
Originally Posted by
Stickman
To start, none of the lowers you own are milspec. It is a term which the industry uses in a misleading way. Once upon a time it meant something, but in the civilian world it has come to mean almost nothing. In using your above example, which is a common one used, what they are actually saying is the forging the receiver started with was made from 7075 aluminum, not that the receiver is milspec in any way other than they share the same material. The machine work isn't the same, the finish typically is a variation of the one called for by military spec, and the QC which the item is supposed to be held to is not the same.
This certainly doesn't make every cheap receiver out there an absolute piece of garbage. However, it doesn't change these items are much more likely to be out of the called for specs, and it shows in the overall amount of complaints that are generated. Add to that, a lot of people assembling AR15s don't have a factual idea of what is or isn't correct, and the numbers would honestly be worse.
I wrote an article for publication a few years back talking about the difference between rails, and there were a few things that came together to form the various prices. In the case of receivers, there are a few similarities, but the primary means which cement the two pricing structures rely heavily on machine time. You can crank out rails and receivers pretty quickly if you don't care about things like tolerances, tool chatter, and the like. The manufacturer bills the retailer, or subretailers for their costs, and the machine time. A rail, or receiver which spends 20 minutes on a CNC is going to be much cheaper than one which spends 120 minutes.
If the parts you have work well enough for your needs, that is great. A lot of people on this board go into, or have gone into harms way, and they are not interested in substandard components. For a guy or girl who doesn't shoot much, and is looking at their AR15 as a way to have fun when they go shooting, I'm not sure if there is much to get worked up over for anyone. Once many people have something cheap, they begin to understand and appreciate the varying levels of quality, and what they are missing.
From a personal perspective, unless you are on my squad, part of my family, or a close friend, it doesn't matter to me what other people do. If someone gets uppity with you, don't worry about it. However, don't have issue when people point out your component list as subpar. While it might not matter for your needs, it may be important for others to learn.
Hopefully some of the above makes sense.
If nothing else, welcome to the board. It can be a bit chilly here for some people, but the big difference is that this particular board won't allow people to post BS without calling the person out. The end result makes for a pretty nice place once you get used to it.
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