Building Confidence

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by Grizzman

Aero and Anderson make solid lowers, but I personally wouldn't use one in a fantastic build.

Why not? Please explain.


man has suggested really nice “higher end” products you can use, the quality is there for sure. You won’t be disappointed with any of those lowers/uppers.

If you plan on only building one (1) rifle then, go big or go home. Otherwise, I suggest you start off in a more budget friendly build. This way you can learn the ins and outs of building the rifle and if you scratch it along the way, you won’t cry too much damaging that Instagram worthy upper/lower.

Just my $0.02




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[Grizzman]

I may be incorrect, but the word "fantastic" implies that this build should be something special. With the current cost of complete ARs, building with nearly top tier components makes a lot of sense.

I'm a big fan of Aero Precision. I've completed builds with three of their lowers (two 308s), three uppers (two 308s), and I've got two more 5.56 uppers sitting in a drawer for a rainy day.

Anderson seems to be on a quality level equal to Aero, but I've never used one before. They may be good, but not what I'd consider "fantastic" worthy.

If it's decided to use Aero or Anderson for this build, I have full confidence that there won't be any surprises due to the quality of product. It also may come down to simple pride of ownership. At the last gun show I attended, the vast majority of stripped lowers for sale were Andersons....most likely because they're inexpensive and easy to get, not because they're the best option available for a once in a lifetime build.

If the total build cost will end up in the $1,000-1,200 range (with good irons), an extra $60-80 to upgrade from an Aero to an LMT or similar makes a lot of sense to me. When the total cost is $500-650....not so much.


A bit of duct tape placed onto the lower receiver (in case of a minor oops), and the use of the correct tools should eliminate any change of damage to the receiver. So far all of mine have turned out flawless.