THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

Bullseyelr

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 28, 2009
305
0
VA
THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS with a different brand or custom upper....Any good????....Or the same as all other lowers, and it is just a name. What do you think? I am looking to buy a Rock River lower and a custom M4 upper. Do all lowers have the same "fit" as all other lowers? Obviosly the finishes will differ.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

From what I understand, for the most part, a lower is a lower is a lower. We're talking about some springs and some pins. The upper is where you get your money's worth.

In all of them you'll likely want to ditch the trigger and get a drop in like the Chip McCormick or Timney. Unless you're okay with the standard trigger that is.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

The fit between the RRA upper and lower, is the tightest I've ever personally experienced.
If it were for RRA, AccuWedge would be bankrupt
grin.gif
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

RRA is GTG!! I have had several and still have one now that is mated to a custom upper. Everything on the RRA is in spec and the upper/lower fit is very good.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HotIce</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The fit between the RRA upper and lower, is the tightest I've ever personally experienced.
If it were for RRA, AccuWedge would be bankrupt
grin.gif

</div></div>

Yep, and the Match trigger is no slouch either. I see lots of guys changing out stock triggers for these.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

We have put a lot of rounds through Rock Rivers with no real complaints. I continue to use them and can see no issues.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

A lower is a lower......as long as it is forged not cast. There are three or four manufactorers who make all the lowers......and different companies put their name and finish on them. Period.


Pop
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

If you were going to buy a stripped lower and put the parts kit together in it, I would say the RRA would be fine, although likely overpriced. I see them for $175-200, whereas Stag or Charles Daly would be more like $135. However, if you buy a built lower, I'm fairly certain RRA uses commercial receiver extensions (buffer tubes) which are NOT preferred, due to compatibility for aftermarket and strength laying with "mil spec" extensions. For that reason you would do better with Stag. However, nowadays you can get LMT and BCM complete lowers for right around $350, so I see no reason to do less.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

I have several RRA lowers and they are as good as anything else out there. I also have lowers from Spikes, Stag, Mega and Bushmaster and there is no difference in the functionality of any of them. And very little difference in the appearance. If it weren't for the markings you would have a hard time telling which was which. If I was buying a new one today I would get whatever was cheapest, which for me is Spikes ($89).
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HotIce</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The fit between the RRA upper and lower, is the tightest I've ever personally experienced.
If it were for RRA, AccuWedge would be bankrupt
grin.gif

</div></div>

I had a RRA complete rifle. The lower and parts were good but they were tight on the bad side.
The lower would only fit right with the upper it was built with. I tend to like to swap upper to lowers at times and could not with just this one lower.All my others would swap between all other parts with no problem. In the end I sold it just for this reason. YMMV it could have been just that one but I hear this more than a few times.Some say the push pins are hard to close. Mine I couldn't even get the rear pin pushed with other uppers.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

Rock River deliberately leaves a little extra 'meat' in the area where the lug on the upper fits in, with the intention that you hard-fit the upper to the lower. They did this to eliminate the wobble seen on some upper/lower combinations, specifically for High Power shooting. This is a pretty well known fact in the AR community. Some see it as a liability, some as an advantage.

You can always open up that area so all of your uppers drop right in. I just use my RRA lowers with dedicated uppers, and swap uppers on other brand lowers.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

A lower is a lower. They are pretty much all the same to me.

I dont think an AR is going to shoot any better nomatter what kind of lower you put on it. The trigger is a different story.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

Any lower will do, I had Colts going back to the begining of time, Stags, RRA's and JT/Doublestars. What seems to make the big difference is the Jewell trigger. The lowers take a licking and just sit there cause all they do is hold the FCG and the mag.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HotIce</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The fit between the RRA upper and lower, is the tightest I've ever personally experienced.
If it were for RRA, AccuWedge would be bankrupt
grin.gif

</div></div>

+1. I have built a lot of AR's and the RRA lash up is the tightest (even over my Colts). AR's don't tighten up over time and too tight is better than too loose. As for mating up to a custom upper, IMHO, this is the lower you want. If need be, you can polish high spots and get a great fit. All the internal specs exceed MIL Spec. This is the way to go.
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: McLarenRoss</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Its a lower. People put WAY too much emphasis and credit for quality on the lower. They are all the same. The upper assembly is where the quality comes from. </div></div>

A lower is a lower is a lower. So long as you have a forged receiver, the rest of the parts are virtually identical. Just a bunch of springs and pins. As Double Star so rightfully writes on their web site:

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: "Double Star Arms"</div><div class="ubbcode-body">We at DoubleStar, will not make the claim some of the "Big Boys" make. "Our rifles are better than anyone else's." All AR-15s are parts guns and with a few negative exceptions, all AR-15s are about the same.
</div></div>
 
Re: THOUGHTS ON ROCK RIVER AR-15 LOWERS?????

I have a couple RRA lowers and a couple Spikes lowers... everyone is right... there is not much difference... I would look for the lower that matches closely to the upper (they are all a little different) I prefer the spikes because I like the colored bullets (saftey marker). I have it with my 416 upper, but the color isn't a perfect match to either lower.