Which brand for budget lowers?

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I don't understand why the AR wasn't made with a solid trigger guard in the first place.

I caught a Ruger lower on a Christmas sale for $49 and built it, good quality and absolutely no problems installing a DPMS LPK into it. They normally hang out around $90 each, which is a little steep IMO. But I'd hoard one if I ever saw the price on them drop again.
 
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Skylerbone said:
I’m in the middle of my second build, first was an Anderson (I have 4 more stripped Anderson lowers still wrapped up) and this one an Aero. Honestly apart from a small mark and the roll mark the Anderson looks exactly like my RRA and was trouble free. So far the Aero has been the same and offers a slightly larger magwell taper to aid in finding the hole.

At $7 difference with these prices my cat says you’d have to be a tightwad to not spring for the Aero, but she can be pretentious. I admit she guilted me into a complete Aero Pistol upper last night. OpticsPlanet is offering 10% off so for $315 I reluctantly agreed.

If you’re looking at resale if prices jump, ask yourself if you’d rather have 5 for the price of 6 or 6 for the price of 5.


Kitty loves her some Aero.
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Went with the 7”, no FSB (all other lengths A2 style). Just need to find a sale on Toolcraft and an SBA3. And an RDS. And a few accessories. An...
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Got to agree on the Aero stuff. I've used a few Andersons, and did use Spikes on "nicer" builds but the Aero stuff is nicer than the Spikes and less expensive to boot!

Russellc
 
Absolutely not questioning it, but I am surprised to hear it. Between myself and the circle of people that I assemble and talk ARs with, I'm guessing the sample size is at least 200 receivers, and I haven't heard of a single issue. The is inclusive of every generation of Aero AR15 receiver. Now, if you're talking 308, it wouldn't surprise me all that much as I have had mixed experiences with Aero's "M5" 308 receivers. These are always a little more challenging since there is essentially no standard for a "DMPS" dimensioned 308 AR
bearcreek said:
A buddy of mine sent a couple of them back several times due to out of spec magazine wells. It was too tight to drop a PMAG, loaded or empty. Had to pull the mag out. They claimed to have opened up the mag well on the first one and when it still didn't work they sent another that was also too tight. Obviously others have had better luck with them but I wouldn't buy them personally.
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bearcreek said:
A buddy of mine sent a couple of them back several times due to out of spec magazine wells. It was too tight to drop a PMAG, loaded or empty. Had to pull the mag out. They claimed to have opened up the mag well on the first one and when it still didn't work they sent another that was also too tight. Obviously others have had better luck with them but I wouldn't buy them personally.
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I have a 10 yr. (or so) old Aero with the same issue. I've been using some well worn GI 20 rounders that won't fall out either. Kind of a pain, but probably too late to get it fixed.
 
BSA1 wrote:
"a [sic] American Flag and 'These Colors Never Run' for $61.32."
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First, ask that to the men who did run at Kasserine Pass.

Second, let's move beyond the pointless bravado. During our 200+ year history, American troops have broken and run more than once. The point is not the fiction that we never run, but rather the reality that even when we run, we always gather again under the flag.

Third, my political "bona-fides" are well established so I don't need to pay someone an additional charge to engrave a fictional history on the side of my rifle.
 
Wisco said:
Looks like Aero is the one. Now to decide how many...
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Just buy at least 5 and you should be good.
I have done at least a dozen on Anderson lowers and they are great other than the stamping that looks a little sloppy. I have built 3 on aero since they are local to me and I love them. Done a few on 80% just to see if I could, my sbr is an 80% from Daytona tactical, and back in the day I built one on an Olympic Arms lower. All have worked fine, but the aero lowers seem to be the best finish and feature wise.
 
ColoradoMinuteMan said:
Absolutely not questioning it, but I am surprised to hear it. Between myself and the circle of people that I assemble and talk ARs with, I'm guessing the sample size is at least 200 receivers, and I haven't heard of a single issue. The is inclusive of every generation of Aero AR15 receiver. Now, if you're talking 308, it wouldn't surprise me all that much as I have had mixed experiences with Aero's "M5" 308 receivers. These are always a little more challenging since there is essentially no standard for a "DMPS" dimensioned 308 AR
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Regular AR15 lowers, not .308. I'd always heard good things about them too, till he had that experience. Part of the reason I wouldn't buy one now is the way that they handled it. Kept trying to blame it on his magazines, which were just standard Pmags. Lots of other good options out there anyway. I've had excellent success with Palmetto and Spikes lowers. Might as well stick with what has worked.
 
