Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Polymer lower

I know next to nothing about AR's.... my question is....can a "quality" rifle be built on a polymer lower? It would be just a standard 5.56 SHTF gun.... nothing fancy, iron sights..... 16" barrel.... dependability would be the main objective with weight second. Thx.

There's zero reason to use a polymer lower.

Poverty Pony stripped lowers are cheap.

For that matter, no real reason to “build” a SHTF type gun. Just wait for a PSA daily deal and buy one.

The KE Arms poly lower is very nice. Light weight, and a bit cheaper to build than a traditional lower. Makes a nice and lightweight utility rifle.

That being said, I don't know if I would pick one as a SHTF Zombie Apocalypse Blue Helmet Invasion gun. Too unproven to rely on for when the aliens land.

Weight.





Would draw the line above a polymer lower for SHTF.
Probably be fine as a bedroom gun.
Don't like to drop my guns, can only remember doing it once.
But it would be nice to know the thing won't break.
Or snap off on a cold day due to bumping on something.

😁

Built 3 of those, only got 1 left all in ~550.00

Lower 39.00
PSA 1:7 SS heavy barrel 556 w/BCG and charging handle 319.00 on sale
Lower build kit 49.00
Vortex scope and mount 129.00 on sale PSA

It's not worth the weight savings to me. An aluminum lower isn't exactly heavy, and I can save more on the option alone with the 3x micro prism that I've got on my current grab and go backup rifle compared to any duty grade LPVO.

Even with a sling and a light, it's not heavy.

Next thing you know some lunatic will suggest making pistols out of polymer.

Not sure how you could go much cheaper than this and it's not polymer:

https://www.kygunco.com/product/and...-16-bcm-mlok-handguard-lancer-l5awm-mag/

Some of y’all’s recommendations for SHTF would be better suited for a fart on a windy day.

And the idea that a single AR in any configuration is going to save your dumb azz when SHTF is falicy.

That's why you should have many, in different configuration.

I have a few 80% polymer lowers that still haven't been milled. Never know the way this country is going

My recommendation is cardio. 😉

Missed my point. If and when SHTF no matter how many AR’s you have you lose. Numbers and odds are definitely against you. A valiant fight may be put up but that’s all.

Kaiser builds a quality lower, I think they only sell matched sets.

Definitely not all polys equal.


Someone gave me a poly lower from sportsman's and it broke at the pivot pin taking it apart.

Have built a couple 80 lowers from Tennessee arms and their takedown pin holes are really loose.
Fixed them with brass bushings, what a PITA, no good reason to mess with 80s in my opinion.

True. Can't argue with that. Better to go down fighting than licking someone's boots though

I have a couple of Tennesse Arms polymer lowers. They are light weight and help reduce the wight of an AR. But as I recall, they were produced to be cost effective when it looked like hillary clintoon was about to be elected president and AR lowers were going for some pretty high prices. Now that hillary is nothing more than a bad memory the lower costs of producing polymer lowers is pretty much a moot point.

I prefer Aero Precision lowers and have found those to be affordable and very well made. I'm thinking of making some .22 rifles out of the polymer lowers I have. And, I am considering building a lightweight ATV gun and a carry rifle for when I go hiking in the woods.

All in all, with the prices of lowers now, I see limited uses for a polymer lower.

kwg

In a SHTF scenario, I would prefer the peace of mind of an alloy receiver. If price isn't an issue, I'd buy an alloy receiver. If price is an issue, I'd wait long enough to save enough money to afford to buy an alloy receiver.

I put together a dozen or so ARs on Plum Crazy lowers back in 2010/11. AFAIK they are still working, but most went to friends who are not high volume demanding users. I kept one that has been in both M4 and M16A1 formats, have fired around 5K rounds through it, and haven't had any issues with it. That said, the AR that I keep in my vehicle is a S&W M&P.

My first two builds were polymer lowers.
Then I found Primary Arms, SOTA and Anderson Rifles.
I tried PSA a time or two and AeroPrecision once.

I got such good service with Primary Arms, they're about the only folks I'll buy from.
Still prefer Anderson lowers!

But that's just me and I have OFS! 😉👍

If you want a reliable "SHTF" AR, I would suggest buying one.

ARs are fun to build, however there are plenty of frankenguns that get built, especially first timers.

Reliability is #1, IMO.