I have been looking at stripper lowers and really don’t know outside of billet and forged what the differences are.I know some have built in magwells and stuff but those I don’t care about. Thanks for your help in advance.
If purchasing a stripped lower, there’s virtually no difference. Choose the rollmark/design you like best, and carry on.
The main thing is choosing a good LPK (Colt or DD are all that I’m comfortable using) and FCG.
GR Tactical has Colt LPK’s for stripped lowers, and complete BCM lowers. Personally, I would go with one of those options.
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=SPK99796
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=LWR-BCM
The only thing I would add is that it will be easier to sell it later with a more well known lower, and resale value will be slightly better. If that matters to you.
I would hope that all lowers have built in magwells…:jester:
You are better off ounce for ounce with forged lowers. Unless that forged lower doesn’t offer a specific feature that you want then you can worry about billet. As scooter22 suggested go for a reputable lowers from GR and other companies and drive on.
I just make sure it’s a reputable company with a solid 7075 lower
My purchased lowers are all Noveske and BCM
JD Machine in San Diego is the foundry for all the Noveske lowers so might get one of good quality a bit cheaper
Colt / DD LPK with an affordable trigger such as ALG (ACT) and you are gtg
Great function, great resale value
The reason I ask is I asked a dealer if he carried spikes tactical lowers and he said those were pieces of junk they are all out of spec and they never work
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Don’t talk to that dealer EVER again. He is obviously an idiot.
Did he suggest bushmaster instead? I had similar experience but with Colt instead of spikes. Dude said they suck, that’s why they lost their contract. sigh
Almost any stripped lower will be g2g
He suggested a polymer one which I don’t think I want that
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You definitely do NOT want a polymer lower.
To anyone’s knowledge is there anything wrong with a spikes or a PSA
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There shouldn’t be. However, any company can produce a lemon.
If you order from PSA, expect a longer-than-necessary delivery time.
I am a hardcore Colt and KAC fanboy.
There is NOTHING wrong with Spikes or PSA lowers.
My experience with LRB and PSA lowers has been very good
You should be GTG with any lower EXCEPT…
Lowers marked
Hesse
Vulcan
Blackthorne
Olympic Arms (a lot of them are out of spec on the distance between the pivot pin hole and the takedown pin hole)
And as was mentioned ANY plastic, polymer, Carbon fiber, or what ever else they try and market CHEAP PLASTIC as.
And if Spikes Tactical lowers are so bad, why do they seem to bring a premium price over others? When they came out with their Honey Badger marked lower they were selling for almost $200.00 on Gunbroker and Gun Shows.
Alarm bells are ringing. I wouldn’t give this dealer a dime of your money or another second of your time.
Aluminum lowers are they way to go- however, avoid any unknown companies or “too good to be true” pricing as some can be slightly out of spec, leading to stuck mags or assembly issues. Stay away from poly- there are too many unresolved issues there.
Spike’s tactical is just fine.
The metal reinforced poly lowers are getting pretty good reviews.
Mist, any experience with Aero Precision?
My only complaint with my Aero is that the magwell bevel is non existent. They may have changed that since I purchased mine 3 years ago. Fit, finish & price is fantastic.
Another thing I’d like to add is that I’m not in the same camp as most people here as I don’t believe all lowers are created equal. The quality control of machining and finishing varies among manufacturers and like it or not, certain respected manufacturers can command a higher resale value as others.
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Not personally, but they are reported to be well made. Some of the PSA lowers were made by Aero but I don’t recall if they were marked “Safe” “Fire” or were marked with pictograms. Based on the experiences of those who have Aero lowers, I think they are a good buy.
I have no hands on experience building on RRA or Spikes and I have no reason to think the quality of their lowers is suspect. But I like PSA and LRB because there was no drama during assembly and they fit and look right- all for $100 or less. Spikes, RRA and a couple others offer the same level of quality, but the prices I’ve seen for them start at $125 and go up from there. I think PSA, LRB & Aero Precision are better values.
I’m not including what I think of as “premier” level of lowers in this comparison (such as Colt) because while they cost more, their value is measured differently and that’s another discussion altogether