Ar question?

[jdb]

I'm going to pick up a lower and wondering are they all created equal? What should I avoid?

[carpsniperg2]

Pretty much all forged lowers are created equal with just different names on them. If you are going billet then you get into some difference and higher quality machining.

[huntandjeep]

Yeap , there's only like 5 AR foundries in the US that make the raw forged lowers than the  " end Maker " finishes them ,  so pick the roll mark you like the best.
LMT forges lowers for Knights Armament , Barret ,Bushmaster, Armalite and others
CMT for Stag, Noveske, S&W , Rock River , and Colt .
LAR Manufacturing / DPMS , CMMG , Spikes Double Star.
Mega Machine / Alexander arms , Mega , POF


When you get into the billet sets they are machined in house most of the times.

[jdb]

Ok next question, it seems like all the uppers in seeing are more than entire rifle? What am I missing here?

[huntandjeep]

Ok next question, it seems like all the uppers in seeing are more than entire rifle? What am I missing here?

What uppers are you looking at ? Again its all about the name associated with the upper. A complete PSA upper is going to cost alot less than say a Noveske , Larue , Daniel Defense etc. The latter are going to use known quality parts.
You can almost always build a nice upper with quality parts cheaper than buying one already built

[jdb]

I may continue to pick your brain if that's ok

[WAElkhunter89]

I've been debating starting a 300BO pistol build using a Rainier Arms billet upper and lower, if you're near Rainier Arms they are a great store to go to and get some advice, they have a pretty decent selection of AR components as well.

[huntandjeep]

I may continue to pick your brain if that's ok

Yeah that's cool , I've built a few ( doing a pistol now ) .  AR's are fun you can build super cheap or use high end Guicci parts . Just depends on what you want the end result to be.

[Blacklab]

I may continue to pick your brain if that's ok

Yeah that's cool , I've built a few ( doing a pistol now ) .  AR's are fun you can build super cheap or use high end Guicci parts . Just depends on what you want the end result to be.

 😉
You get a much better bang for your money. If you build from the ground up. Barrel, glass, and trigger are where you need to spend your money. Unless you want a plinker to make noise. Beware their like potato chips, you just can’t build one. 😉🥃

[konradcountry]

I would look at a polymer if you are going the pistol route. I've held both and it's a noticeable difference in weight.

Ignore anyone who says they will crack if you drop it in the woods

[jdb]

We'll I miss gonna build my first one budget minded. I think I want a 14.5" barrel with permanently attached flash hider.

[huntandjeep]

We'll I miss gonna build my first one budget minded. I think I want a 14.5" barrel with permanently attached flash hider.

What if you want to throw a suppressor on it later 
. If you go 14.5 pinned and decide down the road you want to change your flash hider / brake  you would have to send it to say Adco and have them grind  the weld , install the new brake and reweld.

[hunter399]

Did you say poly lower that you mill out yourself.
Not to derail but I thought I seen something about supresser application coming to a stop right now cause of government shut down ,so anybody that's waiting on one may be waiting alot longer.

[dreadi]

A number of my friends buy PSA complete uppers when they like the price/offering. They usually get a bolt carrier group at that time as well from PSA.  I stopped buying from them a few years ago due to some lower parts kits that had garbage selectors.  After that I started buying BCM lower parts kits. I do prefer ALG triggers over the BCM triggers though.

I recently started a group buy of billet stripped lowers and assembled upper receivers for $35 each. Those are the kind of deals you want to jump on when you see them.

Realizing I didn’t answer your questions.

I would stay away from Anderson mfg. Some people like and some people don’t. I’ve had the experience of telling customers that their Anderson lower is out of spec and will require machining to fix.

[FALFire]

I've built on several Anderson lowers and have yet to have a problem with any of them. I suppose most any manufacture could possibly have a short run of out of spec parts but usually things get discovered pretty quickly. I doubt anyone would have a problem with Anderson not correcting an out of spec part by complete replacement over a warranty issue. Your mileage may vary..

[Mongo Hunter]

I agree pick a lower you like and roll with it as long as its forged.

The only parts ill tell you to really pay close attention to are Barrels, BCG and lower parts kits. Beyond that is really no biggie budget wise.

[konradcountry]

Why does it have to be forged?

[CAMPMEAT]

Be sure it's mil spec. I had a Frontier Arms lower polymer for my 204. It shot with zero issues.

[grundy53]

I've built on several Anderson lowers and have yet to have a problem with any of them. I suppose most any manufacture could possibly have a short run of out of spec parts but usually things get discovered pretty quickly. I doubt anyone would have a problem with Anderson not correcting an out of spec part by complete replacement over a warranty issue. Your mileage may vary..

I've built on a handful of Anderson lowers. Never had a problem.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[emac]

I have 6 different lowers and never had an issue with any of them. I have only used one upper from stag because my ars are all leftys and never had any issues with them. Like has been said barrel and trigger assembly are the most important.  I wouldn't recommend welding or pinning your muzzle break it takes options away

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[ASHQUACK]

Two options I haven't seen mentioned are Aero and Hardened Arms.  Both are manufactured here in Wa and both offer LEO/MIL discounts. I have both and am very happy with each.

[konradcountry]

I really don't think the brand of lower matters that much. It's the barrel where people regret going cheap.

I think 14.5 pinned is a good way to go. Sure it is permanent but odds are you are putting a brake on it and it is unlikely some super amazing brake will come out that is noticeably better than whatever 1.5" brake you put on there.