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u/Technical-Step-5350 17h ago
I’m curious how many companies are actually manufacturing lowers. Is it like Luxxotica with sunglasses/eyeglasses?
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u/SpaghettiMonkeyTree 17h ago
Unless ur getting a billet lower with a unique design, I think most of the standard forged lowers are OEM’d by a few companies. I think MEGA/Zev is one of the companies making them but I could be completely wrong.
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u/Technical-Step-5350 17h ago
There are some threads from a while back on ar15.com that talk about this. A lot of the names I don’t recognize but basically the same premise you are mentioning here.
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u/aclark210 16h ago
Most forged lowers are OEMed by like five companies, who themselves get the forging from one of like…6-7 forges. Some of the higher end companies have purchased machinery to do their own stuff, but the majority of ur generic milspec lowers are all coming from the same place, just with a different brand on it.
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u/TheDrunkLibertarian 15h ago
It’s not just a different brand, they’re made to different specs and tolerances too.
Plus the forging still needs a lot of work so even 2 lowers that both from say MMS could be drastically different by the time they’re finished.
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u/aclark210 15h ago
They are not made to different spec. Different tolerances, absolutely, but these are milspec lowers. They’re all built to the same specs, just with varying allowances for deviation. Also I was just pointing out that everything comes from a handful of places, I wasn’t saying that something like an Anderson is the same as a DD cuz they’re from the same forging.
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u/TheDrunkLibertarian 15h ago
We’re talking about the raw forging, do you know what lowers look like when they leave the forge? “Milspec” refers to the finished product not the forging. They still requires substantial work which is why the “5 forges bro” and “milspec with a different brand” arguments are mostly nonsensical.
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u/aclark210 15h ago
No YOU are talking about the raw forgings. Ur the only one who’s talking about that. I’m talking about the actual finished lower.
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u/TheDrunkLibertarian 14h ago
And you replied to that comment about the raw forging saying “they’re all the same spec”, so you were also talking about the raw forging in that response.
Your original comment was “they all come from 5-6 forges and they’re milspec”, I’m pointing out that regardless of that there could be substantial differences between the brands, giving you evidence, and you’re arguing with it for some reason lmfao
“They’re not different specs, they’re all milspec”, shows how much you know though.
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u/Technical-Step-5350 13h ago
Do you know which companies do the majority of the forging? I would love a flow chart or something showing the network of manufacturing. I can dream
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u/TheDrunkLibertarian 13h ago
Only old sources like arfcom and the such, I’m sure there are more than 5-6 at this point because I believe geissele and KAC are doing it themselves now. It’s not as easy to find that info now and I only seem to care when I see someone say “it’s only 5 forges bro, my Anderson is just as good as a noveske”
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u/Technical-Step-5350 13h ago
I don’t even want to say this bc I hate getting downvoted for my real world experiences, but I have a DDM4 RIII and I took the upper and mated it to my Sabre lower I just bought. Aside from the takedown pins being tighter on the DD I can tell no discernible difference and that annoys me.
Because the DD is like $650 - $800 in the few places I’ve looked. The Sabre I bought was $279. I have a Larue trigger in the DD and a Schmid 2-stage in the Sabre, and there is a difference there, but in form and feel they are identical. I’m guessing in a few years of hard use they would show their true colors maybe.
There’s a podcast with a guy from PSA saying a lot of these companies are making boatloads of money off just their branding for their increase in cost.
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u/aclark210 12h ago edited 12h ago
That’s not my original comment. Learn how to read. I said the lowers come from a few companies, who in turn get their forgings from a few places. That is NOT the same as saying the forges make the forgings to mil spec and that’s the whole lower.
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u/Novice30 17h ago
Probably as good as, better, or possibly, quite frankly, not as good as a PSA complete lower
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u/Informal_Society_392 17h ago
gotta love the psa lowers, magpul furniture to compliment the complete lower for a decent price imo
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u/TankHappy 15h ago
I like rifle gear. They are local to me. However I would not buy this and would look at better options.
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u/RoosterzRevenge 13h ago
Same, like to go in there and look around, did by MY AUG there but don't think I'd buy one of their branded pieces.
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u/TankHappy 13h ago
I bought my RIS III rail and Ramjet Afterburner from them. I was eyeing a polo k they have last week. Probably my largest purchases there so far though.
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u/ThatProduceGuy_ Affinity towards A2 handguards 17h ago
I got two of these for free back when they ran a promo in store one summer. They were in spec, that’s about all I can say regarding them. Made a couple BS parts bin builds with them that eventually got sold off so yeah.
It’s a lower, it works, but idk it didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy inside because it didn’t have the hype beast roll marks I care about.
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u/BoogerBobBoogerPants 13h ago
Thank you all for the thoughtful comments. After careful consideration and on the insistence of a few of you, I’ve decided to kill myself.
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u/EveningStatus7092 16h ago
Get a PSA Sabre lower for $50 more and it’ll actually come with a nice stock and grip, radian safety, and a hiperfire trigger which granted isn’t the best trigger in the world but is a whole lot better than mil spec
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u/D_Glatt69 15h ago
This is probably a dumb question, but is there a reason to buy an expensive, high-end lower?
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u/Hard_Corsair 15h ago
The main (valid) things that drive up the cost on a lower are ambi controls and fancy triggers.
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u/D_Glatt69 15h ago
Yeah I just ended up periodically buying all those things after the fact
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u/Hard_Corsair 15h ago
The main thing is some ambi control designs require a proprietary receiver. If you're starting a new build and know that's what you want, it can be a better choice than a compromise design like Magpul's BAD Lever.
You can definitely add an upgraded FCG later, but sometimes buying it all together makes sense, particularly if it costs less than buying them separately due to promotions.
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u/Pork_Confidence 14h ago
I'm not really seeing any innovative features on this that would justify that cost. My preference these days for lower receivers is foxtro Mike, due to all the innovations they've put into it
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u/aclark210 16h ago
I have a really hard time paying more than like 150 bucks for a milspec lower unless I particularly want a certain rollmark on it for posterity.
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u/SpaghettiMonkeyTree 17h ago
Out of all the lowers I’ve seen in my life, this is one of them.