Building an AR

[jiannichan]

I've been reading a lot on building an AR on AR15 forum. Right now I am looking into buying a stripped lower but see that there are ALOT of brands, Noveske, Spikes, CMMG, Plum Crazy (polymer??). Anyone who's put together their own, can you comment on what you would recommend as far as brand for the lowers? I will probably be going Noveske or Spikes, but if anyone can recommend a different brand that will be better, I'm all for it. I'd like to buy the LR locally. TIA.

[RoyGBiv]

Have fun.!

A good read if you haven't found it yet..
http://forums.officer.com/showthread.ph ... -AR-15-huh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Nicko]

I built mine up off of a Rock River Arms lower, all of the lower parts went in just fine. Heard good stuff about all that you mentioned, just pick one with your favorite rollmark on it.

I picked up a used Bushmaster A1 upper, CAR stock/buffer, grips, and charging handle off of a buddy. Del-ton supplied me with the rest, lightweight 16" chrome lined barrel, bolt carrier group, etc. Fun rifle to build, all I needed was a AR multi tool, and upper vise block to torque the barrel on.

Good Luck
Nick

[PBratton]

Keep an eye open for Palmetto State Armory, they run trheir lowers at $49 every so often. Otherwise they are $79.

Like was said above, pick your favorite roll mark, they are all similar. (Except for the Plum Crazy unit... Do your homework on that one!)

[comp73]

Plum crazy is polymer and I personally would not get one. That being said, there are people on this forum who have one and they have not had any issues with them. Noveske and Spikes are good lowers, but I have not seen anything that would make them that much better than a $50 lower on sale from Palmetto State armory, all of which are made to "mil-spec" (not talking about billet LR). BTW, the MOE stock and LPK are still on sale for $125. If you plan on using Magpul MOE, then you might want to get this. I cannot find it cheaper anywhere else on the net.

I'm not going to rehash it, but this link will provide you some useful information about the different lower receivers on the market and why one may not be all that much better than another.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/show ... hp?t=50947" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You have not mentioned what the main purpose of your new build will be. Plinking, Home defense, hunting, etc, it does makes a difference on what parts you will want to build with. Personally, I would try to save money on the upper and lower receivers and then spend the savings on a better barrel from the likes of Krieger, Douglas, Shilen, etc, but mine is mainly for varmint hunting.

[texanron]

I agree with the others who have responded about the PSA lowers. Good product at a great price. You mentioned that you wanted to get one locally. What is your location?

[OldCannon]

Have fun.!

A good read if you haven't found it yet..
http://forums.officer.com/showthread.ph ... -AR-15-huh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FYI: The Chrome browser warns me that the above link takes you to a site that has malware.

[hpcatx]

Have fun.!

A good read if you haven't found it yet..
http://forums.officer.com/showthread.ph ... -AR-15-huh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FYI: The Chrome browser warns me that the above link takes you to a site that has malware.

Same in Firefox... but this is a new error. Maybe some of the newer advertisements on the blog are setting this off. It's an EXCELLENT article. Try to Google the link and read the cached version.

[jiannichan]

Plum crazy is polymer and I personally would not get one. That being said, there are people on this forum who have one and they have not had any issues with them. Noveske and Spikes are good lowers, but I have not seen anything that would make them that much better than a $50 lower on sale from Palmetto State armory, all of which are made to "mil-spec" (not talking about billet LR). BTW, the MOE stock and LPK are still on sale for $125. If you plan on using Magpul MOE, then you might want to get this. I cannot find it cheaper anywhere else on the net.

I'm not going to rehash it, but this link will provide you some useful information about the different lower receivers on the market and why one may not be all that much better than another.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/show ... hp?t=50947" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You have not mentioned what the main purpose of your new build will be. Plinking, Home defense, hunting, etc, it does makes a difference on what parts you will want to build with. Personally, I would try to save money on the upper and lower receivers and then spend the savings on a better barrel from the likes of Krieger, Douglas, Shilen, etc, but mine is mainly for varmint hunting.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'll be mainly using it for plinking and home defense.

I agree with the others who have responded about the PSA lowers. Good product at a great price. You mentioned that you wanted to get one locally. What is your location?

I'm in Little Elm, work in Plano and hang out a lot at my brothers place in Dallas/Carrollton. I found a place in Farmers Branch that has the Noveske and Spikes for around $100 JP-Ten Sports. Anyone ever buy something from there? I remember seeing that the PSA lowers were on sale for $49 during Labor Day. I wished that I had seen it at the time because I would have bought 2 of them.

[gigag04]

Noveske is the better name, Spikes look cooler if you go with the Zombie or Pirate colored one.

[texanron]

I found a place in Farmers Branch that has the Noveske and Spikes for around $100 JP-Ten Sports.

Get the Noveske at that price!!

[jiannichan]

After looking at it again, the Noveske is $140 and is a "factory second", Spikes is $99 and CMMG is $89. I may just go for the CMMG unless PSA runs another special where I can get it for $50.

[texasmusic]

90 + tax is pretty good for a lower.

Most places online bottom out at 80+20something transfer fee.

AIM surplus has some Surplus arms for $60, spikes blemish for $70 I belive. I've handled both of these lowers and they are both good. Couldn't tell what made the spike's a blemish actually.

[gigag04]

Or. http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/b ... ers-lowers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jeeperbryan]

Like everyone has said, just pick your favorite rollmark. Lowers are all pretty much the same unless you're talking billett. Personally, I'd get the Noveske. They are top notch and not near as common as other manufacturers.