Am I crazy?

paul73 said:
The very first ar I had was on Anderson. Nothing bad about it, and nothing great. It works. An aero m4e1 is better.

All lowers I have are identical, for 15 and 10, any can be swapped out with no issues. Makes life easier.
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My favorites so far have been Seekins and Aero- in that order but my preference is based mostly on cosmetics. Bullets and targets don't know the difference between them and anything else.
 
CrackPot said:
Features. Built in trigger guard? Flared magwell? Screw instead of roll pin for bolt catch? Ambi controls? These are the things you are buying as you go upscale from your poverty pony. Some people want the additional features.
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Set screw for the spring that holds the rear captive takedown pin in place?

Worrying about the lower (except for cosmetics or plastic castings) is like worrying about the effectiveness of the antibiotic you got because it was prescribed by an NP instead of an MD.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Set screw for the spring that holds the rear captive takedown pin in place?

Worrying about the lower (except for cosmetics or plastic castings) is like worrying about the effectiveness of the antibiotic you got because it was prescribed by an NP instead of an MD.
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LOL, perfect- and true.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Set screw for the spring that holds the rear captive takedown pin in place?

Worrying about the lower (except for cosmetics or plastic castings) is like worrying about the effectiveness of the antibiotic you got because it was prescribed by an NP instead of an MD.
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🤔 🤔 🤔
 
Coyote33 said:
Isn't that the primary buyer of these, someone who wants a "mil-spec" rifle?
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I would say, no not always.

In my eyes you got mil spec, mil spec compatible (like the parts fit), then you got mil spec plus levels of proprietary. I think the better stuff tends to fall into the latter category.

As far as I know for instance, a flared magwell may not be mil spoec, nor is an integral trigger guard. Nor is any half decent trigger that's on the market (mil spec is like 86 lbs, so they don't go off if dropped out of the sky).. I never read all into this cause I don't care, but likely neither is a free float guard.

A lot of folks buy say an Anderson lower then put another $1000 of fancy stuff around it. I think generally nobody quite builds mil spec on purpose.
 
teamRR said:
I would say, no not always.

In my eyes you got mil spec, mil spec compatible (like the parts fit), then you got mil spec plus levels of proprietary. I think the better stuff tends to fall into the latter category.

As far as I know for instance, a flared magwell may not be mil spoec, nor is an integral trigger guard. Nor is any half decent trigger that's on the market (mil spec is like 86 lbs, so they don't go off if dropped out of the sky).. I never read all into this cause I don't care, but likely neither is a free float guard.

A lot of folks buy say an Anderson lower then put another $1000 of fancy stuff around it. I think generally nobody quite builds mil spec on purpose.
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Well, let me be your first right here.

I don't care for all the flashy designs and engraving or all the other superficial stuff. I want rifles that shoot with decent accuracy, with uppers and lowers that don't need a tool to disassemble them and that interchange with every other one.....well, excluding putting short barrels on stocked receivers. I've got pistols for those, and builds that meet a certain price point. If I can build 3 for the price of one "Gucci", I'm all in. Quantity has a quality all its own.
I dislike very light triggers and have learned to shoot heavier triggers all my life.
 
Uzi2 said:
Well, let me be your first right here.

I don't care for all the flashy designs and engraving or all the other superficial stuff. I want rifles that shoot with decent accuracy, with uppers and lowers that don't need a tool to disassemble them and that interchange with every other one.....well, excluding putting short barrels on stocked receivers. I've got pistols for those, and builds that meet a certain price point. If I can build 3 for the price of one "Gucci", I'm all in. Quantity has a quality all its own.
I dislike very light triggers and have learned to shoot heavier triggers all my life.
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Some of the mil specisms that often are not done:
- Mil Spec buffer tube instead of commercial (different dimensions)
- Non-mil chamber (Wylde, for example)
- Gas block attached by tapered pins rather than setscrew of clamp on
 
StevieP said:
So long as the holes are the right size and properly located, a lower is a lower is a lower and doesn't affect the shootability of the gun,
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not new guy said:
Is anyone out there still making out of spec lowers? Aside from the plastic stuff of course.
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I had an Anderson recently with a very tight magwell, and would not drop free several metal/aluminum GI-style mags I tried with it. I agree with the others who said that it is worth the extra $50 for Aero since they seem to have a bit better QC.
 
