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Old December 12, 2012, 06:07 AM   #1
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
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DPMS lower?

Newby with ARs ------

Have a line on a new DPMS AR15 lower with a tuned 3.5lb trigger and 6 position butt stock. No paper work w/cash $300.

It was a build project being turned into CHRISTmas money.

Is this a good price?

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Old December 12, 2012, 08:03 AM   #2
globemaster3
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I've seen assembled lowers going in the $230-250 range, but that includes a stock fire control group (trigger, hammer, springs and pins). Depending on what fire control group it has, it could be worth it. Rock River Arms 2-Stage run $120 by themselves. Gieselle and Timney are North of that.

I looked at Gunbroker and the cheapest one with an A2 stock was $259 with a seller putting a mess of them in at $309 (not a price point I would buy at with stock fire controls.)
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Old December 12, 2012, 10:39 AM   #3
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
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Thanks Globmaster,

I may be an Ol'Coot, but I am at the bottom of the AR15 curve!

Seemed with no paper trail, and a tuned trigger, this could be worth the price.

No paper trail, no sales tax, no dealer FFL fees.

DPMS lists these in the mid 300s plus the shipping and the FFL fees of course and from some dealers, sales tax.

For sure, I was not aware that a full and operable lower could be had for the $260 figure.

Then, to pick your brain a bit more, where can good uppers with sights and barrel be bought and at what cost?

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Old December 12, 2012, 10:45 AM   #4
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My question would be who tuned the trigger and what exactly did they do to it. That tuned trigger may be the reason they are selling it. I would stay away from any home trigger job.
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Old December 12, 2012, 02:24 PM   #5
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Quote:
I've seen assembled lowers going in the $230-250 range, but that includes a stock fire control group (trigger, hammer, springs and pins). Depending on what fire control group it has, it could be worth it. Rock River Arms 2-Stage run $120 by themselves. Gieselle and Timney are North of that.

I looked at Gunbroker and the cheapest one with an A2 stock was $259 with a seller putting a mess of them in at $309 (not a price point I would buy at with stock fire controls.)
Supply on lowers is low right now and demand is high. So what you saw on Gunbroker is pretty typical of what assembled lowers are going for right now, at least from what I've been seeing. I took a dozen lowers to the local gun show this past weekend with PSA MOE lower parts kits installed, and sold all of them the first day for $250 each not including a buffer tube and buttstock assembly. So at least around here right now, assembled lowers are running $250-300 if you can actually find them available.
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Old December 12, 2012, 03:13 PM   #6
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Not a great price but not a bad price either. It would average out in the end given no sales tax, shipping, etc. Better complete lowers out there for a little more money but that decision is up to you.
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Old December 12, 2012, 05:12 PM   #7
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
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I'm watching the info folks and thanks.

Maybe I'll learn something here.

If I had the bucks, I'd just go buy a RUGER version and be done with it.

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Old December 12, 2012, 05:31 PM   #8
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I'd pass on it unless you're sure good parts went into it. Since the builder settled on a DPMS stripped lower, I wouldn't be surprised if he used a commercial diameter receiver extension and maybe a powder weight buffer instead of three solid weights. Who knows about the trigger? Honestly I don't trust someone else's choice on parts. I want to choose them myself.

Lately there have been shortages due to the election and holidays but you could get a stripped lower with a rollmark you could be proud of, say S&W or ArmaLite or something else that speaks to you, for $120 or so and a milspec lower build kit from PSA for $80 (during their 12 Days of Christmas Sale) and have a great complete lower for around $200. You may or may not like the milspec trigger (they're not all equal but a decent one is fine with me).

Last edited by Quentin2; December 12, 2012 at 05:37 PM.
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Old December 13, 2012, 12:32 AM   #9
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Scsov, perhaps that's the case where YOU are, but that's certainly not the case everywhere.

And even if it was, time is on his side since he's certainly in no rush and we saw what happened after a few months post 2008 election.
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Old December 13, 2012, 07:42 PM   #10
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
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OK folks, Someone got there before I did, so the information supplied is just adding to my knowledge on this new subject.

