AR-15 Lower Shootout - Anderson Rifles, The World`s Only NO

Do you really need to spend extra for a big-name lower
receiver? Matthews takes out the calipers and plenty
of spare parts to examine 10 lesser-known brands.
AR-15 LOWER
SHOOTOUT
Are lesser-known receivers worth considering for your projects? Matthews gathers 10.
By Steven Matthews
M
y interest in the AR-15 began back in the mid1970s when I bought my first AR-15. At that
time the only brand available was Colt and only
hard core modern military arms collectors like me had
much interest in the gun.
The plastic and aluminum “wonder gun” had only
been in widespread service (as the full-auto M16) for a
little over 15 years and most collectors and firearms writers thought the gun would never last long in military service, since it wasn’t made from blued steel and walnut.
Throughout the late 70s and early 80s the gun finally
began to be accepted as a viable military arm. It began to
be featured in many action movies and television shows,
which generated interest among shooters who liked to
have what was trendy.
The survivalist movement also began to promote the
AR-15 as a viable survival gun to repel the invading communist hoards or scavengers who would attempt to take
your supplies or life.
As interest increased in the 1980s, a few other manufacturers besides Colt began making AR-15s. Some of
the early non-Colt makes were Bushmaster, Olympic
Arms, Pac West Arms, Sendra and a couple others that
elude my memory. It was in the early 80s that I saw that
there were companies that offered parts kits that would
allow you to build your own AR-15.
The quality of these early parts kits ranged from excellent new-made parts to recycled and worn out GI scrapped
parts. One well known company that sold bargain-priced
parts kits had a reputation of buying scrapped or rejected
M16/AR-15 parts at government disposal auctions and
then after refinishing, offering them as new parts to unknowing consumers.
The same company also got caught by a network news
magazine show buying brand new stolen parts that had
come from U.S. government inventory. In the early days
of kit building, there weren’t many sources for wholesale
AR-15 parts, so sellers would try to scratch them up anywhere they could find them. This was the primary reason
for the widely varying quality levels.
Add this to an occasionally unscrupulous dealer and
things can get “interesting.” Unless you paid top dollar
for a kit from a reputable company you weren’t sure what
you would get. I had little money in those years (young,
twice divorced, laid off from several jobs, etc.) and had
Ten good receivers
or 10 bad receivers?
Matthews checks.
The lower receiver
is the heart of an
AR-15 so you want
to use a quality
receiver on your
project.
The ATI Omni Hybrid
features polymer
construction with
metal inserts at
stressed locations.
The critical dimensions are mil-spec
but the styling
is futuristic.
to buy the bargain basement kits and hope I would get
something that was half decent. I got some real crappy
parts on occasion.
Fortunately today’s parts kits generally contain good
products. While my first AR-15 was a Colt-made rifle
length gun I found that if I sold it, the money would almost pay for two parts kits that I could assemble into carbines. This started my lifelong hobby of building AR-15s.
Just as today, the parts kits included all the parts to
build an AR-15 except for the lower receiver, which had
to be purchased through a FFL dealer since it was considered by the BATF to be the “gun” and not just a part.
My first self-built gun consisted of a $249 parts kit
of questionable quality and a $45 Sendra receiver. This
price resulted in a gun that was about $100–$150 below
the cost for a Colt AR-15. A $150 savings may not seem
like much today, but in the 80s $150 was a lot of money.
When I built this first gun, there were only a handful
of parts kit vendors and lower receiver makers/vendors.
There was also little available in the accessory market.
Fast forward 35–40 years to today. Now there are several dozen brands of AR-15 rifles on the market due to
the gun’s huge popularity. The AR-15 firearms, parts and
accessory market dominate the firearms business. The
hobbyist has hundreds of parts kits available to choose
from in any configuration imaginable.
There are also dozens of brands of AR-15 lower receivers to use in completing your kit. Some receiver
brands are well known, while others have little recognition. Prices for lower receivers can start as low as $40 and
go up to a couple hundred dollars or more.
Many hobbyists may wonder if these less well-known
receivers are any good, considering some of the low prices observed. This time, we’ll look at a few less well-known
The GPI/Dragon
receiver is available anodized or as
here in the white.
