AR15 Striped Lowers / kits question

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steelhog

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Hi all, I would like to start building a AR15 from scratch. I'm looking for some advice on striped lower receivers and lower receiver parts kits. I'm mostly doing this for the experience and fun, i'm going to do this slow (Don't want to spend a S&%t ton of cash), but I do want a quality gun when I'm done.

Would a Spikes / Stag / Or DPMS striped lower be a good start? From what I have read - most striped lowers are basically the same? (looking at these because of the price)

Also what would you recommend for a lower receiver parts kit?
 
I build mine with a Spikes stripped lower and an Armalite Lower parts kit, the kit included a two stage trigger for $120.-. The lower kit was easily the best deal that i found in my research (IMO) and i looked and ask about all of them.
 
There are only 4 or so forges making lowers; everyone else just puts their stamp on it. So, generally speaking, they are all going to be about the same. Be sure that you get a 7075 aluminum lower. PSA is an excellent company to go with; their lowers used to be by Aero Precision, but I think I heard that they are getting them somewhere else now. Surplus Arms and Ammo also have the AP forged lower, and have a nice stamp.

The lower parts kit (LPK) by PSA is excellent, and the price is dang near impossible to beat.
 
I'll add another vote for PSA LPK's. I've loved all of them.

I've built up a Spikes and really like it.

My latest build was on an Aero Precision lower and it's every bit as nice as any other lower I have.
 
Lower wise the stag or the Spikes will be ok. Avoid the DPMS at all cost. Same for the LPK. I prefer Daniel Defense LPKs however.
 
kwelz said:
Avoid the DPMS at all cost.
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate, please? I've built a few guns on DPMS lowers without problems and while some people suggest avoiding them altogether, I have yet to hear a good explanation why. The only time I've had real issues with a lower was with a Stag, the trigger hole being slightly off, but whenever I don't have a Colt or an all-out custom billet lower at hand, I tend to lean towards DPMS.

There's no such thing as brand loyalty from my part, so if there's a real reason that a lower from any other manufacturer is a better choice, I'm all ears.
 
If you search around the Snipershide, you'll find a thread about a guy who sent his upper to DPMS for some such work. What he got back was an unsafe disaster.

For me, it comes down to DPMS not being as good as others such as Colt, DD, BCM, etc., and having little if any innovation compared to others.
 
Sure I can give examples. I used to sell DPMS as a wholesaler and have owned a number of them. They are rife with issues. Sure some people have ones that are ok but on the whole they probably have more issues per 100 than any other company short of Oly or Hesse. And while lowers are usually fine as long as they are in spec, DPMS has shown that they can't even get that right

Here is the example that I show quite often.

As you can see in these images the lowers are cracked and the anodizing is actually inside the crack meaning this happened at the factory durring final machining and then they still made it out the door. These two were sent directly to a friend of mine who is a dealer as part of a complete Lower part kit you get everything but have to build it yourself. He tried for a long time to get DPMS to take them back and replace them and they would not. He sold the rest of the LPKs and kept these as examples of why never to buy DPMS. The cracks are so bad that you can actually flex them.

DPMS1.JPG



DPMS2.JPG


The pins in their LPKs also are oversized. I don't know why but i have never seen them have rollpins that are the right size. I won't even go into the issues with complete guns since this thread is about lowers and LPKs.
 
Can you elaborate, please? I've built a few guns on DPMS lowers without problems and while some people suggest avoiding them altogether, I have yet to hear a good explanation why.
Click to expand...

I put a DPMS safety in my lower build. It had 4 distinct clicks to go from Safe to Semi. My Colt safety doesn't, nor does my Daniel Defense Safety....
 
Thanks for the info about DPMS. I've never seen anything like that in the lowers (or LPK:s) I've used but it seems like a good idea to check everything extra carefully. Mine have mostly been full auto lowers, which might make a difference as far as factory QC is concerned? Fortunately I have a decent supply of billet lowers at the moment so I'll probably won't have to outsource in at least a few months.
 
Strange - I just read that the same manufacture makes lowers for DPMS and Spikes. If LAR makes both - wouldn't they be the exact same thing?
 
steelhog said:
Strange - I just read that the same manufacture makes lowers for DPMS and Spikes. If LAR makes both - wouldn't they be the exact same thing?
Click to expand...

This is a commonly stated half truth. There are only a few companies that make AR15 blanks. However many companies do the final machining themselves. There is also the factors of QC and the standards they hold to.
 
W.E.G. said:
You don't have to look far on the internet to find examples of poor product by any high-production manufacturer.
Click to expand...

Ouch. I'd really like to know what happened there. As kwelz noted, that seems like a cosmetic defect instead of functional, but I'd find anything like that totally unacceptable. I'm not really a perfectionist but there are a few good reasons why I prefer custom made parts whenever it's financially feasible. You'll get exactly what you want.

Here's one of my projects from last year, the lower is every bit as smooth and precisely machined as it looks in this picture. And the barrel isn't bent, it just looks like it is because the picture was taken with a short focal length lens. ;)

m4aihio.jpg
 
Thought Aero Precision made Spikes?

I think all my future lowers will be Aero unless I want a particular roll mark.
 
Geisselle has introduced a new line of AR triggers through their new ALG company, that is basically the standard FCG tuned for an improved pull and break without compromising reliability and durability. G&R Tactical will be soon supplying these triggers with their LPKs. The ALG Combat Trigger is comparably priced with other standard AR triggers. From all accounts, the ACT is the best value for a new AR trigger
 
kwelz, you have been using those pics for ages now. you have to find new material to maintain a relevant base of bash data, otherwise that pic is just becoming ever more of an isolated incident, and every company has isolated incidents of quality control letting a few slip out
 
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