80% 308 lower

[Ford_Fan1991]

Was wondering if this lower from righttobear.com is compatible with the aero M5 upper? https://www.righttobear.com/forged-dpms-pattern-80-percent-raw-308-lower-80raw-308-dpms/ cant find much info anywhere and any help would be appreciated

 

[rpoL98]

you mean like this?

needs to be clearanced in the red-circled area:

 

[357Max]

you mean like this?

needs to be clearanced in the red-circled area:

How much side to side play in the rear take down pocket of that lower??

I've only done billet that didn't have that pocket machined. Also had to send back a few AR 15 lowers where that pocket was way loose.

 

[Ford_Fan1991]

How much needs to be removed from that area?

 

[rpoL98]

How much needs to be removed from that area?

not much. did it with a large half-round file, fine-grit sandpaper to clean it up before sending it out for anodizing. I'm guessing maybe ten or twenty thousandths. like .010" - .020". just a guess, I didn't measure.

I filed, then checked to see if upper would close and take-down pin would slide through smoothly. if not, then held it up to the light to see where the contact point was, and filed some more. in my case, I needed to file a little extra to allow for thickness of anodizing. not difficult. just need to make sure you keep the file flat, parallel to the surface.

 

[rpoL98]

How much side to side play in the rear take down pocket of that lower??

I've only done billet that didn't have that pocket machined. Also had to send back a few AR 15 lowers where that pocket was way loose.

side-to-side play? none, the upper receiver lug fits snugly in that area, fits as snug as my store-bought 100% lowers. when I mill out the FCG pocket, I leave that area untouched so as to not increase the width of that pocket.

 

[357Max]

side-to-side play? none, the upper receiver lug fits snugly in that area, fits as snug as my store-bought 100% lowers. when I mill out the FCG pocket, I leave that area untouched so as to not increase the width of that pocket.

Thanks I might give one of the forged RTB lowers a try.

 

[rpoL98]

i just want to add, that 308 DPMS-style lower from RTB is very robust. the buttress where the buffer tube screws in is beefy, where it blends into the rest of the lower by the take-down pin, it's got extra beef at the bottom. You can see it in comparison with the profile of the QD receiver end plate. The front lugs for the pivot pin are also beefy. My pet peeve is that the front exterior edge of the magwell is just a machined 90-degree edge, kinda sharp, so I also took a file to that edge and gently rounded it, so that it looks like factory forging after anodizing. below pic is of a Noreen 308 lower, but same thing.

 

[Ford_Fan1991]

Thanks a bunch, this has helped alot, and how well do those noreen lowers match to the aero uppers? Been eyeballing those as well

 

[rpoL98]

Thanks a bunch, this has helped alot, and how well do those noreen lowers match to the aero uppers? Been eyeballing those as well

same, required clearancing in the same area.

 

[Ford_Fan1991]

Thanks again, do the noreen uppers happen to work as well with those lowers?

 

[rpoL98]

Thanks again, do the noreen uppers happen to work as well with those lowers?

I don't have any noreen uppers, IIRC, they don't have forward assist, and I want FA. But I'm pretty sure that the noreen uppers will fit the RTB DPMS lower and the noreen lowers with no modification to the lowers.

 

[Dildobaggins]

Noreen and aero are compatible. Infact they mate perfectly and have zero wiggle, they also have a hex bolt for the bolt catch, which makes it incredibly easy to install

 

[rpoL98]

Noreen and aero are compatible. Infact they mate perfectly and have zero wiggle, they also have a hex bolt for the bolt catch, which makes it incredibly easy to install

hmmm, interesting.

 

[slambeach]

I would give the 80's from Quentin Defense a look, very quality Billet lower, available raw, or anodized, 6061 or 7075. The machine marks in the pics are visual only, you can't even feel them. Another quality lower pictured is a Vytamen C Tactical,( but they are hard to find, I think they went back to military contract parts production ?)