This will offer a cost
savings for those
builders who apply
a custom finish.
brands of AR-15 lower receivers to see if they are quality
products worth considering.
It’s important to know a little bit about how an AR15 receiver is made. Let’s start first with what is known
as a mil-spec forged GI-style receiver. This is the type of
receiver featured on most AR-15s and is what is used on
all military-grade M16 rifles and carbines.
To meet military specifications, the receiver must be
made from 7075 aluminum. This very strong and light alloy is sometimes called aircraft aluminum but this term is
not really accurate since there are many aluminum alloys
used in aircraft construction.
G.I. specs also require that the receiver be formed by
the forging process. For the hobbyist who doesn’t want to
get into all the technical aspects of forging, just remember that forging compresses and strengthens the parts.
The forging operation creates a chunk of aluminum that
roughly duplicates the exterior shape of an AR receiver.
The raw forgings are then machined to create all the
holes, surfaces and cavities in the receiver. The receiver
may also be heat-treated to increase its strength. After
all machining is done, a final finish called hard coating is
applied. This finish is an anodized finish that colors the
part, plus it adds some resistance to abrasion and corrosion.
Forging AR receivers is a very expensive process. The
forge presses, forging dies, and associated equipment can
run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, not counting
a couple million for the facility cost. Only large forging
companies can economically create most of the forged
AR receivers on the market.
The process to make forged AR receivers is so expensive
that all the major AR makers sub-contract receiver blank
forging out to large aluminum forging companies. Many
companies buy the forged “blanks” and then do the final
machining to turn them into functional receivers.
Other AR makers simply buy completed forged receivers from AR receiver companies and have their names
stamped on the receivers. While there are dozens of
brands of forged receivers on the market, all forgings are
made by only about a half-dozen forging houses. A listing of what company makes which brand of receiver is
available on the AR15.com website. This information is
available in the AR lower receiver FAQ sub-section of the
Rifles, Uppers, Lowers, Barrels and More section.
If all the forging, machining, and finishing is done to
specifications laid down by U.S. military standards for
an M16/M4, you end up with a mil-spec forged receiver.
Keep one thing in mind about a part being “mil-spec.” A
part made to military specifications is just that, made to
some specification laid down in some military contract
for a weapon or parts.
It does not mean that the part is the best it can be.
Many parts can exceed mil-spec quality, yet not be considered mil-spec since they vary from the specifications
in some way. Military contracts are generally awarded to
the lowest bidder, so there is a fine line between quality
and cost. Mil-spec is a minimum standard to meet, not a
standard for maximum quality. A non- milspec part can
easily be a better part if made correctly.
Today, the hobbyist can go with the traditional forged
mil-spec receiver or use one of the many modern non milspec receivers. Getting away from mil-spec allows manufacturers to create AR receivers in many new and interesting shapes and make them from many different materials.
While 7075 aluminum is the most common aluminum
alloy used in AR receiver production, it is not the only
alloy that can be used for a receiver. An aluminum alloy known as 6061-T6 is used by some makers since it is
less costly and slightly easier to machine. While not as
strong as 7075, the 6061 alloy is more than adequate for
the lightly stressed AR-15 receiver.
Forged receivers are the most common type found on
AR rifles but there is another type of aluminum receiver.
AR-15 LOWER SHOOTOUT
The American Spirit Arms receiver is a typical forged
AR receiver. A large shield shaped trademark is
applied to the magazine well as cosmetic “bling”.
Matthews removed this DPMS receiver from a personal firearm just for this article. He knew it worked well from experience, but he took measurements anyway.
It is known as a “billet” receiver. A billet receiver starts
out as a rectangular chunk of aluminum bar stock. This
block of material is placed in one or more CNC machining centers and after dozens of computer controlled machining operations are completed, you have a functional
AR-15 billet receiver.
Forging receivers is too expensive for small manufacturers, but billet receivers can be made by smaller shops.
CNC machining centers can be leased for low enough
cost to allow shops to economically create receivers. CNC
machining centers can be as small as a large refrigerator
or as large as a small house.
I once toured what from the street looked like a large
gun shop in mid-Ohio. Once inside I found that the retail
gun shop portion was only about 1000 square feet in the
front of the building. This shop featured many new military type semi-auto guns that featured receivers marked
as being made by the shop.