Most people don't know that Anderson is the largest producer of mil spec AR lowers. Some of those higher dollar lowers are made by Anderson.
When it comes to mil-spec lowers Anderson is about the best deal. Now their lower with the integral trigger guard is out of the mil-spec category. I do like the Areo Gen2 lower due to the increased Magwell Flare and the new nylon tipped upper tension screw. These two features takes it out of the mil-spec category.
I've built on many different brand name lowers, Anderson, PSA, Aero, Red Jacket, Sharp Brothers, Essential Arms, S&W, Tennessee Arms, Rock River and a few others, and all have been good. On sale the Aero Gen2 is hard to beat.
Oh! for the person that asked why the military didn't just use an integral trigger guard, it was so that the trigger guard could be opened for fighting in cold weather. You have to remember that when the M16 was adopted the the military used mittens for extreme cold weather .
 
Wisco said:
I just saw some stripped lowers on Brownells.

$42 for Aero
$35 for Anderson
$33 for ATI
$45 for Matrix

Then there’s premium lowers, stripped
LMT and Knights $150 and $210

I can’t imagine the cheap ones getting much cheaper, or the premium either for that matter.

If you wanted to buy the best you can for the least money, and also keeping resale in mind, what do you prefer?

If you were going to sell a lower later - do people prefer an Aero to an Anderson? Or whatever else...
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I have used many different brands.

DPMS, Stag, LRB, Palmetto State Armory, Anderson, and probably a few I am forgetting about.

They all work the same. Anderson had an issue a few years ago where the threads weren't cut deep enough to use a standard grip screw. That has been fixed.

I don't pay any attention to potential resale value when determining what components I want to use, especially low cost components.

I wouldn't pay $150 or $210 for a forged lower in this current environment. I can't see the rollmark when I am shooting the rifle.....
 
I'm function over form...wouldn't bother me if the lower was stamped "Aunt Ethels Pancakes Inc " Once it's in your hands, no one is able to see it anyway.

As long as it's made from the right material and is in spec...I'm good with it.

If the cost just a few dollars either way, go with whatever.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
Oh! for the person that asked why the military didn't just use an integral trigger guard, it was so that the trigger guard could be opened for fighting in cold weather. You have to remember that when the M16 was adopted the the military used mittens for extreme cold weather .
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Exactly. In the late 1950's, when the AR was being developed, the possible points of conflict were Korea, or NATO versus the Warsaw Pact. Winter fighting capability was high on the list of priorities.

Installing the hinged trigger guard takes extra care, if you don't want to ruin your lower receiver. I always file the end of the roll pin to a taper, and ream the hole, so that it starts in easily. Use the proper roll pin punch, and support the opposite side. Always have the trigger guard in place when starting to drive in the pin. Fortunately, I have not ruined a lower in this way yet.

Integral trigger guards just don't look right to me.
 
Now the customer service aspect isn’t a huge surprise to me. I thought they fumbled a customer service opportunity with me personally on my M5 upper when using with a Faxon barrel. I emailed them with a question about the feedramps and they simply said “it’s the barrel contact Faxon.” In the end it actually did end up being the barrel. Faxon had awesome customer service helping me diagnose the loading issue. While they may have been correct, they could have pretended to care a bit more and it would have given me a better experience. Even if they would have said the same thing but slightly different “we’ve seen this in the past and in most cases it ends up being the barrel, please work with your barrel manufacture to rule that out, but if that doesn’t get you anywhere let us know we’d be happy to help you diagnose further.” It honestly turned me off to the extent I wanted to try out some other lowers but I went back to Aero because I like a couple of their features more than milspec.

bearcreek said:
Regular AR15 lowers, not .308. I'd always heard good things about them too, till he had that experience. Part of the reason I wouldn't buy one now is the way that they handled it. Kept trying to blame it on his magazines, which were just standard Pmags. Lots of other good options out there anyway. I've had excellent success with Palmetto and Spikes lowers. Might as well stick with what has worked.
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ColoradoMinuteMan said:
Now the customer service aspect isn’t a huge surprise to me. I thought they fumbled a customer service opportunity with me personally on my M5 upper when using with a Faxon barrel. I emailed them with a question about the feedramps and they simply said “it’s the barrel contact Faxon.” In the end it actually did end up being the barrel. Faxon had awesome customer service helping me diagnose the loading issue. While they may have been correct, they could have pretended to care a bit more and it would have given me a better experience. Even if they would have said the same thing but slightly different “we’ve seen this in the past and in most cases it ends up being the barrel, please work with your barrel manufacture to rule that out, but if that doesn’t get you anywhere let us know we’d be happy to help you diagnose further.” It honestly turned me off to the extent I wanted to try out some other lowers but I went back to Aero because I like a couple of their features more than milspec.
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Maybe the person at Aero replied to your email before they had their coffee. ;)
 
hdwhit said:
First, ask that to the men who did run at Kasserine Pass.

