I always hear that a lower is a lower is a lower as long as it’s in spec. I think I remember reading somewhere that RRA lowers are not really built to spec because they are made to fit very tightly with a upper. Also they tend to wear faster on the area that the charging handle drags on when pulled because of the tightness. Truth? Should I look at other lowers? The reason I ask is because a guy local to me has them at pretty decent prices.
In a word No. There isn’t any reason not to go with a RRA stripped lower for your build, especially if you can get a good deal on them. And while they may not be perfect mil spec they are still very good. I too read and heard alot of negative things about RRA before I built mine. For instance I was preparing myself for such a tight upper to lower fit that I was going to need a punch to get them apart. And I might as well throw the original BCG in the trash because there was no way it could be properly staked, and the list goes on. Long story short none of those things have happened and I’m very happy with RRA.
I have two SBRs built on RRA lowers. One has a LMT MRP and the other a BCM upper and no play between the two. I would only stay away from RRA if you want ambi features, etc…
My first build was/is on a RRA stripped lower (before they added the cross-hair roll mark).
It has many thousands of rounds through it with zero issues.
It has been SBR’d for a couple years now and wears an LMT 10.5" DI upper. There have been no issues with upper to lower fitting or wear from the charging handle.
I can only speak for this older example though. My latest build was on a Sabre Defense lower because of the very understated roll marks and price. If I was gonna build another right now I’d be sure to take a look at the lowers Palmetto State Armory is selling. I haven’t built one, but did stop by to inspect one. Very nice machining and excellent price.
I’d say the main reason not to get a RRA lower is for a very small extra cost you can get a more respected rollmark, even a BCM blem. If you add top notch parts to the RRA and end up with a $1K AR it may bug you that you didn’t kick in the extra $30 on a part that highly indicates the quality of your build, at least on casual inspection.
They are tight. Not “hammer the pins out” tight, but they’re tight. Mine does have charging handle drag marks, they showed up quickly, but I think it’s more due to how you manipulate the CH than anything else. Pretty much any lower with a lot of use will have two channels dug out by the charging handle.
All of my lowers have the charging handle drag marks and they are not remarkably tight?
You will be fine with the lower, and its not like drag marks are going to ruin the gun
Mine was very tight where the rear lug of the upper receiver fit into the lower. I didn’t think it was going to close at first.
lower receivers are getting very inexpensive. i paid 150 for my daniel defense lower about 8 months ago. since then the price has went down.
i would shell out the extra dollars for better qaulity. there are a few problems that can be associated with an out of spec lower. just somthing to keep in mind
Can you tell me what problems I may encounter with it?
I have built many rifles up from stripped RRA lowers and have never seen, heard of, or encountered any issues with their stripped lowers. They do seem to fit slightly tighter than other brand stripped lowers I have built on, but nothing that would cause any issues.
I would however advise against using anything else produced by RRA if this rifle is being built up for serious use due to the amount of problems I have seen with their complete factory built AR’s.
I think this is the exact point the OP is making… so far, it sounds like everything is based on the “respected rollmark”, not the actual performance. It’s like keeping up with the Jones’.
Wouldn’t the true result of build quality be the ability to put 10 rounds into a half-dollar after a few thousand rounds?
with the better rollmark comes the peice of mind in knowing that all the holes are drilled in line with the next hole and the cut outs are done so things like the bolt catch isnt too loose to cause issues etc.
so op why is the seller selling the lowers so cheap?
i want to add i went from one brand lower to a daniel defense and using the same lpk the trigger felt better in the dd lower, and i noticed less trigger pin movement in the dd lower
I really don’t care about the rollmark as long as it does not have some kind of butt pirate stamped on it. From what I have read here there have been really no complaints about them. I never said they were “cheap”. I said they were selling for a decent price. Much less if I were to order online and pay for shipping and the transfer fee.
No argument here. If you like the RRA lower it will be fine for your build. I chose S&W and ArmaLite because I loved the name/rollmark but it doesn’t make any difference in how the rifle functions, just how I feel about my builds. Of course that doesn’t add up to even one whit when it comes to someone else’s build.
And I fully agree that I wouldn’t want a pirate or zombie logo. I like something more subdued and if that very bad day ever came I sure wouldn’t want some prosecuting attorney passing that rifle through the jurybox!
You will be fine with an RRA lower. I have a nice BCM 16" middy sitting on a Bushmaster lower and the lower is very nice and in spec. Most of the lowers are fine. I did help a friend assemble a Oly arms lower and it was most deffinately out of spec. We had to trim the front take down pin detent spring because the spring channel was not drilled deep enough, and had to do the same with the rear takedown pin detent spring. The machining was very rough and the fire control group pin holes were a total pain to get the pins through. Most lowers are fiine, but I would stay away from bargain bin lowers, and oly arms.
I have two RRA stripped lowers that I built into complete guns w/o issue of any kind.
Just curious, what about the RRA lowers would be an issue with adding ambi features?
There are no issues adding ambi features to a RRA lower. However , my point was if you are buying a new lower and you want a true ambi lower you are better off looking at KAC, POF, etc.
I’ve got a RRA lower and it fits very tight. With my dedicated .22 upper, you have to push the rear takedown pin out with a punch. This is a relatively minor inconvenience.
Honestly, unless you are going to show the gun off, use the cheapest in spec lower you can find. I’m not sure that having a “more respected” roll mark is worth spending more money. Strangely enough, after numerous builds for myself and others, I’ve had more tolerance stacking/OoS issues with Noveske lowers than any other brand. All and all I’ve been the happiest with my LMT lowers, but they don’t like older model PMAGs.