Behind the retail area was about 5000 square feet of work
shop that featured a half dozen Okuma CNC machining
centers cranking out Browning 1919 receivers, Galil receivers, VZ-58 receivers, AK-47 receivers, and many other
types of semi-auto military arms receivers and gun parts.
This small shop even made receivers and parts for a
couple of the big names in the semi-auto military arms
market. Due to the versatility of CNC machining, billet
receivers can be economically made in many shapes or
formats. Billet receivers typically cost more than forged receivers, since they are made in smaller numbers than those
created by large mass production forging companies.
There is one last way that some aluminum AR receivers
have been made. That method is by casting them. In casting, molten aluminum is poured into a receiver-shaped
mold and allowed to cool. After casting, the parts are machined to final size. The molds are typically made of sand
or ceramic materials.
The DoubleStar mil-spec forged receiver is offered by J+T Distributing. Receivers and complete firearms are offered under the Double Star brand name.
AR-15 LOWER SHOOTOUT
The Anderson Mfg. mil-spec forged receiver is a high quality receiver at an unbelievably low cost. In this case, low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality.
Depending on the molding process used, the resulting
receivers can be either crudely cast parts that need a lot of
machining to finish or can be precisely formed receivers
that require only minor machining to finish.
Today, I know of no companies that make cast AR receivers. In the past a company called Essential Arms made
a quality cast AR-15 receiver. I have had several cast Essential Arms receivers and all worked fine. This company
is still around but they no longer make cast receivers.
While Essential Arms cast receivers were a quality receiver, the worst AR receiver I ever had was a crude sandcast version made by a small company in Ohio. The finish
was rough like cast iron car parts, and there were gaps
between the upper and lower when assembled. It looked
like crap but it did actually function.
During the Obama panic, I sold it at a tidy profit to a
dealer who was buying every AR part and gun that he
could so he could sell them at scalper’s prices.
Aero Precision may not be familiar to a lot of SGN readers, but Matthews
says they make fine upper and lower receivers. Finish quality was excellent.
SGN advertiser I.O. Inc. offers “billet” as well as
forged AR receivers. Cutting a receiver out of an aluminum block lets the maker offer unusual shapes.
The CMMG mil-spec forged receiver was the highest scoring unit evaluated in
Matthews’ survey. Every dimension was accurate and features were top notch.
As most gun enthusiasts know, polymer gun parts are
being used on more and more guns all the time. Years ago,
polymer was commonly associated with low-quality parts,
but today, polymer gun parts can be of very high quality
and actually work as well or better than metal parts.
Many gun enthusiasts still look down on polymer and
scoff at the idea of it being suitable for a quality gun part.
With the introduction of Glock handguns in the 1980s,
polymer hand gun receivers have been with us for more
than 30 years. The Glock has the reputation of being one
of the most durable guns on the market; so much for the
idea of all polymer parts being low quality junk.
A “mil-spec” receiver meets minimum standards that may or may not be the highest
standard of quality. Remember, military contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder!
Polymer has now entered the world of AR-15 receivers. Some hobbyists welcome the idea of polymer AR-15
receivers while others will tell you that you might as well
throw your money away rather than buy a polymer AR
receiver. Personally I fall between the two extremes.
For some applications, I think a polymer AR receiver is
fine, but for others I would only want a mil-spec aluminum
receiver. I have more than a dozen AR-15 firearms (and
yes I’m embarrassed to admit that a poor SOB like me has
spent that much money on ARs) and four feature polymer
receivers. So far, they have held up fine. One has several
thousand rounds run through it and it still functions fine.
One attractive feature of polymer receivers is their cost.
They can be inexpensively created by injection molding
once developmental cost and tooling cost are recovered. I
recently bought polymer AR receivers for the retail price
of $37 each.
Just as polymer has taken over the handgun market, I
look for it to dominate AR receiver material in the future.
An AR receiver is not under a lot of stress and if a polymer
receiver is made correctly with metal inserts at key locations
polymer will be more than adequate for an AR receiver.
Today there are at least 40–50 seller/makers/assemblers
of AR-15 rifles and receivers. The pages of gun maga-
An .843" center to center horizontal dimension for
the spacing of the hammer and trigger pin holes
is critical for proper operation of the AR-15.
