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Purple Patrick

New Billet reciever Ascend Armory

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https://www.ascendarmory.com/products/ascend-armory-upper

 

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What do you guys think? I'm considering a set to finish up a build. Comes with great features at a good price. Bonus it comes with a lpk minus the parts people swap anyway.

 

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Go Seekins. Proven track record WITH ambi's for even money. This set actually looks like a Seekins copy IMO. Seekins lower below.

 

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I do have a coupon code for them I've been saving.....

 

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I have 3 of the 1st generation Midwest PX billet lowers -- I like the way they look, built up just fine, and have a different way doing the rear take down retention spring and that pesky bolt catch pin

 

It turned out that the joe bobs Spartan upper receiver is a perfect match and the Spartan lower looks to be the same as the PX lower except for a few Spartan roll marks

 

Haven't had any issues with parts not mating up and the geissele MK4 rail matches up nicely with the upper from joe bobs

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True. Do you or anyone else have a preferred billet reciever?

 

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i prefer noveske, smos, mega arms, and CMT all over the one you posted, but mostly because they are "simpler" looking.  the real busy upper/lower combos do nothing for me.  plus I'm not a fan of the QD slot on the receiver.  I think its better at the endplate.  

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Personally, I don't see the point of the billet parts. I mean they are cool looking and everything but as a rule I don't find that he features they offer are actually all that useful.

 

I have nothing against them, if you like it then you do so have one, but as a rule I have a very hard time paying the premium over the standard ones

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I'm thinking the seekins set with a BA barrel, geissele mk8, geissele trigger and maybe the BAD sabertooth stock. Should look amazing and shoot just as well

 

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I have a sabertooth stock new in package that I could sell to you with a bit of discount from new price.

 

 

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Personally, I don't see the point of the billet parts. I mean they are cool looking and everything but as a rule I don't find that he features they offer are actually all that useful.

 

I have nothing against them, if you like it then you do so have one, but as a rule I have a very hard time paying the premium over the standard ones

i find the biggest advantage of billet is for manufacturers.   they dont have to rely on the few companies that do forgings.   

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I don't really understand the point of the billet receivers (other than marketing, obviously).  Forged and milled aircraft aluminum isn't exactly failing to get the job done with regard to containing that massive, ultra-powerful .223 round (lol).

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Before you thumb your nose at the 5.56 and perceived strength to contain the mighty 308, your cast M1A receiver seems to hold up to the task. Also consider that AR pattern rifles come in many other calibers than 5.56. For a long period of time the only lowers you could get with some features were billet. Im not going to get into strength of each type, its a deep rabbit hole as to what really makes forged, whats stronger etc etc. But with that being said, wouldn't you prefer your M1A receiver was forged instead of cast? But then again a norinco was forged and I think Id rather have a cast springfield over a forged norinco. But id take a LRB over both of those. Id rather have a billet from one manufacturer over a forging from another. Depends on who is doing the forging, casting or machining.

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But with that being said, wouldn't you prefer your M1A receiver was forged instead of cast?

 

At some point in the future, I'm more than likely going to sell my Springfield M1A in lieu of building one from USGI parts on a forged and milled LRB receiver, for that very reason.  The Springfield is a fun rifle, and it's good for getting a feel for the M14, but the tolerances are rather sloppy (although not as sloppy as a Norinco), and everything except the bolt and barrel is cast.  ::barf::

 

For me, it's not so much an issue of materials (although that does matter to a degree with regard to Mr. Garand's receiver design) as it is about putting together a firearm that is legitimate with respect to military specifications.  Obviously an M14 receiver is a big no-no, but one can put together an M14 from USGI parts and a great receiver made to military specs, such as LRB.  That's as close as one can get without dropping many thousands of dollars on a "real" M14.

 

With regard to a billet AR15, I'm still left thinking...why?  Unlike the M14 and the M1, where the heel of the receiver is utilized as a means to stop the rearward travel of the bolt during recoil, the receivers on an AR15 don't really take any impact.  All the gas is confined to the barrel, chamber, bolt carrier group, and gas tube, and bolt carrier group just slides around in there without hitting anything.  My theory remains that the billet receivers are designed to extract extra revenue from those unfortunate folks who haven't really thought this through.

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Its not about strength. Its about the ability to make it your way, not the way any of the forges that kick out the majority of receivers want you to make it. Ambi lowers have caught on but not to long ago KAC was just about the only one that had a forged ambi lower and they do not sell striped receivers. So if you wanted ambi for your build, billet was it. I don't see any significant strength difference between the two so its about features and finish machining for me. But think about if your after a monolithic. Again, you will be in billet land if you want that feature.

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My theory remains that the billet receivers are designed to extract extra revenue from those unfortunate folks who haven't really thought this through.

 

What do you have against capitalism?

 

Anyway, it isn't that simple.   Shane knows the answer though, forgings are CHEAP in mass and EXPENSIVE in small quantities. By comparison, billets are CHEAP in small quantities and EXPENSIVE in mass production.    

 

If you are a small company that want's to produce their own AR receivers slightly different then the mil-spec ones in some fashion it is prohibitively expensive to have them forged. You don't have the facilities, molds, etc, and you have to pay a massive upfront investment that might never pay off. Sure, after the initial investment, if you sell a million of them the price per unit will be lower then what you can machine from billet, but unless you are one of the 3-4 major forges you will probably never see that day and you need to charge billet prices anyway to stay alive.

 

On the other hand any one purchase billet chunks of aluminum and 7 axis machines are  "affordable" which means you can get your product out there a lot quicker with a lot lower initial investment even if it costs more per unit.

 

To a manufacturer the math is easy, to a consumer .. I guess it depends if you really want the special features offered by the different receivers. I never met a billet lower that offered features that I thought were must haves, and I currently use a Seekins lower for my race gun. I wish the magwell was flared more, or that the bolt release was more of a bolt lock etc. Nice kit, but I'm not sure that it has features one must have. Same with uppers, I've had 2 billet uppers and I've returned both due to manufacturing issues (and those were well recommended ones) so I used forged JP ones now.   Your millage may very.

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The billet receivers are just "flashy" ways to spend more money. I have nothing against them or the companies that make them. I'd rather use a plain jane forged lower and save the money for something else. It is nice though to have "artistic" options. I agree Vlad, if people want to buy them then people will make money. I have no idea how people will keep these companies up and running over the next 4 years though.

 

When I bought my .308 spikes I went out of my way to buy their forged receivers that they don't even make any more.

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 I have no idea how people will keep these companies up and running over the next 4 years though.

 

 

Oh there is going a to a tremendous pricing fight, it is going on already.  As a whole the consumer will benefit, as only the best will survive and prices will be driven down across the board.   Im guessing sometime between summer 2017 to its holiday season you will see so many sales that for $500-$700 you will be able to build rifles that cost $1000-12000 now.

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The billet receivers are just "flashy" ways to spend more money. I have nothing against them or the companies that make them. I'd rather use a plain jane forged lower and save the money for something else. It is nice though to have "artistic" options. I agree Vlad, if people want to buy them then people will make money. I have no idea how people will keep these companies up and running over the next 4 years though.

 

When I bought my .308 spikes I went out of my way to buy their forged receivers that they don't even make any more.

 

To each his own. But to say its only a flashy way to spend money is a little short sighted. My precision AR has an integral 20moa rail. I do not know of any forged receiver that has that feature.

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To each his own. But to say its only a flashy way to spend money is a little short sighted. My precision AR has an integral 20moa rail. I do not know of any forged receiver that has that feature.

I would rather just buy a cantilever mount with the MOA built in.

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