One thing that confuses me somewhat...
The price disparity for stripped lowers.
You can get an Anderson stripped lower for like $30
But then you go and hunt down like an aero precision or lwrc or something... and you're easily into the 3 digit range.

Why? What do these other brands do that others do not?
It's a lower... there's not any moving parts to it. It is literally there just to hold stuff in place.

While the number of AR manufacturers has gone up a lot in the last decade, the dirty little secret is that many of the "high end," receivers are made by someone other than the brand marked on the receiver. Often the actual manufacturer is making the receivers and marking them for other companies too, and the only difference between the receivers is 1- the markings, and 2- the price.

However, some folks will still insist on paying two or three times as much for a lower that has a particular brand marked on the receiver.

IMO, buy from a company that has a rep for quality, but don't pay a huge markup just to have some "cool" brand marked on the gun.

When it comes to stripped lowers, you can get a quality lower for $40 to $50, and the ones going for $100+ won't be any better.

Well that's my point.
I have a few of the Anderson ones.
I've had exactly zero issues with them.
Can't really go wrong with $30 lol...

All about having more money than sense ! And the other is Status and if it ain't "X" then it's no good...

quote:

Originally posted by creslin:
Well that's my point.
I have a few of the Anderson ones.
I've had exactly zero issues with them.
Can't really go wrong with $30 lol...

Anderson are one of the people that are making lowers for other people with their roll mark.

I have several AR 15's built on Anderson manufacturing, my SBR is built on one I trust it that much.

Plus, Anderson Manufacturing is semi home town, being only 70 miles away from them.

Anyways, mil spec is mil spec. If they are in spec I give a rats patoot who's name is on the lower.

Arman

quote:

Originally posted by ARman:

Anyways, mil spec is mil spec. If they are in spec I give a rats patoot who's name is on the lower.

They're missing some holes to be mil spec.

I've got 7 of the Andersons, aka Poverty Ponies, and they all work just fine. I save a few bucks and don't worry about a "name brand" roll mark.

I'm starting to think that it's based on the expectation of eventually reselling the complete rifle. A top-end upper on an Anderson lower may work just fine, but a top-end upper on a same-brand lower may be easier to offload just because it's not a 'bitsa'.

Sometines you just want something different, or a little "nicer" like some of the billet lowers.

On the other end... I think the first stripped lower I had was a Double Star, and it was "sloppy", everything seemed on the large size, nothing fit tight in the thing.

Like anything else produced it is not only the function vs price.
IF that is all you are concerned about (and it is a legitimate view) then go with the low cost item.
Otherwise plug in the value-to-you item and get that lower accordingly.

I dunno...

Having one with "Made in San Diego CA" is pretty cool.

(Also having one with my driver's license number and one with my initials and DOB as serial numbers is also cool)

I'll toss my two cents in (it's just "my" two cents...and it's just worth that )...
For myself, I've built five lowers...three Aero, one Ballistic Advantage and one Anderson...

I've loaned my "oversight" (trust me on this...I'm FAR from being an AR guru) and tools (I've always been a tool freak) to about a dozen shooting friends building their own AR (I won't build it for them but will give advice and show them what worked for me)...

Of those that used an Anderson or PSA lower for their build almost every one "apologized" for their choice in lowers..."I know I shoulda used a (insert the "brand of choice"), but the Anderson/PSA was on sale so I ordered one...I know you prefer Aero"...

The reason I used Aero/Ballistic Advantage was the fact that Aero was the only reasonable priced lower my local brick and mortar had in stock at the time (under $70 with tax and the background check compared to $130 for a Spike's with a Spartan helmet or some such engraved on the side)...

That being said, I do like the screw snuggy doohickey that Aero/Ballistic Advantage uses to take up play between the upper and lower (as if that really matters...it doesn't)...the Anderson lower I used on my last build (it was what my go to LGS had in stock at the time) was as good with the fit and finish as the others (it is a perfect match to the Aero upper I used in my .300 Blackout build)...it has been flawless...

I personally don't see any disadvantage/advantage using an Anderson lower, especially if the price is right...its a lower (don't get me started on trigger groups..."I like that trigger, it's crisp, what did you use?"..."me, it's the nickel Teflon from Tom's Tactical for $39 shipped")...

But like I said...it's just my two cents...and I'm no "guru ...this is supposed to be fun

When you make 10 ARs and only shoot them once, Anderson makes perfect sense, because you have money for your next budget build safe queen.

Buy cheap, stack deep; whether it's 80% or 100% lowers. The salad days will not last forever,

Anderson had some teething issues early with some lowers that weren't tapped properly for the grip screw.

That has been rectified.


I have used DPMS, PSA, LRB, Aero, Stag, and Anderson.

Not a single one does anything any different than the other.

The DPMS has far and way more rounds on it than any of the others as it was my first build that morphed into a 3-gun rifle. In the neighborhood of 20k rounds at this point. No discernable wear other than how smooth the exterior finish is.


Spend the money on better barrels and optics.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
I dunno...

Having one with "Made in San Diego CA" is pretty cool.

(Also having one with my driver's license number and one with my initials and DOB as serial numbers is also cool)

I've bought a couple just because they were "made" in Kansas.

I've own/seen sloppy lowers too. On the other end of the spectrum I had an Olympic lower that the lower to upper fit so tight I hand to put it on the corner of the bench or table and exert pressure on the upper to get the rear pin to slide through. It was this way with every upper I had and some I couldn't get a pin through.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that likes a cool logo ... I'm espically fond of the Bushmaster, the Colt and the FSA ...



And the preban BOHICA (acronym for "Bend Over Here It Comes Again"), produced just after Bill Clinton was elected president ... The M-16-SA

I received a brand new Anderson upper that was FUCKED! The metal, prior to machining, was short 1\2 an inch or so. The upper was missing 1\2 inch from the rear. Craziest shit I ever saw. No quality control. They must have boxed that one up as a funny prank.

I have 3 Andersons, all assembled now with no issues.

I can see paying extra for a brand name you like for something like your primary AR or an SBR etc, but for most builds why spend extra?

I bought a 90's era Colt LE marked assembled lower for a semi-clone "CAR-15" build, so there's an example of spending more for a reason. It also has the best GI trigger I've ever felt so that's a bonus!

All my home brewed guns are on PSA lowers. That said, I won’t look down my nose at folks with the disposable income to pay for triple digit lowers.

I have a couple PSA lowers and they are fine but all of my uppers fit a bit better on my Aero lower. The difference in fit for me is enough to spend the extra money for AP lowers.

The finish on the Anderson lowers I’ve seen looked like thin spray paint. An extra $20-$40 for something that looks better is worth it to me, even for a the budget rifles I shoot.