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Uzi2 said:
Did you send your out of spec receiver back to Anderson for a replacement?🤔

ANDERSON MANUFACTURING LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY​

1. Warranty:
Anderson Manufacturing warrants to the original purchaser of its products that its products are free from defects in materials and workmanship for the entire time that the product is owned by the original purchaser. The original purchase must be in the United States. The sole and exclusive remedy is limited to repairing or replacing, at our option, any product manufactured by Anderson Manufacturing that is determined to be defective. Any defective product will be remedied by Anderson Manufacturing or its authorized representative without charge, other than freight and insurance charges for return of the product. If we send you a new product, we will keep the defective one.
2. Exclusions:
Anderson Manufacturing will not be responsible for defects, malfunctions or required repairs resulting from:
  • Improper assembly of a firearm using Anderson Manufacturing parts, using parts not manufactured by Anderson Manufacturing or using incorrect components.
  • Damage or breakage to Anderson Manufacturing parts during assembly by the purchaser, such as stripping threads, cracking parts due to overtightening or snapping trigger guard ears due to improper installation.
  • Unauthorized or improper modification or alteration.
  • Improper repair or disassembly.
  • Careless handling, abuse, neglect, criminal misuse, negligence or use under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
  • Unreasonable use, i.e., use of the products under conditions more severe than those for which they were designed and intended.
  • Normal wear, tear and/or corrosion.
  • Use of defective or improper ammunition including remanufactured ammunition.
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The $$ to send in a $30-50 lower for Anderson to say they "may approve warranty work if not we will charge you for inspection and return shipping" is not worth it.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Some of the mil specisms that often are not done:
- Mil Spec buffer tube instead of commercial (different dimensions)
- Non-mil chamber (Wylde, for example)
- Gas block attached by tapered pins rather than setscrew of clamp on
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True. I use mil spec tubes for the rifles and carbines, 5.56 chambers 1:7 barrels, taper pin F marked sight uppers on rifles and carbines.

puška m70 said:
The $$ to send in a $30-50 lower for Anderson to say they "may approve warranty work if not we will charge you for inspection and return shipping" is not worth it.
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Ok, they offer the warranty. If the receiver is out of spec which should be readily verifiable by them and it's not hacked by a purchaser, I doubt they'd bill you for anything. They produce millions of them and they'd very likely put one in a box and send it to you or your FFL without issue.

Return postage is rarely covered by a company unless there is some kind of forced recall on a product or a widely known factory defect that they intentionally shipped or had knowledge of. Vector Arms lost every dime of my business years ago for just such a reason.
 
Uzi2 said:
Ok, now that we've beat Andersons to death, how about PSA?[smile]

Just for the record, my PSA uppers fit very well on their Anderson lowers..
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I wouldn't piss on PSA if they were on fire (I hate them as a company, they're whores like Puds gun shop) but their shit usually works fine.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Some of the mil specisms that often are not done:
- Mil Spec buffer tube instead of commercial (different dimensions)
- Non-mil chamber (Wylde, for example)
- Gas block attached by tapered pins rather than setscrew of clamp on
Click to expand...

Nobody uses commercial tubes anymore thankfully that seems to have gone extinct when olympic went out of business although i think even smith had that stupidity at one time early on..... might have been oly and a few others. Maybe DPMS? Lol
 
drgrant said:
I wouldn't piss on PSA if they were on fire (I hate them as a company, they're whores like Puds gun shop) but their shit usually works fine.
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Ya I know you don't like them.....and no I wasn't trolling you either. [laugh]

I've been very satisfied with them over the years. They've probably put AR in the hands of more people in this country than all the others combined. For a newbie coming into the hobby, their guns and parts are very affordable.
 
drgrant said:
I wouldn't piss on PSA if they were on fire (I hate them as a company, they're whores like Puds gun shop) but their shit usually works fine.
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Uzi2 said:
They've probably put AR in the hands of more people in this country than all the others combined. For a newbie coming into the hobby, their guns and parts are very affordable.
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I totally get where drgrant is coming from, they do some poverty teir things like ripoffs of certain firearms and accessories, and have put out some junky stuff, but the mission they are trying to accomplish is good. They are responsible for putting defensive semi auto rifles in many peoples hands at an affordable price point. The better brand stuff exists, but for a lot of people formerly priced out of or not interested in the AR world, PSA's product offerings helped a lot. It's good to see a million basic ARs that usually work OK in the hands of a million Americans. PSA has done a lot of the 2a in that respect and making 'banning' semi auto sporting rifles a lot harder as they made them in a lot more common use than before.
 
