Best AR 15 lowers?

[ChevyGuy91]

Noveske gen 2. Get the chainsaw blemished to save a few bucks.

I was looking at buying one of those myself, until I realized you can not insert the surefire 60/100 round mags due to the magwell flare. I don't have any of those now, but I didn't want to limit myself in the future if I move or whatever.

Something to think about with the non milspec lowers.

 

[dcmdon]

I was looking at buying one of those myself, until I realized you can not insert the surefire 60/100 round mags due to the magwell flare. I don't have any of those now, but I didn't want to limit myself in the future if I move or whatever.

Something to think about with the non milspec lowers.

Ed,
If you want one, you may want to buy some of those now, while you can. Have someone out of state buy and store them for you. All perfectly legal. God only knows what a surefire 100 rounder will sell for if there is some kind of national capacity limit.

 

[retroLS1]

One other thing to ponder. Getting a fancy upper may get you something. The upper is where the magic happens in an AR. Its where the squareness of the bolt to the chamber matters. Its where the squareness of the bbl threads matters. Its where all the stuff that affects accuracy happens.

Will a really cool JP upper with a lot more aluminum help with your AR's accuracy? I don't know. But its more likely to help you than a mega trick lower will.

Don

Very true. Though if you are spending the coin on a fancy upper, you might as well get a matching fancy lower too

 

[Jrjr]

I was looking at buying one of those myself, until I realized you can not insert the surefire 60/100 round mags due to the magwell flare. I don't have any of those now, but I didn't want to limit myself in the future if I move or whatever.

Never thought of that with the gen 2. I have been toying with selling a Noveske N4 when I get my gen 2. I've never regretted not selling something...

 

[bpm990d]

Some of the lowers like the Mega Arms Ambi have a right side bolt release built right into the lower. Depending on the use, it can be a nice feature.

B

 

[dcmdon]

Some of the lowers like the Mega Arms Ambi have a right side bolt release built right into the lower. Depending on the use, it can be a nice feature.

B

For a righty, that is not a big deal. The BAD is slick as snot.

For a lefty, it might be great. As a lefty, I've learned work arounds so that I can keep my ARs as "stock" as possible. Although I do like this. It allows me to drop the bolt with my trigger finger:

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...es/ar-15-tactical-bolt-release-prod21249.aspx

Don

 

[chinalfr]

I'll buy any brand of AR lower than looks appeal to ME. Whether it's a $80 noveske or $300 delton. Who cares about he/she IMO statement?

Sent it from iPhone 5 LTE

 

[dcmdon]

I'll buy any brand of AR lower than looks appeal to ME. Whether it's a $80 noveske or $300 delton. Who cares about he/she IMO statement?

Sent it from iPhone 5 LTE

Thats great. But the discussion was whether the money buys you anything. The OP asked what the best lower was, and the answer is still that it really doesn't matter for the most part.

 

[chinalfr]

Thats great. But the discussion was whether the money buys you anything. The OP asked what the best lower was, and the answer is still that it really doesn't matter for the most part.

How did I missed that. My $300 delton lower help me get hook up with ladies when I carry it @ the bar. When I complete the build and match it with upper, I win the Internet too.

If getting the best upper really matters, I might ask Boris for advice and try to carve the lower from a marble stone I found during my hiking @ mt. Monodnock.

Sent it from iPhone 5 LTE

 

[Synyster]

Thought this might be helpful and clear up some of the scuttlebutt.

Lewis Machine & Tool
LMT
Lauer
DS Arms
PWA
Eagle
Armalite
Knights Armament
Barrett


Continental Machine Tool
Stag
Rock River Arms
High Standard
Noveske
Century (New)
Global Tactical
CLE
S&W
MGI
Wilson Tactical
Grenadier Precision
Colt


LAR Manufacturing (85% of the industry)
LAR
Bushmaster
Ameetec
DPMS
CMMG
Double Star
Fulton Armory
Spike's Tactical


JVP
Double Star
LRB
Charles Daly


Mega Machine Shop

Mega
GSE
Dalphon
POF
Alexander Arms


Olympic
Olympic
SGW
Tromix
Palmetto
Dalphon
Frankford
Century (Old)


Sun Devil
Sun Devil forged billet receivers


Superior
Superior Arms
Lauer (New)


Aero Precision
Aero Precision
Surplus Ammo and Arms
Palmetto State Armory

 

[je25ff]

Didn't really want to start a new thread on this but has anyone dropped the extra cash on a 2 stage trigger lower kit? Is it worth it? I was going to go with a basic DPMS or Stag lower kit for 60 bucks or so.

