A visual example of why M4C recommends quality AR parts

[sig1473]

I've never ever had a PSA LPK come with a 'S' marked safety. YMMV

[PretendOperator]

That looks like a Schmid. Schmids are used in Sionics and LMT rifles and are the basis for the ALG QMS and ACT. I believe they are also used in most Colts and most FCGs in actual military-production M16 and M4 FOW rifles.

Could be that PSA got a second from Schmid, but I wouldn't ordinarily expect to see a Schmid look like that from the factory.

I learned something about AR small parts today, thanks for that. I have a bag of hammers laying around, so it wasn't worth the effort to exchange that one.

Turns out this is more of a lesson about inspecting ALL parts that you install into a rifle, regardless of their manufacture, than it should be about dogging a budget brand.

[Esq.]

Seeing as how the space shuttle has turned into a bottle rocket TWICE in my lifetime and the money spent on its parts, engineering and quality control far exceeds what even a "premium" AR15 manufacturer spends on their guns I think the Best practice is to personally check and verify your own stuff-NO MATTER WHO SUPPOSEDLY MADE IT. If you have the knowledge and skill to do that, I dont think names matter a whole lot.

However, I seriously doubt that 99% of the guys on this forum have the ability to tell the difference between two unmarked and identical bolts-one made of c158 and the other of 9130. At some point we all are at the mercy of people we dont really know and have no means of "fact checking", not really......So, buy decent quality stuff from reputable companies, check it as best you can and if it breaks, replace it and drive on. It's not something to lose sleep over.

[jerrysimons]

LWRC springs are all black oxide finished. Nice touch

[Mr McSimon]

Here's another little tidbit to reinforce the value of using high quality parts. I'm a big fan of the Norgon style ambi mag release, but at $80 a pop for the real thing I've been using the $25 knockoffs. They've been working good, but I finally decided to upgrade my URG-i build to the real thing, so to KNOW what the difference between the two are instead of just going with the cheap one is "just as good" model.

Well, probably because of my attention being called to it in another thread talking about the mag release button extending beyond the cage, it was instantly obvious that with the knockoff and 8-9 turns the button was still beyond the plane of the cage. After installing the Norgon and 9 turns, the button sits nice and low as intended. Worth an extra $55? Maybe not to everybody, but I'll be converting my other lowers over when I can, and I'll try to remember and practice more, "buy once, cry once".