Is there anything wrong with using a Noveske factory second as a lower in a build? I see places selling them for about half the price of stripped Noveske lower and I was just curious. Or is a lower is a lower is a lower and just use a RRA or something similar?
That would depend on why it was seconded.
Factory cosmetic blemish or it got scratched…go for it.
Trigger pin drilled at an angle instead of straight… don’t do it.
The Noveske 2nds I’ve seen come through the shop just had cosmetic flaws.
Mostly uneven roll marks.
this.
I picked up one from Rainer, I believe.
the only thing we could find was the roll mark was lighter on one side.
very obvious when compared to my Noveske direct Rifle.
but that will in no way hinder the rifles performance, correct?
Correct.
one more stupid question. why wouldn’t this be a good deal (if it’s just a cosmetic flaw)?
Some people are more picky than others when it comes to cosmetics, for various reasons.
A Noveske blemished lower may be my next purchase.
yeah, i just thought if it was easier to locate an upper you could just build yourself a Noveske (as close as you could I guess) and use the flawed lower and save a bit of money.
Just bought one of these Noveske blems. Should be delivered Monday or Tuesday. $169.95 seemed like a decent deal to me.
i think i paid $225 for my blem, but I was buying the rollmark to match the noveske upper I had…
The matching rollmarks would be the only incentive for buying a noveske stripped lower, blemished or otherwise, for a premium over any other stripped lower. You still lack the quality of a noveske LPK if you settle and install an available RRA/CMT/DPMS LPK.
IIRC, Noveske uses CMT parts (BCG’s & LPK’s)
Nothing wrong with them. They just do not meet Noveske’s rigid standards (which is generally above everyone elses).
We have some in stock and if I put them agains the none factory 2nds, most people would not be able to tell a difference.
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=RCVR_BLEM
C4
Good 2 Go, cosmetic only. From what I’ve sen the rollmarks are a little light
These guys sell Uppers straight from Noveske and have them in stock. http://www.omniguns.com/
(You have to email them about it since it is not listed on site.)
they must be hiding them. 
I see you just came in with a ninja edit…got it.
I bought one from that same lot. It had an E prefix. Neither the gal at the FFL that received it, nor I could find anything wrong with it. The only blem I could find was the 2 stamped inside indicating it to be a second. The roll mark looks great. I had a local gunsmith ( with previous marine corps experience! ) assemble it from an maparts LPK. It was the only place that I could find that had them in stock available at the time. The stock was milspec LMT and the grip a TD. He did an outstanding job. 47 bucks. I mated it to one of the N4 light carbine basic uppers that Noveske recently had for sale.
Noveske told me that they rate their lowers as seconds BEFORE they have been anodized/Parkerized. So the anodizing/Parkerizing covers up cosmetic blems.
Another dealer told me that this explains why the blems he’s seen actually look better than some of the non-blem lowers.
noveske would be making money on these if they sold them at $100 a pop… so they have no problem listing something as a “second” if it shows ANY sign of imperfection.
i’ve really considered replacing all my lowers with these… but it’d be for nothing more than vanity sake, and that’s gay.
but i dont see any reason not to use these for any and every build i do from now on, for at least as long as they’re available.
its a buy! if you want an expensive lower.