Stripped Lowers

[Dave L.]

I'm thinking about getting a few stripped lowers- Who has the best deal, best product, and least wait time? Does LMT sell a totally stripped lower?

thanks guys,
Dave

[FJB]

Try John Noveske at Noveske Rifleworks. John has extremely high QC standards.

Another option is POFs new billet milled lowers.

S/F

[M4arc]

LMT does not sell stripped lowers. However you can find stripped Lauer lowers (made by LMT) from a few sources and by all accounts they are VERY nice lowers.

[Hawkeye]

I really like Denny's lowers.

[D1g1talV3n0m@adelphia.net]

I like the RRA lowers and that is what I use. Magpul's new lower looks promising.

If you need some lowers talk to Tom Mooney of Mooney's firearms. GREAT service and I believe he has a few in stock also.

[Stickman]

I'm thinking about getting a few stripped lowers- Who has the best deal, best product, and least wait time? Does LMT sell a totally stripped lower?

thanks guys,
Dave

There are numerous companies that make a high quality lower. CMT makes lowers for many companies, and simply stamps the company logo into them.

Mega is one of my favorite, but they are often hard to find. Mega primarily does aerospace contract work, and keeps the same standards in their receivers that they produce, and I try to use them in my own personal builds.

Lauer lowers are nice, and have been high quality in my experiences.

Stag has a solid lower that is usually one of the lowest price models.

POF makes a great billet lower, but its not cheap. SunDevil makes a nice billet lower also, and while they are cheaper than POF, they are stil running more than most regular lowers.

[M4arc]

Stickman is right, the Mega lowers are outstanding and I wish I had 10 more of them. If you can find one jump on it!

[Dave L.]

So what would make a Mega better than say an LMT? What are the differences to look out for as far as "mil-spec" type lowers go. Which part of the lowers are more likely to be out of spec or sub-standard?

[9sigman45]

I've built 4 of the LCWs and been very happy with them.

[K.L. Davis]

Like Stickman said, lowers are made by different companies for different companies -- a licensed manufacturer (07) can do a letter of variance with the ATF and basically give a block of their serial numbers to another manufacturer for them to make... those lowers will have the same markings and stuff as if they were made in house. Companies keep track of these through the serial number, some give a certain prefix (say all numbers that start with "A" are made for them by Acme) and some just by number range.

For the most part, all of the well know names are good products, the market usually kills of stuff that is of poor quality all on its own... some lowers have more attention to detail, like Denny's where they are hand culled and particular attention is given to the finish (forging marks and that sort of stuff), while it may be largely cosmetic, the actual hands on attention pays off in QC.

Some shops like Mega seem to turn out very precise products... but again, they can end up with another name on them. I dont think anyone on this board sells cast lowers, and most forgings come from one of very few places to start with. The two well known billet lowers out there are POF and Sundevil (I do not know who is making the lower for Magpul) and both of them are very nice pieces of work.

Truth is... most folks go by the name or logo. If one company has a name or logo that appeals to a person, that is the lower they swear by -- but any forged or billet machined lower from a reputable dealer will most likely out last many, many upper receivers.

Things I look for are the mag well... how it is cut in, some are tight, some are loose and some are crooked -- hammer and trigger pin holes have been known to end up less that straight, in some you can see the hammer "twisted" to one side as it sets in the gun -- receiver extension boss, how does it line up and how straight is the tube when installed... finally just how well a known good upper mates up with the receiver.

If you buy from a dealer that has a good name, they got that good name by working for it... I know of one dealer on here who (even though it set him back on orders) has returned large orders of receivers because he did the inspections and was not happy with what he got. Sooooo, pick a name you like (safe bet that about an even number of people will tell you that your choice is great, as will tell you it is bad), put your trust in someone that has earned it and I am sure you will be quite happy.