The centerline of the
hammer pin hole must be
.314"above the centerline
of the trigger pin hole to
insure proper operation.
Tolerances are quite
tight here.
AR-15 LOWER SHOOTOUT
Magazine well length and width tolerances will determine how tight the magazines
fit. Polymer magazines typically fit tighter
since they expand slightly when loaded.
zines are filled with ads for all sorts of oddly-named AR15 guns. Most of these companies offer their lower receivers for sale to the amateur gun builder. Some of the prices
are very tempting.
You have to wonder, though, are these unknown
brands worthy of consideration? Over the last 30–40
years of building AR-15s, I have used dozens of different
AR receivers, so I thought I’d apply that experience to a
test of lesser known brands.
This will help readers decide if they want to try one
of the “off brand” receivers or go with one of the bigger
names. Obviously a poor writer/gun collector like me can’t
buy a dozen receivers, assemble them into guns, and shoot
thousands of rounds to test a large group of receivers.
What I can do is to measure, examine, and evaluate
them to see if they are a quality product that lives up to
mil-spec quality.
I will measure the receivers at key locations to verify
that parts will fit and function properly. I will also evaluate the final finish and let readers know if the receivers
look to be well made. I will test fit the lowers to several
brands of upper receivers.
To make it easy for readers to judge the receivers I will
create a chart that features grades in several categories. I
will also rate them by number so you can see which receiver scores the best. Let’s look at some of the categories
that will be evaluated.
Finish Quality—This will evaluate the overall finish of
the receiver. Things such as color, texture and evenness
of finish will be graded. Evidence of machining marks,
rough edges, left over flashing, and other non-functional
characteristics will be looked at.
Dimensional Accuracy—I will measure each receiver
and compare it to specifications set forth in mil-spec blue
prints. The dimensions are obtained from the official M16
print created by the Dept. of the U.S. Army Weapons
Command, Rock Island, IL. Print #8448608—4/27/1970.
This print is available over the internet if you want one
for yourself.
The magazine well will be measured to verify that it
is the correct size. A mil-spec aluminum magazine and
a commercial polymer magazine will be test fitted to see
how they fit. The spacing between the hammer and trigger pin holes is critical for proper function on an AR-15.
I will measure those dimensions to verify that they are
within acceptable tolerances. The wrong spacing of these
holes can create a host of problems with the AR-15 fire
control group.
Another dimension to be measured is the spacing between the front pivot pin and the rear take down pin. This
spacing will determine if the lower fits well with the upper
receiver. The wrong spacing here can leave unsightly gaps
AR-15 LOWER SHOOTOUT
between the upper and lower or make full closure difficult
or impossible.
I will measure the receivers at several other locations
to verify that it they are within specifications. I will also
measure the receiver wall thickness at the fire control cavity and magazine well.
A final separate category of grading will be prices.
Prices for AR receivers can vary to extremes. One dealer
may have a receiver priced twice as high as another even
though it is the same model and brand. I will list a price
range for each receiver based on the better prices I find
on the internet.
No matter how good the receiver is, it won’t find
many buyers if it is priced too high. Conversely a low
price means nothing if the receiver
is crap. The reader can decide for
themselves just how much they are
willing to spend for a good rated receiver.
For this article I contacted about
25 receiver makers/sellers and requested products for evaluation. Ten
of them responded with products for
testing and evaluation. The companies that refused to supply product
had a variety of reasons for refusal.
Matthews is a traditionalist and
can do without the large logos
common on today’s ARs. He’s unlikely to get his wish; it’s a very
competitive market out there.
Some were rather arrogant and said (in polite words)
their products were superior to other brands and they did
not need some gun writer to prove the point to readers of
SHOTGUN NEWS.
Others simply said they refuse all request for product
as they had no interest in a third party review of their
products. Some sellers simply ignored my request.
Personally I think some companies were afraid that
their offerings might score slightly below a competitor’s
product and that might hurt sales. The companies that
did supply receivers had enough confidence in their products to put then up against the competition.
This says a lot about those companies, and readers
should remember this when choosing a receiver. Do you
want a receiver from a company that isn’t afraid to have
their products tested or do you want to buy a receiver
from a company that’s afraid to have its products tested?
