And what are the real benefits to one? Just seen PSA has Blemished lowers and was considering another project but have also been considering Billet but want to make a wise Choice
Is a billet Lower worth it?
- Thread starter Smith97z71
- Start date
What do you expect the rifle to do?
Short answer.....no.
put the additional money into the trigger, barrel, etc.....THOSE will make a difference.
Aesthetically, yes. But I always favor function over form. Lot's of quality forged lowers out there from BCM, Rainier Arms, LMT, Noveske, et al just to name a few.
I believe that the forged lowers are actually stronger than billet lowers, but then again I'm no expert in metallurgy/forging/alloys.
There 7075 and 6061 billet lowers ,my understanding is the 7075 is better. As far as strength goes a forged lower is said to be stronger then a billet. That said the 7075 and 6061 billets are less brittle then a forged lower I'm told . IMHO it boils down to looks ,and the billet is prettier .
We can argue all day about what is stronger but the fact is... it doesn't matter. Billet is nice if your into the look or ambi features that some provide. The AXTS AX556 might be the best lower on the market but it's not cheap. Is billet worth it? Yes and no. If you like it billet, it is. If you're a purist, maybe not. Will it do anything better then a quality forged lower? Not really. I'm a Mega fan and have built a few billet AR's. Having said that, the only AR's I still own are Mega forged builds. I'll probably build another billet one day but quality forgings make a sexy badass stick!!!
I don't see a difference between a quality forged lower and a quality billet lower. The lines may be a little nicer looking on a Billet but it does nothing for performance. That said there is a big difference between a piece of crap forged lower like a PSA and a quality forged or billet lower. I have assembled many PSA lowers for people that were so out of spec they couldn't even be finished. I would only recommend them to somebody I don't like.
I've ran 2 different .50 cal uppers on forged lowers one with a 30" barrel the other sweet baby jheezus was a 18" ;-)
Whoa! Who made your .50 cal uppers? I have to ask, what was it like shooting the 18" .50 upper?
PAS's are really that bad? Im happy with the Rock river I have now in fit and finish but didn't realize that PSA was no-go. Appreciate that info
I'm not sure which lowest builder they're made by now but they were made by Olympic arms. There is a reason they are so cheap. You get what you pay for, when you see blem lowers going for $100 with a parts kit that should tell you something.
Funny, all the PSA lowers I have used in the past few years were excellent. I've seen old-school Olympic lowers that looked like a blind kid went to shop class, and the instructor was gone that day.
I've been dealing with AR15's since the 1980's, and have seen quite a few components and builds, and I really haven't seen any out-of-spec lowers since 2003. I'm sure there are some out there, just none have crossed my path in the past decade.
I think billets make sense for a matched set. Your anodizing depth and type will have more affect on case strength of the part I suspect, although I have yet to see failure on them, other than people not tapering their trigger guard roll pins and hammering away, wondering why the ear broke off-especially painful on a registered SBR lower.
I've been dealing with AR15's since the 1980's, and have seen quite a few components and builds, and I really haven't seen any out-of-spec lowers since 2003. I'm sure there are some out there, just none have crossed my path in the past decade.
I think billets make sense for a matched set. Your anodizing depth and type will have more affect on case strength of the part I suspect, although I have yet to see failure on them, other than people not tapering their trigger guard roll pins and hammering away, wondering why the ear broke off-especially painful on a registered SBR lower.
Its worth it if you think it is. I would rather an in-spec forged lower than a out of spec billet. I would view a discount lower with a jaundiced eye as the problem could be that it may be out of spec and will cause you problems when it comes to the build. My time is precious and if I build one myself my aim is to wind up with a rifle that is better than if I bought a production line build.
Nothing is more aggravating than a rifle that won't run the way you expect it to run.
Stoppages are not an acceptable part of rolling your own.
Nothing is more aggravating than a rifle that won't run the way you expect it to run.
Stoppages are not an acceptable part of rolling your own.
Last edited:
POS CRAP made by BOHICA the 18" started out as 24" I had turned down to 18 " figured what the heck its only 6" WRONG ! made it way too Obnoxious too shoot and have fun .....sold them to the first suckers that wanted them , lowers were a Snipers Hide batch sold as a Group buy here a few years back with the SH Logo on them
I like billet lowers. They look better (IMO), and the ones that I've used have been nicer to assemble with the threaded holes and set screws for some of the pins. I have really been happy with both the forged and billet Seekins Lowers that I have used.
Ive buikt 4 PSA lowers in the ladt year with no problems. Maybe they had a bad batch years back but atleadt in the last year they've been good. 3 of the 4 were blems. Ive got a few of the blems in the safe for a rainy day. Theyre gtg in my opinion.
I went with a Mega ambi billet upper + lower combo and they are sweet. The threaded pins on the Seekins lowers are nice as well. If I buy a forged lower it will be the standard Rainier simply because it's compatible with the 45 degree BAD-CASS.
wow that is strange you have jad such horrible luck with psa while I have put together 20 or more of their lowers with out a single hitch on them. I would defintely contact psa and let them know about that bad batch....I bet they woulf make it right if you are really telling the truth.
I think it how you look t it.
No, they don't perform better but they don't perform worse either.
Yes, they look an fit better particularly when teamed with a matching upper receiver,
I buy almost exclusively Mega or Seekins so it is for me but YMMV.
No, they don't perform better but they don't perform worse either.
Yes, they look an fit better particularly when teamed with a matching upper receiver,
I buy almost exclusively Mega or Seekins so it is for me but YMMV.
I love when these threads come up. If your in a position to find out the strength differences between the two, my guess is that your world has gone to hell in a hand basket in a very very bad way......or your doing something with the lower that it was never meant to do, IE: jack stand, baseball bat, shovel.......The big differences are mostly cosmetic, but there are features that are added to some of the billet: integrated trigger guard, Ambi bolt release (IE: hogan/POF lower), flared Magwell. Have some Machining background I appreciate the time/work that goes into a Billet lower more. That being said, I have Billet, Forged, cast and Polymer lowers, and they all run great.
I've often wondered if CNC technology had existed back in the 50s, would forged lowers have ever existed.
For the military yes... as you can see in the pricing, forging is a cheaper manufacturing technique even when compared to CNC. It requires less material and is faster to do.
I don't expect to see the military switching anytime soon. The billet receivers were a solution finding a problem. Other than aesthetics it still hasn't found one yet.
