I just ordered a Spartan 9 AR-9 stripped lower that takes small frame Glock mags. I got it for $140 shipped thru Joe Bob Outfitters. It appears to be a JBO branded New Frontier Armory C-9 lower. It is made from 7075 T-6 aluminum so it should be sturdy. They look pretty sexy and seem to follow the Quarter Circle 10 lower lines. I’m looking for reviews or info on the inter webs and there isn’t much out there. Has anyone here made the leap of faith on this lower? Apparently this lower will use a proprietary upper to accomplish LRBHO. I own a QC10 AR9 lower that I built into a very reliable pistol. I’m hoping this lower will start bringing the costs down without sacrificing quality. Anyone have any experience they wish to share?
I built an AR9 on a Quarter Circle 10 Glock lower and I love it. I saw this for half the price and went for it. It looks like a hybrid clone of a QC10 and a Lonewolf G9 lower. I’m a little concerned about a lack of built in feed ramp but the LW G9 doesn’t have one a gets good reviews. So I guess we’ll see. I’m going to build it out and test it with my current upper. Let me know what they say about the proprietary upper release date.
I just picked up my New Frontier Armory Glock C9 lower which has been rebranded by Joe Bob Outfitters as the Spartan 9. It is actually very nicely made. A little “clunkier” than the QC10 lower but what’s nice is there are no roll pins. Everything is threaded and uses threaded set screws for the bolt catch, mag release, and a set screw for the rear takedown pin detent. Appears well made of 7075 T6 aluminum. No machining marks and it has an upper tension screw. All threaded set screws are include and I got it on sale for $139 shipped. The mag release is polymer but that is a good thing when you consider Glock mags are polymer. I’m pleased with it. It doesn’t have built in feed lips but the mag sit ever so higher and a hair closer to the chamber than a QC10 lower. I test fed some 9mm snap caps and it seems to feed just fine. I think I’m going to hold out for the New Frontier Armory proprietary upper that operates the LRBHO feature though any upper will work. I think these lowers are a great value for an AR9 build that accepts Glock mags. Though branded as a Joe Bob Outfitters Spartan 9 lower these are made by New Frontier Armory and I think they hit it out of the park. Can’t wait for the release of the NFA upper to complete this build.
Thanks for sharing!
I knew there were no feed lips built into the lower and I was curious if this would affect feeding or not. I decided that if NFA is putting them out that enough R&D has been done to ensure functionality.
That depends on the 9mm bolt. I believe that all bolts modified for Glock magazine lowers are ramped so that a regular hammer will work. For instance the JP Glock bolt I use in my QC10 lower is ramped and I used a regular LPK with an unmodified hammer. I would use a standard LPK with no worries. I’m not a trigger snob so milspec suits me fine but they advertise that any standard trigger (Geissele, Timmeny, etc) should fit and function properly. So the short answer is any LPK is fine to use with a ramped 9mm bolt that is modified for Glock mags.
Test fired my 9mm upper with my Spartan 9 lower and everything worked flawlessly. Now I need to wait for New Force Armory to release the proprietary LRBHO upper which is due out soon and build an upper for this. Much more budget friendly than quatercircle10 lowers.
Great to hear! Thanks for the heads up on the LPK BTW.
Can’t wait for the uppers to come in stock! Haha, I’ll be honest even though I am on the mailing list I checked the site today…
New Force Armory has the modular AR-9 Glock Bolts on their website now.
So I just received my New Force Armory AR-9 Modular 9mm BCG (Glock & Colt Compatible) today for use in my New Force Armory AR-9 Glock Small Frame Lower that I purchased from Joe Bob Outfitters labeled as the Spartan 9.(Use this link http://www.joeboboutfitters.com/Spartan_9mm_Glock_Magazine_Compatible_Billet_Lower_p/jb-spartan9.htm for photos of the lower from JBO website.) When I installed the BCG in my rifle with a CMT Machining Upper, the rifle would not close all the way. Try as I might the upper would not completely close due to something not fitting with the BCG. I put the BCG in a rifle using a Quarter Circle 10 Glock Small Frame lower and the same situation. I called NFA and sent an email telling them I was considering sending it back. I took a bunch of photos because I wanted to be prepared to explain to NFA what the issue was should they start questioning me and just started fiddling with it when I discovered what the issue was.
The large ejector (the white steel or aluminum hook sticking out of the top of the lower) is too wide across the top to allow the bolt to sit low enough for the upper and lower to close all the way. I was finally able to persuade the rifle to close up and started working the bolt by hand. I noticed rub marks on the top of the ejector closest to the left side of the lower as looking down from above. After several minutes of hand cycling the bolt, it stopped hanging up. I took the upper and lower apart and I can now get them to close up with little effort. I continued working the bolt and it has worn a small piece of material of off the top of the ejector, about a 1/1000th of an inch. I took some fine grit sand paper to the ejector and smoothed it out. I test fired 50 rounds of 115 grain 9mm FMJ through it and the BCG worked flawlessly. Now I am just waiting for the release of the AR-9 C-9 LRBHO upper so I can complete this build.
So the point of this long story is to tell you that the BCG has tighter tolerances than the ejector has and if you have problems fitting your upper to your lower, very gently sand and round off the top of the large metal ejector on the left side as looking down on the lower from above and the bolt should seat fine and the upper close up as it should. Once I got this taken care of the BCG ran fine. I like the modular design and while I don’t see me making any caliber changes, for $30 - $100 less than the nearest BCG manufacturing competitor I could not be happier. Hopefully NFA will read this review and make the ejector less thick.
Keep in mind that I do not think this will work with a Quarter Circle 10 lower due to the tall ejector on their lower unless you are willing to sand down the top of the ejector so the bolt can slide freely. My JP 9mm Glock style bolt works fine so I don’t see any need to sand anything for now.
For the money I think New Force Armory is the way to go for an AR style lower that uses Glock magazines. The lower itself is exceptional and it mates to uppers very tightly with no slop at all, I am very impressed and hope they can keep up the good work.
Thanks for the tip on the ejector. I have one of their lowers and a ramped BCG.
I ordered a upper from Aero Precision that does not have the forward assist. I called Brownell’s and grabbed a Colt 9mm buffer, buffer spacer and the Colt brass deflector parts to add to the Aero upper receiver. I got a 9mm barrel from ADCO that is 5 inches long. The F1 e-file will happen this week. I’m going to SBR it and add an Octane 9 can. I ordered a rail that will fit over the can, but leave an inch of the can protruding.
Should be quite the fun range toy for the yard apes to play with.
Don’t laugh but I really like the UTG Pro Slim line in FDE. I’m going to use the 7" carbine rail with a Flashcan on the muzzle. I have the UTG pros on all my ARs and for the money they really can’t be beat. I hate spending $2-300 on a rail when there is a decent budget minded rail available. Lockup on the upper is nice and no need to time the barrel nut because the gas tube goes over the top. Also included a barrel wrench with the rail.