my predictions

[bcarver]

I believe a lot of polymer lowers are being bought and sold. I believe they will become more accepted after they are seen in action at 3 gun shoots.

[Revoliver]

Originally Posted by bcarver

Ibelieve a lot of polymer lowers are being bought and sold. I believe they will become more accepted after they are seen in action at 3 gun shoots.

I believe you are fooling yourself. I believe polymers are being bought and sold due to desperation, unlike normally when it was almost entirely out of either curiosity or cluelessness. I believe no one that is intelligent enough to build and operate an AR15 would ever use them in competitions outside of 'why not, let's see how quickly we can break this POS treating it like a real combat weapon'.

I see this craze as the only reason why polymers still exist outside of jokes and as a way to tell who has a clue and who doesn't when it comes to quality and reliability in the AR platform.

[allaroundhunter]

I shoot 3-gun regularly and I don't quite agree with you. The polymer lowers are being bought in desperation right now. Very few of them will be used in 3 gun competition, and for good reason. They do not have the durability of a forged lower, and due to their weight (or lack thereof) leave a rifle very unbalanced. Many 3-gunners use uppers with 18"-medium contour barrels, with handguards up to 16" in many cases. This means that some additional weight in the rear is necessary to keep the rifle swinging well.

[madcratebuilder]

Plastic lowers are great for pistol builds and .22lr builds.

[Dr Big Bird PhD]

+1 Mad crate

[Skans]

While I wouldn't want to build an AR based around a plastic lower, I really don't think there is any validity concerning failures and breakage. I have a Carbon 15 pistol, and shoot the heck out of it - the plastic receivers don't show any sighs of fatigue or failure.

These things fire 5.56 in semi-auto. Contrary to the anti-gun media, the AR is neither a high-power nor rapid fire weapon. Maybe, just maybe if someone used one with an RDIAS doing betamag dumps, the plastic receiver might eventually fail due to high heat and stress.

The real reason why most people object to plastic receivers is because they have no class - not nearly as pretty as a 7075 Billet Receiver set.

[carbine30]

Arent some plastics stronger than steel?

[thatgrittyguy]

Not molded plastic. You are thinking of UHMWPE stuff.

typed slowly on my cell...

[Skans]

I am not aware of any plastics that are as hard, tough, and strong as good quality tool steel. You don't see anyone making bolts, firing pins, and barrels out of the stuff. That's really what an AR is - a steel barrel, steel bolt and steel bolt carrier assembly. The rest is just for decoration.

[Adamantium]

Anything that works and makes gun ownership cheaper will become more accepted with time. Right now odds are good those poly lowers are going to gather dust while their value increases.

[Cavitation]

For the average joe a poly lower is fine. I have seen all kinds of pictures of these so called "failures". Not one picture was backed up by what happened. I suspect some stupid torture test or plain abuse caused most or all of them. I do not believe one single failure happened from normal operation of firing the weapon. With all that said...Is an aluminum lower better? Yes of course. would I use a poly in combat or competition? No. I have owned one and it was a fine lower with a very good trigger. Great for hunting and plinking. I would not go out and butt stroke crap or drop it in below freezing temps.

I have been watching some 3 gun on TV. It is pretty new to me. I do not see what all the hoopla is about 3 gun being hard on weapons. They pound out a few mags, dump them in a barrel and move to the next stage. Now I have not taken a "carbine course" but they sound harder on weapons than 3 gun. Hell I can dump 500 rounds in my back yard in a day easy.

AL

[carbine30]

Edit..

[Adamantium]

For the average joe a poly lower is fine.

This has to be the most underrated put down on the internet. Please don't think I'm singling you out because I'm not. But I see it everywhere, the idea that if all you do is shoot bullets out of a gun, then that is probably good enough but yet some how not recommended either.

When it comes to 3-gun, you will see a variety of equipment and plenty of it is not gun forum approved. Honestly 3-gun is harder on optics than it is on guns IMHO. Almost all 3-gunners shoot at the local level, do it recreationally and don't have the budgets to run the most highly recommend setups. I mean I use a pre-ranch Mini, a Winchester 1300 and my $1000+ 1911 because I am serious about USPSA but 3-gun is a side thing for weekends where I'd have nothing else to shoot. I'm sure I will eventually see poly lowers at competitions. I already see DPMS and Bushmasters right along with Scars and Noveskes.

[ronl]

I just do not understand all the negative about the polymer lowers. The lower of an AR really does not undergo that much stress. I bought one last year and the lower has proven durable and has handled many rapid fire sessions without a hiccup or any sign of letting go. Would I use it to defend myself?, absolutely without hesitation. The lower is on my HD rifle now. I think the stories about these units self destructing is overblown. How many people have Glocks? The technology has been around for quite a while now and the polymers used have gotten much better. If mine ever gives up the ghost I'll be sure to post the event, but from what I've seen that may take some time, so don't hold your breath. Anyway, the one I have has a lifetime warranty, so I hope they stay in business for a long time.

[5.56RifleGuy]

" I already see DPMS and Bushmasters right along with Scars and Noveskes."

If you are seeing SCARs, you are already seeing a weapon with a polymer lower used in 3 gun.

[Adamantium]

Learn something new everyday and I've even shots Scars on a couple occasions.

[Tucker 1371]

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it

I'd be willing to buy just a lower and run it on an AR for a few hundred rounds, if I had an AR.

[allaroundhunter]

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it

I'd be willing to buy just a lower and run it on an AR for a few hundred rounds, if I had an AR.

I have, which is why I commented. It made the rifle too front-heavy, especially for 3-gun. The polymer rear just doesn't balance out the weight of the gun very well.

[Cavitation]

Allaroundhunter is right they will make a typical AR barrel heavy. Maybe a pencil barrel with small gas block and light forend would be better. The bushmaster Carbon15 balances well but feel very cheesy to me. I have had a New Frontier Poly on a Stag 6.8 upper that felt unbalanced. Before the gun locusts you could get a complete NF lower for 99 bucks. The M4 stock assembly is worth more than that right now.

[Tucker 1371]

I have, which is why I commented. It made the rifle too front-heavy, especially for 3-gun. The polymer rear just doesn't balance out the weight of the gun very well.

Well there you have it, figured the front heaviness would help reduce muzzle climb, had an ACR which was quite front heavy compared to an AR and it had significantly less muzzle climb; but then again the whole rifle was quite a bit heavier than an AR.