The receivers obtained for this article were from the
following companies: Aero Precision, American Spirit
Arms American Tactical Imports (ATI), Anderson Mfg.,
CMMG, Double Star, DPMS, GPI/Dragon and I.O. Inc
(one billet and one forged receiver). Some of these receivers were obtained directly from the manufacturer and
others were obtained through retailers.
Brownells sells many brands of receivers and other
SGN advertisers such as Centerfire Systems, Aim Sur-
plus, and others offer many of the tested receivers. The
pages of SGN are the first place to look when you need
AR-15 parts as AR-15 parts and guns are SGN’s bread
and butter so to speak.
The following chart rates the receivers in the common
A, B, C, D, F scale with A being the highest rating.
CATEGORY 1
CATEGORY 2
CATEGORY 3
CATEGORY 4
CATEGORY 5
Hammer and trigger
pin hole spacing. Incorrect hole spacing can
create fire control problems or create an unsafe
firearm. The correct
spacing is as follows. The
centerline of the hammer
pin hole must be .843" in
front of the centerline of
the trigger pin hole. The
centerline of the hammer
pin hole must also be
.314" above the centerline of the trigger pin hole.
Tolerance for this spacing
should be no more than
plus or minus .002", although a .005" tolerance
would still allow the parts
to operate correctly.
Magazine well size. The correct
dimension for this opening is
.898” wide by 2.398 inches long.
Tolerance on this dimension can
be quite large. While a tolerance
of plus or minus .010" would
meet mil-spec standards, many
receivers vary .020" or more and
still function fine. The accuracy
of the dimension will be listed
as the primary rating. For a real
world test, one GI spec aluminum 30-round magazine and
one Magpul 30-round polymer
magazine will be inserted and
the amount of play or looseness
will be observed. The quality of
fit will be a sub-rating category
and be represented in the chart
as M for Magpul and G for the GI
magazine.
Upper receiver fit and hole spacing for the pivot
and takedown pins. The print dimension for the
spacing of these two holes is 6.375 inches center to
center, with a very tight tolerance of plus or minus
.002". In this test several upper receivers from different makers were installed on the lower receiver. If pin
hole spacing is incorrect, insertion of the pins will be
difficult or impossible.
Hole spacing (and position on the receiver) will also
determine if the receiver fits loosely and has gaps
between the upper and lower when closed or if the
fit is tight. Due to varying tolerances between various
brands of upper receivers made by many companies,
upper to lower receiver fit can be hard for manufactures
to get just right, since they have no control over the
manufacturing of upper receivers by other companies.
Personally, I prefer to have my receivers fit together
so tight that I need to hand fit them in order to get
them to close and lock easily. Loose receiver fit
can degrade accuracy due to the movement of the
receivers during firing and recoil.
Overall dimensional
accuracy. I measured the
receiver in many locations
to verify that it was within
specification. Some
things measured were
the size of the fire control
cavity, the wall thicknesses of the fire control cavity
and magazine well walls,
outside dimensions of the
receiver, safety lever hole
position, the depth of the
fire control cavity, and
width of the recess for the
upper receiver rear lug.
Overall finish quality.
This graded the color,
texture, and evenness
of the anodized finish.
Evidence of machining
marks, excess forge
flashing, or surface
imperfection in the
metal was also taken
into consideration.
The grades were as follows: A - Excellent, B - Very Good, C - Average, D - Acceptable but could certainly be better, F - Poor
Aero Precision Mil-spec forged receiver
CMMG Mil-spec forged receiver
Cat. 2 - B, Mag fit M-A, G-B
Cat. 1 - A
Cat. 1 - A
Cat. 3 - A
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-B
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-A
Cat. 3 - B
Cat. 3 - A
Cat. 4 - B
Cat. 4 - A
Cat. 4 - A, (This receiver had wall thicknesses at the fire
control cavity considerably thicker than GI specification. This is a real plus for increased receiver strength.)
Cat. 5 - A
Cat. 5 - A
American Spirit Arms Mil-spec forged receiver
Double Star Mil-spec forged receiver
Cat. 1 -A
Cat. 1 - A
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-B
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-B
Cat. 3 - C, (upper or lower receiver would need to be
hand fitted since they could not be fully closed as received. This is not necessarily a negative to hobbyists
who prefer to have receivers so tight that they require
hand fitting to obtain maximum rigidity.
