Superior Arms Lower

[WMHM4]

I just picked up my Superior Arms lower today. I have always had Bushys so I dont know much about them (I lost all of my fireams in a house fire). I didnt do much research on them other then going to their website but I did read yesterday that people are having problems with them and P Mags dropping free. Have any of you had this problem? Also the lower has a set screw right next to the screw hole for the grip and it's supposed to make a standard GI trigger equal to a match one. I'm not so sure about that but does anyone know if it does indeed help?


The quality of the lower seems pretty nice, there really isnt any bad machineing marks and the finsih seems pretty nice. I unfortunetly dont have any parts to put in it so I cant comment on fit but I'm happy so far with it

I usally hate this question but I figured I'd ask, does Magpuls Dark Earth match Tango Downs FDE?

thanks guys!

[Flash Point]

I'm far from being an expert, but I believe the majority of milspec receivers are made by one of four companies; either LAR, CMT, MMS or LMT. I know that my Bushy, DPMS and CMMG receivers were all made by LAR. BM, DPMS and CMMG simply engraved their logo on the side. I have no idea who makes lowers for Superior.

I'm not talking about custom lowers like LaRue, VLTOR, etc. Those are proprietary.

[WMHM4]

I'm far from being an expert, but I believe the majority of milspec receivers are made by one of four companies; either LAR, CMT, MMS or LMT. I know that my Bushy, DPMS and CMMG receivers were all made by LAR. BM, DPMS and CMMG simply engraved their logo on the side. I have no idea who makes lowers for Superior.

I'm not talking about custom lowers like LaRue, VLTOR, etc. Those are proprietary.


Im no expert either but I'm almost psitive that you are correct. A handful of companies do for the most part make all of the raw frogings. But each company (for the most part) finishes milling or whatever its called the receivers themselves. So I quess thats how (if its true) that Superiors have a tough time with PMags dropping free.

I think I read about the PMag think on this site, someone has to know if this is true or not. I unfortunetly do not have any PMags to test for myself

[BAC]

I didnt do much research on them other then going to their website but I did read yesterday that people are having problems with them and P Mags dropping free. Have any of you had this problem?

Yup. Mine's a tight fit on any Pmag, unless I do an uncounted number of mag change practices. So far only one Pmag drops fully free. The rear part of the mag well seems to be the culprit, but I'm not quite sure how to address it.



I'm far from being an expert, but I believe the majority of milspec receivers are made by one of four companies; either LAR, CMT, MMS or LMT. I know that my Bushy, DPMS and CMMG receivers were all made by LAR. BM, DPMS and CMMG simply engraved their logo on the side. I have no idea who makes lowers for Superior.

Superior Arms makes their own lowers, which they also use as a selling point.

Also, regardless of who makes the lowers, each company has its own specs that it submits to the manufacturer, and has a different rejection rate for the finished product. DPMS and Noveske, for example, might share the same manufacturer, but Noveske's sumitted specs may differ from those of DPMS, and Noveske's rejection rates (how often they reject a part for being out-of-spec) will tend to be much higher than those of DPMS.


-B

[tullnd]

Well, "manufacture" can mean different things. The initial post about forgings was correct. Very few companies out there are doing the forging. Probably more than 4. And there may be a few out there that are forging them as well as finishing them, but most of the "manufacturers" buy the forged receivers unfinished and then finish them off as mentioned previously. What makes them a "manufacturer" is that they did all the metal work to it after it was forged to make it an actual receiver. They determine how smooth of a finish it gets, what forge marks are removed, and a bit of the final shape really. There's other companies who just buy off them and re-badge under their own brand name to resell as well.

Good luck with your SA lower. I ended up buying a few from Essential Arms. Haven't completed any builds yet(parts are just about to start shipping in the next 2 weeks I think) but I'm hoping I have no issues with Pmags either.

[WMHM4]

Yup. Mine's a tight fit on any Pmag, unless I do an uncounted number of mag change practices. So far only one Pmag drops fully free. The rear part of the mag well seems to be the culprit, but I'm not quite sure how to address it.





Superior Arms makes their own lowers, which they also use as a selling point.

Also, regardless of who makes the lowers, each company has its own specs that it submits to the manufacturer, and has a different rejection rate for the finished product. DPMS and Noveske, for example, might share the same manufacturer, but Noveske's sumitted specs may differ from those of DPMS, and Noveske's rejection rates (how often they reject a part for being out-of-spec) will tend to be much higher than those of DPMS.


-B

thanks for the info, do you know if the PMag problem only exsists with Superior lowers or does it happen with other manufacturers as well. I know Bushys at one time had problems with (I think) thermolds. As I stated above I dont have any PMags but I do intend on buying some and as you said I'm not sure how to address the problem. Do any of you know of a fix that doesnt envolve anything major?

I also contacted Superior to ask if they know of any problems with PMags. If there is I imagine they will say that the lowers work perfect with USGI mags. I aslo asked if there was a solution to the possible problem, hopefully they will get back to me.

[Ridge_Runner_5]

I just sold a Superior lower on Gunbroker...

I have 8 Pmags, and 2 wouldnt drop free. I had the set screw turned in flush so I could install the pistol grip, and the trigger was great....less than 1/8" trigger pull to drop the hammer...very crisp.

[BAC]

thanks for the info, do you know if the PMag problem only exsists with Superior lowers or does it happen with other manufacturers as well. I know Bushys at one time had problems with (I think) thermolds. As I stated above I dont have any PMags but I do intend on buying some and as you said I'm not sure how to address the problem. Do any of you know of a fix that doesnt envolve anything major?

I also contacted Superior to ask if they know of any problems with PMags. If there is I imagine they will say that the lowers work perfect with USGI mags. I aslo asked if there was a solution to the possible problem, hopefully they will get back to me.

The problem exists with several different lowers; a search on this forum will reveal that. Broadly speaking, some of the more consistent problems exist with older Pmags, older S&W M&P lowers, and the less-likely-to-match-TDP companies (folks with Colts, LMTs, and Noveskes don't seem to have too many complaints about Pmags that don't drop free). The most immediate fix that comes to mind is finding exactly what part of the magazine well is out of spec and grinding it down little by little until all of the Pmags in the house drop free, then having it refinished. Granted, the gun I'm building is an inexpensive "starter" gun (yes, I'd have done it differently if I could do it again), so I'm not as worried about doing something like this.

Superior Arms should take care of you if you call and explain that you think your mags aren't dropping free. It worked for all but one of the guys in our group buy who had problems (we definitely got a bad batch, some dozen out of a little over a hundred).


-B

[Mike_E]

My Superior Arms lower had trouble with PMag and C Product mags. In fact, I couldn't even insert the mag into the magazine well so I had to file down some metal along the back end. I was eventually able to remove the C Product mags but the PMag does not fall free. May have to file a little more.

I filed a complaint to Superior Arms - hopefully I'll get a reply soon.