I’m about to start a new 10.5" 6.8 Spec II SBR build. I want to go with billet upper and lower. My preferred setup would be an all LaRue set but they won’t sell a stripped lower without a complete upper. :rolleyes:
Anyway, so I have been looking at POF, MEGA, Tactical Innovations for lowers and by FAR TI is the most reasonably priced at $159 with the integrated trigger guard. They also sell a matched upper and lower for $264.99. I have to admit to liking the integrated screw to help with slop in the upper and lower although I also know it doesn’t matter one bit.
What can anyone tell me about TI’s stuff? Is it as good as the others listed?
A Mega matched set would be my next choice, but admit to not knowing about their quality either.
Finally I had considered either the POF or a LaRue lower if I could find someone to part with it for a reasonable price and pair it with a VLTOR MUR-1A upper.
I am mainly wanting some feedback on the TI and Mega matched upper/lower sets.
If you really want a LaRue lower you could just buy an upper, and either sell the upper after you get the lower, or take the barrel out and sell it. Probably sell the barrel or upper for what your 6.8SPC barrel/upper would cost.
SMOS who makes LaRue lowers don’t have a lot of capacity so if they sold them to “anyone” the people with Stealth uppers would have a lot harder time getting one to match. LaRue is also selling them at cost or even under cost for those who want a lower to match their LaRue upper.
Who says you can’t have a Larue billet lower? You could always just go straight to the source.
SMOS, LLC is who makes their lowers for them, although I doubt it would actually say Larue Tactical on it for legal reasons, but who knows I could be wrong. Not sure how expensive it would be either, but I would imagine it wouldn’t be too bad.
Just figured I’d throw that out there. I have a Larue lower myself and love it. I got lucky though, because my FFL friend had one. The customer that he had sold the upper to didn’t want the lower for some stupid reason.
I am building a gun with a TI Billet lower and a Vltor Mur-1S upper… It is awesome. The lower looks fantastic, and really is a perfect match, lines/looks wise with the VLTOR upper. There is ZERO slop between the upper and lower, even without using the set screw.
I thought about that but this build is going to have to go together as I get the funds. I still have to get my NFA trust set up and all that before buying the barrel. I was trying to buy and build as I get the funds together.
Yeah, I really wanted the LaRue stamped lower and upper. I have found a couple of stripped ones for sale but the sellers want $400-$500 for the stripped lower alone. I don’t have to have one that bad. I have no problem going with another brand, I just want it to be of good quality. I’m usually leery of things that are significantly cheaper than comparable products like the TI products so that is why I was trying to get feedback on their lowers and uppers.
Any reason you went with the VLTOR upper instead of a matched upper/lower from TI?
My choice would be Mega. Larue, Mega, and POF are all quality, but Mega has that extra cool factor. Unless someone PM’s you with a great deal on a billet upper from another company
SI defense makes all their stuff VERY tight to spec. My recommendation with them would be to send them your BCG, CH, etc and let them custom fit everything.
There are so many good lowers out there I would seriously reconsider. I guess if the cool factor really means that much then certainly waste the extra money. I wouldn’t hesitate to use a Noveske, BCM, LMT, Daniel Defense or even a Bushamster lower for that matter.
Mike, my class iii buddy should have a c3 stripped sbr lower on hand. Shoot me a pm if interested and I’ll get you his contact info.
I tend to agree with Iraq…the billets certainly have the cool factor in cosmetics but I don’t see any other advantages. I personally did not want to mess with the etching either.
Well, I might tend to agree with you if they were 2-3 times more expensive, but if I can pick up a TI billet lower for $159, whereas your run of the mill DPMS, RRA, et, al are running $115-$125, why not go with the billet? No doubt they look good and are stronger to boot.
By the etching I assume that you mean the etching for the SBR? You have to etch them anyway don’t you with your trust name or ATF number?
just need first name last name and city, state. (if no trust is involved). i went with a noveske lower from a member here. got it for a good price. ymmv. good luck.
I have the POF genIII 415, im not a fan of the integrated trigger guard. Its too large for my taste, im much prefer a magpul guard. the ambi bolt release is a nice touch however, but i never use it…my thumb has a one track mind i guess.
I’m not convinced about the strength issue from what I’ve read Mike but I agree that the cosmetics are worth the extra coin (to me). Other downside is a bid of added weight.
If the lower is listed/sn as a sbr direct from mfg, then you can bypass the etching.
My point was not getting hung up on a certain brand. My Noveske lower was stripped and I probably paid that amount in '08 when I got it. The LMT and BCM lowers were complete and I paid about 350.00 IIRC.
The last lowers I got were from Mega Machine and they were 99.00 each.