Cat. 3 - A
Cat. 4 - A
Cat. 1 - A
Cat. 5 - A
Cat. 2 - B, Mag fit M-A, G-B
Anderson Manufacturing Mil-spec forged receiver
Cat. 3 - A
Cat. 1 - B
Cat. 4 - C, (receiver walls at the fire control cavity and
the mag well walls were thinner than specifications
but this would not affect functioning)
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-A
Cat. 3 - A
Cat. 4 - A
Cat. 5 - A
ATI Omni Hybrid receiver
Cat. 1 - A
Cat. 2 - C, Mag fit: M-C, G-D
Cat. 3 - B
Cat. 4 - A
Cat. 5 - A
Note that this is not a mil-spec receiver since it is a
stylized polymer receiver that looks nothing like a GI
receiver.
Cat. 5 - A
I.O. Inc. Billet Receiver
Cat. 1- A
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-A
Cat. 3 - B, (needed minor filing to fit to all uppers)
Cat. 4 - B
Cat. 4 - A, (nice thick receiver walls that would
increase receiver strength and rigidity)
Cat. 5 - A
Cat. 5 - B, (minor machining marks under finish)
DPMS Mil-spec forged receiver
(due to the billet manufacturing method this is not a
mil-spec receiver, however all dimensions are to milspec dimensions except for some styling features that
would not affect function)
Cat. 5 - B
GPI/Dragon Mil-spec forged receiver
Cat. 1 - A
Cat. 2 - A, Mag fit M-A, G-A
Cat. 3 - C
Cat. 4 - A
Cat. 5 - D, (4 points were deducted since the receiver
had no finish at all. Aluminum surface had several
minor imperfections)
I.O. Inc. Mil-spec forged receiver
Cat. 1 - A
If the A–F scale was assigned numbers with A being 5
points and F equaling 1 point all values can be added
up to give each receiver a numerical score. Below is
how these receivers scored numerically.
Aero Precision Forged Receiver—23
American Spirit Arms Forged Receiver—23
Anderson Mfg. Forged Receiver—24
ATI Omni Hybrid Polymer Receiver—22
CMMG Forged Reciever—25
Double Star Forged Receiver—24
DPMS Forged Receiver—21
GPI/Dragon Forged Receiver—21, (note that points
were deducted for no finish but other than finish the
receiver was a good receiver)
I.O. Inc. Forged Receiver—24
I.O. Inc. Billet Receiver—23
AR-15 LOWER SHOOTOUT
Matthews tested each receiver with a GI
spec 30-round aluminum magazine and a
Magpul 30-round polymer magazine to check
magazine well tightness or looseness.
One more chart may be of interest to readers, which
would be a price range for these receivers. Prices
can vary widely with some dealers asking outrageous prices for their products. I ignore these types
of vendors and search for vendors with the reasonable prices when I buy products. Listed below are the
range of reasonable prices I found when searching
the internet for these products. Note that local gun
shop prices can vary due to geographic location and
the market factors associated with these regions.
Aero Precision—$80–$110
American Spirit Arms—$95–$135
Anderson Mfg.—$40–$60 (This is a real bargain price
for a mil-spec forged receiver)
ATI Omni Hybrid Polymer Receiver—$37–$60 (This
quality polymer receiver was only $37 with free shipping when I found and bought them from Cheaper
than Dirt in the summer of 2014. If you like polymer
this price is the best you can get!)
CMMG—$95–$125
Double Star—$120–$135
DPMS—$105–$130
GPI/Dragon—$55–$75
I.O. Inc. (Forged)—$115–$130
I.O. Inc. (Billet)—$175–$190
Over 35 years I have used many brands of receivers besides the ones featured here. Some of them would include
Bushmaster, Colt, DSA, Essential Arms, Liberty Tactical, Olympic Arms, Pac West Arms, Rock River, Sendra,
SGW, Stag Arms and probably many more that I can’t
remember. All of then worked fine, and only a few needed
anything beyond minor hand fitting.
While the CMMG receiver scored the best on this test,
there was actually little difference between these receivers.
