of at least 3 things he sells that would not be considered "Tier 1", but only because he tested them first and found they were a serviceable option. I think he was the first at ar15.com with the Pentagon lights, and one of the first with the SPOT dot sights, and assembled the "Working Man's" light packages.

[C4IGrant]

Originally Posted by Stickman

You can call it Tier 1-3, or characterize makers as A through C, or give any other number of labels, but it doesn't change that there are different quality levels throughout the AR15/M16 platforms.


Unless I missed something, I don't think Grant is saying anything different than that.

You are spot on. The tier system is how I break down AR's. I guess some folks don't believe there are different levels of quality. These folks tend to either be a consumers that is married to their selection of gear or an AR manufacturer that doesn't like to be thought of as a lower grade producer.



C4

[usafcustomM4]

$600-$900. Its not for me, its for a friend so i dont really care about quality. I was told the cheaper the better. So nothing fancy

It will be a 16 incher, the only thing i was told was he wanted a flattop upper

[C4IGrant]

Originally Posted by usafcustomM4

$600-$900. Its not for me, its for a friend so i dont really care about quality. I was told the cheaper the better. So nothing fancy

It will be a 16 incher, the only thing i was told was he wanted a flattop upper

$900 is more than enough to build a quality (reliable) AR I think.


C4

[DBLTAP!556]

Originally Posted by C4IGrant

$900 is more than enough to build a quality (reliable) AR I think.


C4

I agree on that aswell.. my builds fall around that price bracket.

DT!

[DBLTAP!556]

Originally Posted by usafcustomM4

$600-$900. Its not for me, its for a friend so i dont really care about quality. I was told the cheaper the better. So nothing fancy

It will be a 16 incher, the only thing i was told was he wanted a flattop upper

Search the vendors here for your friend. pretty sure he'll get his money's worth. there are some good products to be had, and quality aswell as price.. do it right the first time, and there will be no regrets in the long run. you do get what you pay for.


DT!

[Stickman]

You can pick up a CMT/ Stag upper (flattop upper with ARMS 40 BUIS) for roughly $525.

You can get an assembled CMT/ Stag lower for around $250.

Push the 2 pins in, and you have a quality, factory weapon for well under $800. It might not be the absolute top of the line carbine, but it will beat out a number of other make AR15 companies for overall quality in its parts.