Inexpensive ARs

[HCM]

And not sure I ever bought an upper or a lower from Aero that wasn't Blemished and pretty sure I never found a blemish.

I don’t really give a shit about blemish and cosmetics. The guns I’ve built on Aero Receivers are fine. Aero was OEM’ing receivers for a bunch of other companies long before they were known in their own right.

My issue with Aero is the 3rd party import small parts and sloppy assembly of their complete guns and reviver assemblies. I’ve seen too many issues with them.

If buying complete assemblies I’d want BCM, Sionics or SOLGW - blem would be fine.

If you are patient Geissele has some great deals on blems during their Black Friday sakes.

[vcdgrips]

In the NEW sub 1k space

The turn key solution is some form of a Colt 6920.

If I knew more about ARs or had somebody with me who did, you could probably talk me into a well priced SW, Ruger or Springfield Armory presuming that a particular rifle passed muster.

[HCM]

In the NEW sub 1k space

The turn key solution is some form of a Colt 6920.

If I knew more about ARs or had somebody with me who did, you could probably talk me into a well priced SW, Ruger or Springfield Armory presuming that a particular rifle passed muster.

Colt OEM2 is currently $799. Add a Centurion, Troy, or other rail which uses the GI barrel nut and you can make the $1k budget and have a better gun than IWI, S&W Sport, Ruger or SA..

https://www.armsunlimited.com/Colt-O...e6920-oem2.htm

[mmc45414]

Same with bcm. I always buy their complete lower blemished. One had a small surface scratch lol.

I think Aero does some color matching that I do not care about, and I would just troll their blems. Pretty sure this is how someday I will end up with an AR-10 I do not need...

I don’t really give a shit about blemish and cosmetics.

Me either! IMO it actually ENHANCES the desirability, because it is broken in before I get my hands on it. The first boat I ever bought I chipped it the first time I docked it. I just bought another boat and I am afraid, very afraid...

My issue with Aero is the 3rd party import small parts and sloppy assembly of their complete guns and reviver assemblies. I’ve seen too many issues with them.

I am forming an opinion that buying a built receiver (especially an upper) is riskier than buying either parts or a gun, because the built separate receivers never get test fired and do not get the meticulous assembly you would do yourself if you bought parts.

[Andy T]

My issue with Aero is the 3rd party import small parts and sloppy assembly of their complete guns and reviver assemblies. I’ve seen too many issues with them.

Can you elaborate on the issues you saw with Aero's small parts/complete lowers.

[Rick R]

I am forming an opinion that buying a built receiver (especially an upper) is riskier than buying either parts or a gun, because the built separate receivers never get test fired and do not get the meticulous assembly you would do yourself if you bought parts.

https://dsgarms.com/complete-uppers-dsg-4303-0096

FWIW I bought a complete upper from DSG similar to the linked item which they advertise as having been test fired in house and it’s been reliable and accurate over the course of a couple thousand rounds.

[Wake27]

I’d definitely take an Expo Arms (Primary Arms “house” brand) over any complete upper from Aero.

https://www.primaryarms.com/expo-arm...ash-hider-16in

From the little I’ve seen of Expo and the general confidence I have in PA overall, I expect that Expo could be a fantastic and the best option in the under $1k club. And from the limited pricing I’ve done, it may be closer to $500, especially when timing PA’s sales or using a MIL/LE discount.


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[OlongJohnson]

Quoting myself to save typing:

That's funny. One of the things that unimpressed me about Aeros I've looked at is the overly flat anodizing, so flat they seemed to have not been sealed properly.

I've looked at Aero Precision, and found many little machining details were just much nicer on the Mega forged receivers. Like chamfers and bevels that would fall under the "fit and finish" as far as the design details go. Not to mention the anodizing appearing not right on the APs, because I already did that earlier in the thread. In total, it was enough for me to decide that the Mega lowers were a no brainer at $35 higher cost. Never looked back.

The best pricing AFAIK on parts I'd expect to be machined well is currently the Wilson Combat forged/anodized version. They sell them as matched pairs select-fit for a rattle-free interface between upper and lower pretty reasonably. I haven't handled them, but my understanding is they are being run through the same manufacturing facility as the $3k+ 1911s, so I think it's reasonable to expect them to be done well. If I was starting a generic build from scratch right now, I'd probably go this route and pick one of their barrels if it had the specs I wanted. Or shop around for a great price on a Criterion barrel.

JSE Surplus sells private label versions of the Mega forged receivers, and they are just the same as the old Mega Gators with a different logo, as far as I can tell.

Someone else endorsed M&P. I have seen so much garbage with an S&W logo on it, across many different product lines and many years of production, that I wouldn't even think about them for something I could buy from anyone else.

[HCM]

Can you elaborate on the issues you saw with Aero's small parts/complete lowers.

Broken buffer pin, buffer which disintegrated, improperly assembled thumb safety detention and spring. Rough thumb safety.

[HCM]

From the little I’ve seen of Expo and the general confidence I have in PA overall, I expect that Expo could be a fantastic and the best option in the under $1k club. And from the limited pricing I’ve done, it may be closer to $500, especially when timing PA’s sales or using a MIL/LE discount.


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The Expo parts come from legit suppliers (Mega, Rosco, CMT etc) and the complete uppers I’ve seen have all been properly assembled.