[mjkeat]

Originally Posted by fsted2a

Just to add my .02, buy the mall ninja kool lower you want, then go shopping for all the rest somewhere else. Plenty of quality lower cost parts on the internet. Since all the rest is Bushmaster, they are pretty generic, and many manufacturers will make something extremely close for less money. I personally prefer Bushmaster buttstocks because of the timing lip on the buffer tube.

I'm lost, what do you mean by this?

[fsted2a]

Originally Posted by mjkeat

I'm lost, what do you mean by this?

If you will follow the "zombie" lower link, you will notice that all the lower receiver parts (except for the stripped reciever itself-not sure about that) available at that site happen to be bushmaster.

[him_tattoos]

From what I've read, isn't bushmaster decent? I'm a bit confused on the above last few comments. If the lower is bushmaster for the most part, thinking I might as well get a bushmaster upper too, to complete the outfit.

[mjkeat]

Originally Posted by him_tattoos

From what I've read, isn't bushmaster decent? I'm a bit confused on the above last few comments. If the lower is bushmaster for the most part, thinking I might as well get a bushmaster upper too, to complete the outfit.

NO.

For the most part a lower is a lower is a lower but an upper is different beast. As long as the lower is in spec you'll be GTG. The upper is a totally different story. The upper includes the bolt carrier group, and barrel which are the heart and soul of an AR.

Get yourself a good upper from some of the places already listed.

[fsted2a]

Originally Posted by him_tattoos

From what I've read, isn't bushmaster decent? I'm a bit confused on the above last few comments. If the lower is bushmaster for the most part, thinking I might as well get a bushmaster upper too, to complete the outfit.

I use bushmaster lower kits, and no problems with them yet. But if you are going to get bushmaster parts, unless there is about 30% or more lower price, I would go to the bushmaster site to get them just in case I had a warranty issue.

[mjkeat]

What does a BM lower kit cost? So far the best deal I've found was a PSA LPK for under $50. The highest quality LPK I've found was a DD for just under $70.

[fsted2a]

Originally Posted by mjkeat

What does a BM lower kit cost? So far the best deal I've found was a PSA LPK for under $50. The highest quality LPK I've found was a DD for just under $70.

BM usually runs $60-$70 at their website. Found em on gunbroker cheaper. My original point was not to buy the LPK from the zombie site cause it was the same price as BM site, and if there happened to be a factory defect, it might be some headache returning it to a third party for exchange.
The assertion that a lower is a lower I have to disagree with as I have gotten some crap in the past, so I now tend to be a little picky on some parts. Point in mind: bought an essential arms lower once, and ended up having to dremel the mag well a little to get it to take milspec magazines. At work we had some FN recievers for our M16's that had to be turned in for the same reason.
I even had one that the pin holes for the trigger weren't lined up exactly, which caused the disconnector to release the hammer sometimes and either cause a doubletap or stop the carrier before it returned completely. There are some companies making crap for AR parts and stating they are milspec.

[Car54]

To answer your question about slickguns.com: I have done a lot of business with the companies on slickguns.com. That's my go to website when I want to find out what deals are around for whatever I'm looking for at the time, be it guns, ammo, uppers, lowers, parts, etc.

If the advertised deal is no longer in effect, the company website will show that.

There are some companies not associated with slickguns so you still need to check other sites.

And my two cents, listen to others about the upper. You don't need to spend a fortune to get the best if you don't want to, but don't scrimp to get the- not so best.

[mjkeat]

Originally Posted by fsted2a

BM usually runs $60-$70 at their website. Found em on gunbroker cheaper. My original point was not to buy the LPK from the zombie site cause it was the same price as BM site, and if there happened to be a factory defect, it might be some headache returning it to a third party for exchange.
The assertion that a lower is a lower I have to disagree with as I have gotten some crap in the past, so I now tend to be a little picky on some parts. Point in mind: bought an essential arms lower once, and ended up having to dremel the mag well a little to get it to take milspec magazines. At work we had some FN recievers for our M16's that had to be turned in for the same reason.
I even had one that the pin holes for the trigger weren't lined up exactly, which caused the disconnector to release the hammer sometimes and either cause a doubletap or stop the carrier before it returned completely. There are some companies making crap for AR parts and stating they are milspec.

And that is why I started my statement w/ "for the most part." There are always exceptions to the rule. I have a lower that alows the trigger pins to walk. I have used the LPK in another lower w/o any problems thus the reason I think it's the lower.

It's always smart to use quality parts over parts that are perceived to be of quality.

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by mjkeat

...It's always smart to use quality parts over parts that are perceived to be of quality.

And that's what it's all about when doing a build. Normally there are at least three grades of parts out there: not acceptable, acceptable and higher quality. It takes time to sort it all out and the rules change all the time - but if you search and dig up the facts then you know what you're buying. Nothing wrong with acceptable but in some areas you do want the quality part.

As has been said many times here, you tend to forget paying a little more for quality but your rifle never lets you forget crap parts.

As far as lowers I go along with the generalization that a lower is a lower. Sometimes you get a bad one but usually they work fine. The main reason to match the same brand upper and lower is cosmetic, the finishes may match better and they may fit tigher. And of course you can choose the rollmark you really like - nothing wrong with that.