heypete
Member
When I was perusing the inventory at the local FFL near San Francisco (don't blame me for the other voters around here) I took note of the usual complement of Kel-Tec SU-16s, Ruger Mini-14s, and Bushmaster Carbon-15 closed-magwell rifles.
Interestingly enough, there also were fully-assembled lowers with a fixed magazine stamped "VULCAN" on the magwell. Curious, I looked closer. They're fully completed AR lowers, with all the various bits intact (including the mag catch, which is something the closed-magwell Bushy Carbon-15s and the FAB10 don't have).
I couldn't see any visible weld marks (nor do I know if it's possible to weld the aluminum receiver to what seemed to be a steel magazine) around the magwell, though there seemed to be a siliconne-like goo surrounding the fixed magazine in the well.
Price was reasonable, around $320 or so (stripped FAB10 lowers sell for about $300 here) and looked to be of visually-good quality. No detectable defects or other indications of low quality were seen.
This particular lower stood out to me in several respects:
1) I'm always looking for new guns.
2) I've been looking for an AR-type rifle, as I carried an M16 in the army and rather liked the ergonomics.
3) Being that a fixed magazine is required here, I'd prefer a fixed magazine attached into a standard magwell, rather than a closed-magwell design. This way, when I finally do move to Free America (in a couple years, I promise!) I can remove the fixed magazine and utilize detachable magazines.
4) It's an aluminum, complete receiver that's reasonably priced. The aluminum stripped FAB10s are expensive, and the Bushy C15s are plastic. I'd prefer a metal receiver over plastic.
5) It's obviously California-legal, though I can't find it on the Vulcan website. This FFL is (rightly so) incredibly careful when it comes to gun laws, and will often err on the side of being too cautious rather than pushing the envelope. If he's selling it, it's perfectly fine to sell.
While I know Vulcan has somewhat of a reputation for low-quality stuff, I'm curious if anyone has any experience with their AR lowers, particularly the fixed-magazine lowers. I can't imagine there being that much stuff in the lower that would affect accuracy or reliability that much short of the magazine -- the trigger was crisp and very much like the M16 I carried, and the hammer and other mechanisms worked as expected, so they check out mechanically. I'd probably end up putting a Bushmaster 20" A2 upper on it, so the quality of the barrel, upper, bolt, bolt carrier, etc. would be quite good. Based on their reputation, I'm not sure I'd trust a Vulcan upper, but I can't really see any reason why not to get a Vulcan lower with another brand upper.
Also, I'm not so sure I'd trust the fixed magazine for reliabilty. Does anyone know how they're attached? After properly stripping the rifle of the pistol grip and barrel, I'd like to remove the magazine (removing other "assault weapons" parts are, annoyingly enough, required before removing a fixed magazine, so the rifle doesn't magically become an "assault weapon" while taking it apart) and replace it with a high-quality fixed 10-round magazine and ensure that it's fixed in such a way that it counts as a "low-capacity fixed magazine". If the mag's just held in place with siliconne goo, it'd be relatively easy to remove it with the proper tools. If it's welded in there, it'd be a bit more complex, but still doable. Does anyone know if this can be done with the Vulcan lower, and any specific concerns about replacing the fixed, 10-round Vulcan mag with a fixed, 10-round other-brand mag while in California?
Comments? I'd love to get more information before dropping $320 on a lower. While I don't really have the choice in California of picking between several lowers, I do have the choice between buying and not buying a particular gun. If other people's experience suggest that this lower would be an unwise purchase for quality or other reasons, then that'd be money better off not spent.
Interestingly enough, there also were fully-assembled lowers with a fixed magazine stamped "VULCAN" on the magwell. Curious, I looked closer. They're fully completed AR lowers, with all the various bits intact (including the mag catch, which is something the closed-magwell Bushy Carbon-15s and the FAB10 don't have).
I couldn't see any visible weld marks (nor do I know if it's possible to weld the aluminum receiver to what seemed to be a steel magazine) around the magwell, though there seemed to be a siliconne-like goo surrounding the fixed magazine in the well.
Price was reasonable, around $320 or so (stripped FAB10 lowers sell for about $300 here) and looked to be of visually-good quality. No detectable defects or other indications of low quality were seen.
This particular lower stood out to me in several respects:
1) I'm always looking for new guns.
2) I've been looking for an AR-type rifle, as I carried an M16 in the army and rather liked the ergonomics.
3) Being that a fixed magazine is required here, I'd prefer a fixed magazine attached into a standard magwell, rather than a closed-magwell design. This way, when I finally do move to Free America (in a couple years, I promise!) I can remove the fixed magazine and utilize detachable magazines.
4) It's an aluminum, complete receiver that's reasonably priced. The aluminum stripped FAB10s are expensive, and the Bushy C15s are plastic. I'd prefer a metal receiver over plastic.
5) It's obviously California-legal, though I can't find it on the Vulcan website. This FFL is (rightly so) incredibly careful when it comes to gun laws, and will often err on the side of being too cautious rather than pushing the envelope. If he's selling it, it's perfectly fine to sell.
While I know Vulcan has somewhat of a reputation for low-quality stuff, I'm curious if anyone has any experience with their AR lowers, particularly the fixed-magazine lowers. I can't imagine there being that much stuff in the lower that would affect accuracy or reliability that much short of the magazine -- the trigger was crisp and very much like the M16 I carried, and the hammer and other mechanisms worked as expected, so they check out mechanically. I'd probably end up putting a Bushmaster 20" A2 upper on it, so the quality of the barrel, upper, bolt, bolt carrier, etc. would be quite good. Based on their reputation, I'm not sure I'd trust a Vulcan upper, but I can't really see any reason why not to get a Vulcan lower with another brand upper.
Also, I'm not so sure I'd trust the fixed magazine for reliabilty. Does anyone know how they're attached? After properly stripping the rifle of the pistol grip and barrel, I'd like to remove the magazine (removing other "assault weapons" parts are, annoyingly enough, required before removing a fixed magazine, so the rifle doesn't magically become an "assault weapon" while taking it apart) and replace it with a high-quality fixed 10-round magazine and ensure that it's fixed in such a way that it counts as a "low-capacity fixed magazine". If the mag's just held in place with siliconne goo, it'd be relatively easy to remove it with the proper tools. If it's welded in there, it'd be a bit more complex, but still doable. Does anyone know if this can be done with the Vulcan lower, and any specific concerns about replacing the fixed, 10-round Vulcan mag with a fixed, 10-round other-brand mag while in California?
Comments? I'd love to get more information before dropping $320 on a lower. While I don't really have the choice in California of picking between several lowers, I do have the choice between buying and not buying a particular gun. If other people's experience suggest that this lower would be an unwise purchase for quality or other reasons, then that'd be money better off not spent.
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