AR Lower question

[LACamper]

I hate to ask such an open ended question, but...
who makes the best AR lowers? Is there a lower out there I should avoid? What's the difference between good and bad?

I don't know the first thing about building an AR, but I'll have some money available after the holidays. I thought I'd start doing some digging...

 

[CavalryJim]

I have owned Colt (many years ago), Stag, & DPMS. For the money, Stag lowers are a great deal. The quality and finish of my Stag lowers are much nicer than my DPMS. The DPMS has small tool marks on it and some of the pin holes had small burrs that had to be removed during assembly. Plus, the hammer pin on my DPMS would "walk out" during firing. KNS anti-rotation pins fixed it.

RRA would be another good choice. CMT makes the Stag line of rifles and was/is a subcontractor for RRA, Colt, etc.

 

[gunz4me]

I have had pretty good luck with Double Star lowers. I have also used Essential Arms, POF, and currently have an Anvil Arms waiting to be built up on.

If you decide to go with Essential Arms, I would suggest you get a black tough coat, unless he changed the person who does his anodizing. Non tough coated lowers used to be a lighter shade of gray. I also had issues with the rear detent not locking into the takedown pin and it required me to sand the detent to a finer point.

 

[LouisianaCarry]

Stag and RRA have good stuff. IIRC, Rock River Arms' lowers are only $90!

 

[chibajoe]

"Best" is a pretty subjective term, depending on what your criteria are. Les Baer makes a matched upper/lower set that is simply outstanding. There are no blemishes, no tooling marks, no slop, no gaps, and (best of all) no goofy logo on the magwell. POF billet lowers are also very nice in the finish department, but they use 7075-T6 instead of 7076-T6 (I don't know if that makes any difference to you). If you're not overly concerned with appearances, the Essential Arms lowers are probably the best value, and you'd be supporting a local company, but they have some noticeble tooling marks, so you might want to save them for the camo/Duracoat build. Alternatively, if you're going for a super light build, the Cav Arms polymer lowers would be the way to go, and can be had in various colors.

 

[topgunz1]

I have two Anvil Arms lowers that look great, plus he laser engraves them cheap. My RRA rifle has an excellent lower on it as well

 

[LACamper]

I always head for light weight, especially in a rifle. You'll spend more time carrying it than of shooting it. Appearance isn't much of an issue. Durability and strength are more important. Ease of build also, since I've never done this before and know very little about them. A duracoat finish would be fine. I'm not hanging this one over the fireplace, if I had a fireplace...
Why does having the upper/lower matched matter? Cosmetically and to prevent rattles I can see... The most accurate .45 I've ever shot was an old colt that was as loose as you can imagine. The bushing and link were match though. The owner told me the slide/frame fit didn't matter at all and it worked in that case.

 

[LACamper]

I looked at the Cav Arms website and like the idea. One concern though, it says its based on the A2 stock length. Is there a way to lengthen it? I don't like short stocks...
I really like the Ace stocks though!

 

[LCPL 4]

+1 for Anvil and his engraving.

 

[CavalryJim]

I looked at the Cav Arms website and like the idea. One concern though, it says its based on the A2 stock length. Is there a way to lengthen it? I don't like short stocks...
I really like the Ace stocks though!

The A2 stock is longer than the A1 stock.

To me, the greatest appeal of the AR platform is the modularity. With a CavArms polymer lower, you are stuck with the stock/grip.

 

[topgunz1]

the A2 stock is plenty long... I dont like 'em. I run my carbine on the second position. Anything long just feels wrong.

 

[dmiculek]

I have an A2 stock cheap if you get to looking for one.

 

[LACamper]

I always end up crawling the stock. A longer stock lets me do that without loosing the sight picture on a scope. Besides a short stock just doesn't feel right to me...

I reallly like the look of the ace fixed skeleton stock. I'm thinking either 18 or 20" slim barrel, round handguards rather than picatinny, gas block w/ picatinny under for a light, flat top upper. I'll mount my Kronus 1.5 - 5 for now probably.
I'll do some kind of folding iron sights later. I want to keep the weight of the gun down.