A responder or two, mentioned building an AR, but how can I know who to run with and who to avoid. This is a huge market place for the new kid on the block.

What are the good names?

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Old December 13, 2012, 11:07 PM   #11
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Coot, to help formulate an answer, it would be good to know your price point and what your intended purpose is.

The price points run the gamut from ~$600 ish to north of $2500 depending on maker and options.

Last edited by globemaster3; December 14, 2012 at 08:34 AM.
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Old December 13, 2012, 11:38 PM   #12
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Scsov, perhaps that's the case where YOU are, but that's certainly not the case everywhere.
Unfortunately it is the case where the OP lives since I'm just over an hour for where he has listed as his place of residence, and I'd imagine there are far fewer places where parts are abundant than scarce right now. Several of my distributors are telling me that it'll be after the first of the year before they can fill any new orders, and some have even stopped selling to dealers telling me they can make more money selling direct to customers right now. So the market is getting slimmer without a doubt, same as it did in 2008 following the election.
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Old December 14, 2012, 12:49 PM   #13
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Good point Globemaster,

I am an Ol'Coot, and have not bought into the black rifle trends, and have just been playing with the idea of moving a bit in that direction if I can do so at a reasonable price level. Not looking at any competive or match shooting, but would want a rifle that is #1 relyable and #2 shoots reasonable groups.

Something able to deal with called in vermin like wolves and smaller.

If I had the bucks, being a RUGER guy for many years, I'd just go and buy one of their lower end AR styles.

Would even go for a 581 series Mini 14s considering they can be made to shoot reasonably if they don't from the box.

scsov509 ----- With you living about an hour out from me, and apparently doing some builds, makes me wonder if your the one helping some shirt tail relation with their builds. You don't happen to be close to the Clearwater do you?

Thanks guys, still building the mental files.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

Last edited by Crusty Deary Ol'Coot; December 14, 2012 at 10:12 PM.
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Old December 14, 2012, 01:51 PM   #14
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Coot, I'm also in Idaho but well south of you in Boise. Next time you get to Moscow you might want to handle a few ARs, even at Walmart. I lean toward the better brands myself but you can get a decent AR for under $800. Few are absolute junk but there are many levels of quality. You might be able to find a S&W M&P-15 Sport in town for $700. It's a great low cost AR and has a well known name. If you have the time to wait, PSA sells excellent ARs for the money but you'd have to have it shipped to your FFL. Many of us avoid that by buying the lower locally as you originally planned then have the upper and any other parts shipped to your front door.
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Old December 14, 2012, 07:17 PM   #15
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I'm actually on the Washington side of you closer to Colfax. We are doing a lot of AR builds right now though, and have definitely seen a sharp increase in demand the past several months. I'll PM you our information if you want to contact us with further questions and we'd be happy to help however we can.
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Old December 14, 2012, 08:59 PM   #16
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You can always start from scratch:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=F1AR57SL

-7-
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Old December 14, 2012, 10:15 PM   #17
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
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scsov509, The lower I tried for was in Colfax.

like I said, still learning.

Seems strange at my age, but have avoided the "black rifles" as they were a far cry from RUGER#1s and good bolt guns as per style etc.

CDOC
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Old December 14, 2012, 11:59 PM   #18
scsov509
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Originally Posted by Crusty Deary Ol'Coot View Post
scsov509, The lower I tried for was in Colfax.
It was a private sale from a Washington resident? It's a good thing you didn't purchase it then: Private sales to residents of another State are illegal.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unli...ensed-transfer
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Old December 15, 2012, 01:23 AM   #19
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Seems strange at my age, but have avoided the "black rifles" as they were a far cry from RUGER#1s and good bolt guns as per style etc.

CDOC
I'm getting pretty old too at 65. But I carried an M16 in Vietnam (that worked) so I guess it's natural for me to like the AR-15. Took me a long time to buy one though, 40 years! I bought Marlins and handguns after I got out of the Army.
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