Uzi2 said:
I don't see any advantage unless you are routinely changing out stocks.
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It's a cheap upgrade that makes life less painful if you decide to change stocks or entire buffer tunes etc for that matter. It's like putting anti seize conpound on exhaust bolts on a car, the winning comes years later....
 
Uzi2 said:
Well, let me be your first right here.

I don't care for all the flashy designs and engraving or all the other superficial stuff. I want rifles that shoot with decent accuracy, with uppers and lowers that don't need a tool to disassemble them and that interchange with every other one.....well, excluding putting short barrels on stocked receivers. I've got pistols for those, and builds that meet a certain price point. If I can build 3 for the price of one "Gucci", I'm all in. Quantity has a quality all its own.
I dislike very light triggers and have learned to shoot heavier triggers all my life.
Click to expand...

Stuff like, do you want to bash pins out to remove a gas block? Threaded fasteners are kinda nice. A hex head isn't a special tool to me I guess.

Free float guards are nice, is pretty undeniable that they help. When installing one do you want to be shimming to assure the barrel nut is timed, or torqing the nut differently than ideal to make it so,
or do you want to just torque the nut properly and move on?

I don't know about the really Gucci stuff, but recievers are the cheap part. Stuff like Aero I don't consider Gucci, just a later design where they took a 2nd look and made some improvements.

I own fairly strict mil spec stuff too, like an actual carry handle upper AR. There's definitely room for both sorts in my safe :)


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richc said:
Can an argument be made that a .223 or 5.56 round is a .22 caliber?
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Yes; just not in a way that any court will suck for...

Coyote33 said:
"Forged products will be the choice when components must exhibit maximum properties and durability in service, where weight and mass must be minimized and failure would be costly or catastrophic. ..."
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[rolleyes]

Aerospace-SLA%C2%AE-DLP-%C2%AEMOVINGLight%C2%AE-case-study.jpg

1-s2.0-S0924013604002274-gr1.jpg
 
Boghog1 said:
nope, I want better than mil spec, the BCM BFH upper isn't mil spec and a much better design based on the research I have done. and there are lowers that are superior as well.
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But then, is it still an "AR-15"? Or is it an "AR-15" style rifle?
 
There are different needs. The tapered pin gas block connection is inconvenient for us non-mil type since it is pretty much impossible to drill a replacement block with matching holes - they are originally drilled through the block and barrel when the block is is on the barrel.

What the pin does much better than anything based on a setscrew (either screwed into the barrel or clamping on a block) is hold up without loosening under sustained full auto fire. I know of a situation where a rifle failed military qualification because of gas block screws loosening.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
There are different needs. The tapered pin gas block connection is inconvenient for us non-mil type since it is pretty much impossible to drill a replacement block with matching holes - they are originally drilled through the block and barrel when the block is is on the barrel.

What the pin does much better than anything based on a setscrew (either screwed into the barrel or clamping on a block) is hold up without loosening under sustained full auto fire. I know of a situation where a rifle failed military qualification because of gas block screws loosening.
Click to expand...

Just wondering - was that rifle like a single sample or a model where it happened more than once? Any analysis done as far as the cause?

Last time I swapped a barrel with a clamp on gas block I installed, which happened to be a JP gas block, common semi auto AR10-varient in 7.62 - I was surprised to note that even after really getting that thing hot (by my incorrect estimation) on a number of occasions, the blue or purple loctite (don't remember what I used) just wasn't letting go and required a torch to burn it off. Point really is just in semi auto clamp on seems reliable.

I never really considered full auto fire but I always assumed the mil spec front sight base gas block, sticking out as it does, would be the #1 concern and reason for pinning it. I guess potentially a shitload of heat plus banging it around might be even a more reliable recipe for failure.

The clamp style adjustable gas blocks I've used do come with pins and instructions for pinning, as an optional step, that likely no one follows. Though maybe some do, for the reasons you bring up.
 
I too use JP AR's in .223/5.56 and .308/7.62 and I have never had a gas block problem, although my earlier models with the set screw attachment were upgraded to clamp on (both JP) "just because".

I suppose there is also an assembly/maintenance issue. With pinning there is no chance is it not "screwed down tight enough".
 

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