I have a 6.8 LaRue Stealth upper build that I need to find a lower to complete. This has put me into a quandary about whether to go for a billet or standard lower. I have been looking into the Sun Devil and POF lowers on the billet side and the Noveske N4 and Global Tactical on the standard side. I have also seen the posts about the Magpul lower and this is not helping my lower quandary. What should I do? Wait for a Magpul (how long) or go with one of the others? Whatever lower I select, I need it to accept all of the 6.8 mags. My spare Bushmaster lower is extremely tight with my only PRI mag (can hardly get it out) and loose with my CProducts 6.8 mags. Thus, I need a lower that will be in spec and hopefully avoid any of these mag issues. Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
The Magpul lowers are way too much $$$ IMHO. There are several very positive reports on the Sun Devil for $150.00. Grant and Shihan might chime in here.
Add an LMT Lower Parts Kit (LPK) for $165 with trigger group, and a great stock like a VLTOR and extension tube for $150, MIAD Grip for $45, and you should have a very high quality lower for $510.00.
That’s the most expensive “Build Option” with a SD Lower. You could get a LMT GenII Stock and Extension Tube for $100, and an Ergo Grip for $30, and shave some costs.
I’m going to go with the “Build versus Buy” route on my next lower because I can’t find anyone that includes everything I want in one package.
1 vote for Sun Devil. Any others out there with opinions?
Any of the lowers will work fine, and since looks are subjective, it isn’t something that really can be judged on this end.
If you had a Vltor VIS, MUR, or SD upper, I would say that the Sund Devil, POF, or Magpul billet lowers would look great. The LT upper doesn’t have the same angular lines, and looks more like a standard upper, so you may be more interested in a standard lower receiver. In the end, any of them will work fine.
Here are a few pictures, hopefully they are of some help.
SUNDEVIL
POF
MAGPUL
I have one Sun Devil lower, one POF Gen. 2 lower and three Noveske lowers. They all work. Like Stickman said, it depends on what you like. I have a little more in most of my lowers though (everything from site sponsors):
32.95 LMT ambi selector
81.86 Colt Parts for everything else not listed
279 Geisselle trigger
29.95 KNS pins
22 KNS push button take-down pins
445.76 subtotal
18.95 Magpul trigger guard
34.15 Miad
67.95 tube w/H buffer
119.65 E-mod
240.7 Subtotal
Well, I succumbed to the Magpul goodness and put myself on the pre-order list. I may still get a Sun Devil lower as well, depending on how long it takes to get the Magpul (Magpul products are worse than crack and I am addicted).
I really like the Sun Devil’s I have done quite a few builds on them with zero complaints.
Me like.Me like alot.
If I’m lucky enough to actually get a Magpul lower,this is the setup I’m going for.
Those are some beatiful rifles. How do you like the POF ambi bolt catch?
The POF bolt release is nice, but to be honest, I’ve got so much time slapping the standard bolt catch release, that I find myself using it infrequently. Since I don’t run one of my duty weapon, I don’t spend a lot of time training to use it.
Thank You Stickman
billet is neat. but aside from the few that offer other “features” they billet lowers dont really do anything a standard lower cant do.
Waste of money.
One of the highest functions of the billet lowers is their looks. There are people who are willing to pay extra, and who aren’t interested in getting the cheapest or most basic item available. Its the Toyota vs Lexus argument.
On the other side of the coin, there are people who are uninterested in anything but straight functionality, and there is no argument that any standard in-spec lower receiver will do its job in simply being a shell for the mag and FCG.
I think those Billet uppers/lowers just scream quality, and are bad ass.
I would like to ask Stickman about the pic above with the VLTOR upper and Magpul lower.
What’s up with the takedown pins? They look to be silver, and quite different from standard takedown pins. I’ve not seen them before. Can you elaborate?
Also, who all makes BILLET uppers? I’m assuming the VLTOR uppers are indeed billet aluminum, since they have the angular lines/milled look to them.
Who else makes billet uppers? I think Larue makes the Stealth billet upper, but it doesn’t quite have those angular lines, right? (or wrong?)
Just trying to find out who all makes billet uppers that have that VLTOR angular line look to them???
Thanks.
The take down pins are KNS pushbutton, they are there simply because I wanted something that looked different for my Magpul lowers. Standard pins would have been just as easy to drop in.
Sun devil, LT, and VLTOR all make billet uppers. The Vltor is head and shoulders above the rest in my eyes, but primarily because it is heavily reinforced. I don’t buy into the increase in accuracy for a billet upper over an in spec standard lower, but I do believe that the reinforcements that Vltor has done with the MUR and VIS components are solid. Flex testing does a nice job in explaining the possible needs for a reinforced upper.
If you are looking at billet uppers for looks, any of the above three will work well for you. All of them are quality items.
SMOS is another good choice…Has a Magpul lower LOOK to it …Verry Cool!!!
the smos lowers are pretty nice:D