 

[MichaelJR]

Didn't really want to start a new thread on this but has anyone dropped the extra cash on a 2 stage trigger lower kit? Is it worth it? I was going to go with a basic DPMS or Stag lower kit for 60 bucks or so.

I'm religiously devoted to the spikes enhanced LPK. The trigger is single stage, but it's GLASS smooth.

 

[ARtastic]

I'm religiously devoted to the spikes enhanced LPK. The trigger is single stage, but it's GLASS smooth.

+1 on the Spikes enhanced LPK. I think it's worth the extra $.

 

[crazymjb]

For your run of the mill AR the spikes kit with a quick Dremel polish will be a great single stage "defense/combat" trigger.

I have the Geissele SDE in the lower for my AR-10 build, and while it is a stupid great trigger (much better than the spikes, though its a 2 stage), I am not enough of a fanboy to put them in "all my ARs."

Mike

 

[MichaelJR]

+1 on the Spikes enhanced LPK. I think it's worth the extra $.

The NiB coating is unreal. Feels almost match.

 

[crazymjb]

The NiB coating is unreal. Feels almost match.

I think they also match the triggers and hammers based off machining tolerances. Other than that I don't think anything is dimensionally different on the trigger.

That said mine still had a little bit of grit to it. I used the dremel polishing wheels with some rouge and it smoothed out a lot. Just be sure to go slow and be careful (as much as you can with a dremel). I'm sure it would be ideal to use some micro-fine ceramic file as a straight edge to do the polishing, but I wasn't trying to remove any appreciable amount of material.

Mike

 

[dcmdon]

I haven't used the Spike's LPK, but can tell you that the RRA Match and Varmint triggers are an absolute steal at less than $100.

I've played with both the Varmint (3.5-4#) and the Match (4.5-5#) and actually prefer the match. The varmint is lighter but the reset is slower. Its harder to shoot quickly. The trigger doesn't quite follow your hand as you slowly release the trigger feeling for the reset. I'm going to try polishing the bearing surfaces relevant to the reset. If I can improve that, it will be a home run.

RRA sells an enhanced LPK with their 2 stage trigger included, as well as any number of upgraded grips, including Magpul, Hogue, and Ergo.

For the money, these upgrades are a no brainer.

 

[crazymjb]

Depends what you want in a trigger...

I do agree the first thing you need to do is ditch the garbage factory grip.

Mike

 

[Da_lucche]

Anything from Aero Precision/Surplus Arms&Ammo is A++. The make the unbranded lowers for reputable companies like Spikes and Armalite (to name a couple).

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Da_lucche]

Thought this might be helpful and clear up some of the scuttlebutt.

Lewis Machine & Tool
LMT
Lauer
DS Arms
PWA
Eagle
Armalite
Knights Armament
Barrett


Continental Machine Tool
Stag
Rock River Arms
High Standard
Noveske
Century (New)
Global Tactical
CLE
S&W
MGI
Wilson Tactical
Grenadier Precision
Colt


LAR Manufacturing (85% of the industry)
LAR
Bushmaster
Ameetec
DPMS
CMMG
Double Star
Fulton Armory
Spike's Tactical


JVP
Double Star
LRB
Charles Daly


Mega Machine Shop

Mega
GSE
Dalphon
POF
Alexander Arms


Olympic
Olympic
SGW
Tromix
Palmetto
Dalphon
Frankford
Century (Old)


Sun Devil
Sun Devil forged billet receivers


Superior
Superior Arms
Lauer (New)


Aero Precision
Aero Precision
Surplus Ammo and Arms
Palmetto State Armory

Spikes and Armalite get their lowers from Aero Precision.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[turbo38gn]

On the lower topic, nothing I can add to what's already been said other than after several different brands of lowers in my vault, I like the feel, looks and quality of the DGW lowers we just purchased in our group buy.

On the trigger question, again, having built several lowers with several name brand kits and not so name brand kits, I decided I don't care for anybodies milspec trigger. I researched on and off for many months and after reading and sifting through tons of internet material and BS, I decided I didn't want to buy "massaged" trigger kits, not do I really want to "massage" one myself with the negative side affects that can occur. I decided I would buy someones single or dual stage triggers, well I finally did purchase a couple of single stage triggers on impulse right before Thanksgiving. I saw a Wilson Combat Tactical 3-gun trigger with a $55.00 discount and bought 2 of them. They were pricey, but I could not be happier. I plan to purchase a few other brands eventually, but for now, I'm loving the WC... It's like going out to eat on datenight... I have no regrets spending for the best steak on the menue, as long as it's great!