After much valuable and appreciated input on an earlier thread, I’ve decided to go ahead and build an AR. I won’t go into my entire thought process here, but I want to say again that I’m very grateful for all the advice I’ve already received from members of this forum.
I found a stripped lower receiver from Stag Arms at a good price (hope that’s good enough quality) and now it’s time to fill it with parts.
Who are some quality LPK suppliers and how should I choose between them? Who are some suppliers to avoid?
Hands down, I would get them from Grant at G&R Tactical here. Looks like he is out of stock right now, but he’s a regular on this board, shoot him a message - C4IGrant.
Grants kits are excellent but seldom in stock. I have used a fair number of RRA and Stag kits and much prefer the stag kits. RRA parts are usually over sized (Bolt stop mostly) and the triggers suck. DPMS is the only kits I have had that had anything break. (hammer pin in a 22 lr) White Oak is also good.
Pat
So I’m screwed for already getting the Stag lower, since no one supplies a good LPK separately? I think maybe I’m learning too much too fast here (catching his breath).
I have used 8 RRA LPK’s in my builds. They work and fit fine. This has been over the course of the last 5 years. So they have been consistent in that 5 years. Or you can pay the price of a complete lower for a LPK with no empircal data to support the contention that it is a superior kit.
Why has it become impossible to give practical advice on this site?
Practical advice?!?! The responses made him think if he didn’t purchase a Colt, LMT, or G&R LPK then his lower would be caca! I’ve been around this site since when it actually belonged to G&R Tactical and the one thing I’ve never seen is emprical data to support that a CMT or RRA LPK has a higher failure rate of parts than does Colt or LMT. If it exists, it would be great to see it. Maybe Pat Rogers has a log of such things. While the manufacturing criteria for the Colt, LMT, and G&R kits may be stricter, that doesn’t constitute real world examples of failure rates in actual use. That is practical information that an individual needs when making an informed decision.
Your info is practical, because it contains real world experience, Grant. Many responses included nothing but “buy brand X”. In fact, you and I are the only two who seem to have qualified our statements with hands on experience. It’s that experience which counts the most when making an informed decision.
ETA: It’s that experience factor that makes me place such a high importance on data sources such as Pat Rogers logs. With information like that and the chart’s explanation of features I can get the best bang (pun intended) for my buck. Sometimes manufacturing standards are critical and sometimes they may be irrelevant over the life of the weapon.
I didn’t come on here to start a fuss, but it sure can be informative if that’s what y’all want to do. I’m totally new to all of this, so I’ll be learning more than anyone else, fuss or no fuss.