Second, let's move beyond the pointless bravado. During our 200+ year history, American troops have broken and run more than once. The point is not the fiction that we never run, but rather the reality that even when we run, we always gather again under the flag.

Third, my political "bona-fides" are well established so I don't need to pay someone an additional charge to engrave a fictional history on the side of my rifle.
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WOW!

Who poured sour milk in your bowl of Rice Krispies?

My comment was directed at Wisco, not at you.

My point is even a basic budget lower can have some bling to it.

Wisco,

As for Anderson lowers I have three of them. I ran into a problem with one of them. The channel for the safety detent and spring was rough and would not let the detent insert all the way in. I cleaned the channel out with a proper size drill bit and oil and, contrary to some of the predictions here on THR, it was worked fine ever since and this particular lower and upper combination is my most accurate AR. The finish on this lower is rougher than all of my others but everything works well together.

I have a Stag Arms stripped lower that I paid way too much money for (newbie just getting started) that I have set aside for use on a hunting rifle build as it does not have the cast in trigger guard. As commented I think being able to open the trigger guard when wearing gloves will be useful.
 
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BSA1 said:
WOW!

Who poured sour milk in your bowl of Rice Krispies?

My comment was directed at Wisco, not at you.

My point is even a basic budget lower can have some bling to it.
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I upvoted him because even though his post was a little out of context / uncalled for, I think he makes a very good point to remember our history - even when it doesn't always fit the narratives people want it to. Not really germane to the topic of AR lowers, but it's something I think we would be wise to remember.
 
How ‘bout them Hawks!

Slogans are gross generalizations, motivational fodder, decoration, informative, whatever. Adding what you want on the label doesn’t really change anything except the look. And so with that I concur with Gunny, add anything you want, no approval needed. I’m tempted to have a safety marked “Not Fully Safe” and “Fully Semi-automatic” but the type would be too small.

I agree good triggers and telescopic sights don’t make a rifle more accurate but they can help decrease shooter induced error.
 
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FWIW ...

I have the following assembled Lowers:

1 Bushmaster, 2 DPMS, 4 Anderson. 3 setup as rifles, 4 as carbines.

I am a fan of the Anderson Lowers, especially the style with the integrated trigger guard.

Of the Lowers in my list, I have personally assembled only the 4 Andersons and have found them to be products of surprisingly good quality, especially considering their budget pricing.

I have found that I can order (online & ship to the local store) the regular Anderson Lowers from Cabelas for $10 more than many places ($49+) but save on the zero xfer fee so that the OTD cost is less than $55. :)
 
“Poverty Pony”...that’s funny!:rofl:
Snobby, but funny. :)

Maybe I will highlight the “pony” on my Anderson so people won’t have to look so hard in order to look down their noses at my AR. Wouldn’t want anyone to have to strain their eyes.;)

Pssst...just messing with you...
 
Mosin Bubba said:
I upvoted him because even though his post was a little out of context / uncalled for, I think he makes a very good point to remember our history - even when it doesn't always fit the narratives people want it to. Not really germane to the topic of AR lowers, but it's something I think we would be wise to remember.
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His post was uncalled for and on the edge of being disrespectful. Maybe he has never been under fire. But one must know what they are talking about. These Colors Never Run, it doesn’t mean that the men that have fought under it have never lost or had to give up ground. The colors are Red, White and Blue and they will never run into each other and change colors. They will stand true to the American way of life and freedom.

Now back on topic .
A few of the factors that will effect to price of a lower. One is name brand. This can be worth paying for or just a status symbol. Then there are the roll marks. Some people like to be different, and that’s ok. I have a friend that has started collecting lowers, just for the different markings. He said it’s cheaper then buying complete guns. Then there is the finish. I remember the first time I picked up a Black Rain AR. It was like black frosted glass. The finish was flawless. But I’m fine with a factor blem and extra money in my pocket.
Then there are the lowers with added features, like the Aero Gen2. And then there are billet lowers. This opens a whole new world. But in the end they all pretty much end up doing the same thing.
Just find the one that makes you happy, be it low or high end, and build it the way you want. And remember to have fun while you build it.
 
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And if you’re a fan of different or interesting but would prefer the engraving come OEM style, then EDC Tactical makes some really fun stuff. Don’t overlook the safety markings that tie into the themes. https://edctactical.us/collections/lower-receivers

@GunnyUSMC, that Statue of Liberty might look nice with a Magpul OD stock...if only you had one to spare.

934C93B1-6C7D-495F-9FEF-63FCAC936400.png
 
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