TexasCHLforum.com

Liberty wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:32 am

What confuses me is differences between a 40 dollar Anderson, and a $300 dollar stepped lower.

$300 minus $40 = $260... I couldn't resist.

Really, other than the quality of the finish, if the forgings are the same, you are paying for a name. Some names are associated with better quality than others. Also, some companies may not even machine their own lowers. They will get one of the suppliers to do this and put their name on them. If you are going less expensive as you can, get an Anderson. I would have a hard time spending more than $100 on a stripped lower which is twice what an Anderson can be bought for but $100 is my limit. If you're piecing this together slowly and can spread the pain, I would get a lower in the $80-$100 range and then the upper from the same company.

I wish I would have loaded up on Aero's when a local shop had them on sale for $60 a couple of years ago. I have resisted buying any more Anderson's. Not because I don't like them, but because they are cheap enough to buy without remorse and I have more than I need. If Aero's or another of similar quality go on sale in the $50-60 range, I don't think I could hold off and would have to get a couple or 3 more.

Forgings are generally made by only a few companies. How the companies machine and finish the lowers is what sets them apart. From talking to the local gun shop, apparently there are foreign forgings out there but he didn't give me an indication on how to differentiate between the American forgings and Chinese. I have been told you can't go wrong with a forging that has the keyhole manufacturing mark.

I've built rifles out of Anderson $50 lowers, $35 uppers and Aero Precision $100 lowers & uppers and haven't had any issues with either. The Aero's have a nicer finish. If you want the upper and lower to match color exactly, get both from the same company. I have a billet set I bought years ago when billet was all the rage but never put any parts in the receivers. You don't need a $3-400 billet set to make a nice or accurate rifle.

Closed trigger guard might make the lower stiffer but really is a personal preference. You can't change it out if you want to but you also don't have to worry about breaking the ears off the lower installing the pin for the trigger guard.

Be prepared once you build one, they some how end up multiplying like Gremlins.