AR-15 Reiever Ideas
- Thread starter Camaro2010
- Start date
BattleRife
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- of No Fixed Address
There is no MILSPEC for parts. Mililtary standards typically apply to raw materials, processes and finished systems.
As long as receivers are dimensionally correct, there is not much difference between them. Some minor details such as logos, that's about it. Buy whatever you can find at a good price.
As long as receivers are dimensionally correct, there is not much difference between them. Some minor details such as logos, that's about it. Buy whatever you can find at a good price.
Also... Keep in mind that sometimes (like with JP Enterprises, DD, LMT, etc) parts are not "technically milspec" because some parts are made from BETTER materials than what Milspec calls for. However, their parts tend to be of much higher quality fit-and-finish and high quality materials than Milspec parts... Yet, they are not milspec and ARE dimensionally the same.
The point being, buy from a reputable company and dont place so much importance on parts being "Milspec".
The point being, buy from a reputable company and dont place so much importance on parts being "Milspec".
The dimensions are what I am concerned with, better quality materials is great. I bought an upper a while ago and discovered it doesn't match the lower I wanted to use with it. Dimensionally it was almost perfect, except the holes on the lower were just a few thousandths further apart than the new upper. All I want is receivers that match Mil Spec dimensions so there are easy to match up with other manufacturer's parts. I don’t want to be stuck with a odd-ball manufacturer.
If you are looking for forged to keep the cost down do with any of the major manufacturers. There are a lot of dealers on here that carry them and if they are out of spec they will likely help you out. I bought a Bushmaster from TSE years ago and have never had a problem with it. If you decide to spend some extra money on a billet lower, the CADEX from OSTS is a REALLY nice piece of work.
What do you gain by using billet receivers?
Nothing if it's a lower. Lowers hold the fire control group parts and that's the only function they realyl serve. A billet lower will nto help accuracy over any other lower.
The advantage to billet lowers though, is that they often incorporate different ergonomics designs or features than forged lowers do.
Forged lower are generally pretty uniform as there are only a couple different forging die patterns in common use.
As for a forged lower and comparing one to another, it comes down to the quality of the post-forging machining, dimensional accuracy of that work, finish (anodizing) of the aluminum, ally used and the logo.
Good buys right now include the Armalite lowers at Wolverine and the Aero Precision lowers at Armseast. I've used both, they are affordable, and are of good quality.
In THEORY, a billet upper is stiffer and does a better job of keeping the bolt carrier group perfectly aligned to the barrel extension and is a more stable platform (less flex) for mounting optics.
In practise, any such advantage would be hard to demonstrate.
In practise, any such advantage would be hard to demonstrate.
- Location
- 54°52'56"N 112°10'7"W Alpha Bravo
Nothing really, maby some cosmetic features but billet recievers only benefit the manufacturer as setup and machining is now all doable in-house. Forging processes are very expensive and very tough to setup.
See and I thought that in THEORY a forging provided a lot more strength not only on the surface but overall. Is this not correct?
In steel, yes, forging a part imparts favourable properties. When you forge a carbon-steel part, you work harden the outer surface and align the grain structure to the shape of the die. You can then also change the properties using hardening or annealing techniques.
Aluminum behaves differently in that it will not achieve the same work hardening surface properties being a soft metal (usually an alloy) that does not heat treat well. Forging will force the grain structure to conform to a forging die which is more beneficial in a lower receiver. The surface "toughness" of an Ar is a function of anodizing, not the manufacture method. Still, if both a forged and milled from billet receiver were made dimensionally identical the forging might be a little bit stronger in some ways - but this almost never happens, billet receivers are usually volumetrically larger, thicker walls, etc. with more robust geometry from a stress standpoint. In an upper, the grain structure of the billet is usually parallel to the bore and there is theoretically some advantage to having all grain run in the direction of the force of the fired round, but as I mentioned, this would be VERY difficult to prove. I've never had an issue with forged uppers and never saw a billet upper definitively shoot better than a forged one personally (all else being equal).
Aesthetics are another matter - billet parts can be made differently from the standard pattern, which some people pay extra for. The best of both worlds can be found in the new VLTOR MUR receivers. They forge them to approximate shape then completely machine every surface. In theory you get all the advantages of a forged part with the wall thickness and aesthetics and uniformity of all dimensions associated with a billet part.
As a general rule, however, AR receivers are usually forged because it makes receivers faster to manufacture and the forging mills sell raw forgings cheaper than the added tooling cost of machining from billet.
A bit long winded, so sorry to the OP for the hijack.
No worries, thanks for all the great information!
- Location
- 54°52'56"N 112°10'7"W Alpha Bravo
Thank-you for clarifying that, as I was reading your post I was also thinking to myself that the Vltor MUR was the exception here. Great post!
Perhaps another exception would be the Noveske Gen2 lower? Forged yet machined with some robust features.
dangertree
Business Rep
- Location
- NL/ON/FL/PL
I guess we ARE out of Aero Precision lowers.
More on the way.
More on the way.
Not quite.
Billet is nice to look at. The AR receivers are needed to house the internals and sights and that is about it. The barrel extension holds the bolt on lock-up - the receiver and carrier don't matter at that point.
- Location
- Van Isle/Whistler
I must have ordered the last one, last week.