Based on quality alone, I would have no problem recommending any of these receivers to readers. In fact, they
will likely be used on many of my future personal AR-15
projects. Since I find little difference in quality between a
name brand receiver and a “no name” receiver, I typically
buy based on cost.
I do have some favorites, however. There are many polymer receivers on the market, but I find the ATI Omni Hybrid receiver to be the best of the bunch, and this is the receiver I will be using when I want polymer on my AR-15. I
Some hand fitting of the upper or lower receiver may
be required to allow full closure. This is preferable to
having receivers so loose that they will fit any receiver.
AR-15 LOWER SHOOTOUT
AR-15 market and when I tried to sell one of them people wouldn’t consider them since they didn’t have “Colt”
marked on the side. Today, Rock River is well known and
their products command decent prices.
So, when you’re building an AR, look for value in a
lower receiver. Regardless the name on the side, they all
like its futuristic styling and the fact that it features metal re- come from just a few forging houses. I see little reason to
inforcements molded into the polymer at stressed locations. pay big bucks just to have a certain name carved on the
For a forged mil-spec aluminum receiver I don’t think side of the receiver. If using a quality receiver that has an
one can do better than the extremely economically priced economical price sounds good to you, why not give some
Anderson Mfg. receiver. You can pay two to four times of these receivers a try.
the cost of an Anderson receiver if you choose, but you
will not get a receiver that is two to four times better than
the Anderson receiver.
I have built rifles with $35 receivers (cosmetic defect FEATURED AR-15 RECEIVER SOURCES
Anderson receivers on sale) and I have built rifles with Aero Precision—2338 S. Holgate St, Dept. SGN,
$150 receivers. If the name on the side was covered up, I Tacoma, WA, 98402, 253-272-8188,
could not tell which receiver I was using, since it worked www.aeroprecisionusa.com
as well as any other receiver.
American Spirit Arms—16001 N. Greenway Hayden
While I am recommending you try some of these less
Loop, Suite B, Dept. SGN, Scottsdale, AZ, 85260,
well-known receivers, there is one point to the contrary.
480-367-9540, www.AmericanSpiritArms.com
They’re quality products that work great, but they have
one huge Achilles heel: resale value. No matter how good American Tactical Imports (ATI)—
of gun you have it is hard to sell a gun with a receiver with www.americantactical.us, 800-290-0065
a brand name like “Billy Bob’s Gun Shop” marked on the Anderson Mfg.—1743 Anderson Blvd, Dept. SGN,
side of the receiver.
Hebron, KY, 41048, 859-689-4085,
When I have tried to sell some of my AR-15s with off- www.andersonrifles.com
brand receivers, I am lucky if I can get 60% of the actual
value. If the gun has a well-known name brand receiver Brownells—200 S. Front St, Dept. SGN, Montezuma,
people assume it is a quality gun and are willing to pay IA, 50171, 800-741-0015, www.brownells.com
CMMG—P.O. Box 369, Dept. SGN, Fayette, MO,
more for it.
If they have never heard of the brand on the receiver, 65248, 660-248-2293, www.cmmginc.com
they just walk away when they see the name on the gun. DoubleStar—P.O. Box 430, Dept. SGN,
You can use the best parts available in an AR-15 that out- Winchester, KY, 40392, 888-736-7725,
shoots high dollar guns, but people just won’t pay for off
www.star15.com, www.jtdistributing.com
branded receiver guns.
If I am sure I will never consider selling a rifle I’m DPMS Firearms LLC—3312 12th St. SE,
building, I will choose the best low-cost receiver made by Dept. SGN, Saint Cloud, MN, 56304,
these less well known brands. If I am ever likely to sell the 800-578-3767, www.dpmsinc.com
gun sometime in the future I go with a well-known brand GPI/Dragon—Available through Centerfire Systems,
of receiver. Ironically, over the years I have built a lot of
102 Fieldview Dr., Dept. SGN, Versailles, KY, 40383,
guns with receivers that were not well known at the time 800-950-1231, www.centerfiresystems.com
of building.
I.O. Inc.—2144 Franklin Dr. NE, Dept. SGN, Palm
One example would be some Rock River receiver projBay, FL, 32905, 321-499-3819, www.ioinc.us
ects that I built years ago. Rock River was new to the