OK, first off - a BIG thanks to all of you here who have provided so much information and made this build damn easy. I haven't asked many questions at all, because any lurker can easily find all the information they would ever need. This post should aid any newbie with questions that are more testimonial oriented when it comes to pre-buying decision making...


When I was considering to buy a lower, I was in the budget for $115 or less. This means Bushy and others were out of the equation. I kept hearing of the quality of MEGA lowers time and time again on this forum, and I had made the decision to buy one of these sight unseen. About a week before buying, I went to a gunshow where a dealer had a few. I was SHOCKED. This show (in Florida) was jam packed with AR's. Every dealer seemed to have a dozen or so. When I saw the quality of the Mega lower, nothing else compared at all. I compared it next to a RRA lower, and I felt the MEGA was better as the machining was just sharper. The threads for the buffer tube were cut MUCH better on the MEGA - perfect actually. Maybe it was just that RRA sample, as I know many people who swear by other lowers on this forum. Everything on the MEGA is perfect, I cannot see any flaws and I have a good eye for detail. The best part about the MEGA was its finish. It is dark, thick and very evenly applied. I compared this to Bushmasters, Colts, RRA's, and others at the show (and those had CLP on them) and the dry new MEGA's finish was far better. Seems to me that MEGA is a small shop. I bought from Carrico's ARmory in Washington. Nice guy. I never caught his name, but he was very good on the phone and had plenty of patience for me and all my questions. It also seems to be that they are one hell of a busy bunch of guys over there. You might have a hard time getting them on the phone, and almost impossible time with E-Mail, but they are there and are probably working long hours putting out for the high demand for their lowers.


"Gator Grip"


In summary, if money was no object - I would still buy the MEGA lower. It is just better than the high dollar big-name lowers in my opinion of course. Now, add money as a factor, and these lowers are a no-brainer. $89 shipped is unbeatable period.


The lowers are marked "Multi" for caliber, not 223/556 or anything else. This is nice as you will not have a 556 marked lower if you choose to buy a 6.8spc upper in the future.


Model 1 Sales

I decided to go with M1S sight unseen (except for pictures on this site). Their price was right, and their features were right also. I went with the 16" pre-ban (or NO-ban) CAR, Chrome Lined, 556 chamber, Flash hider, and collapsable M4 style stock. A2 upper. No bells and whistles.


The barrel is an HBAR. It is lighter than the Bushmasters though. Bushmaster barrels are a much heavier diameter under the handguards than the M1S barrel. Any expert on here can correct me if I am wrong. I was a little worried about getting an HBAR as I didn't want a grossly front-heavy short rifle. This has turned out to be just right for me. Slight front balance, but not extreme like some of the Bushy's I've handled. The barrel is marked "M1S" "H. C." and "1-9". I believe the HC stands for Hard Chromed, as this is what I ordered.  Using a light and looking down the chamber, you see a nice good looking smooth chrome chamber.  h
Evil Flash Hider
Evil Flash Hider 2


The upper is nice overall. Everything is fitted well. Seems ok. The bolt and bolt carrier are nice, and have a good, even, and thick finish on them. The upper reciever is well machined, clean and nice also. The upper is just slightly lighter than the MEGA's finish - but not so much where it is a problem or even noticible. A good treatment with CLP, then a wipe down and let dry, and it really becomes a nice evil black rifle.

http://ranger.zftp.com/KP/ar15dotcom/AR9.jpg

The part that worried me most was the LPK (lower parts kit). I opened up the bag and all the parts where there, all 30 of them. They were covered in grease. I cleaned them off, then CLP'd them. Parts seem OK to me. No plastic parts at all. They all look well made, clean cut, and decent with good finish on them. Looks aren't everything, only use will prove them good or not. All of them fit into the MEGA with no problems at all. Everything was in spec as far as I can tell - it all fit together nicely. Trigger pull is your typical heavy stock AR trigger...Pistol Grip screw was HEX head, so make sure you have a long enough allen.


The M4 stock that comes from M1S is sturdy, strong and well made. It is stamped with the M1S logo under the tube on the flat web near the butt. Buffer and spring look normal to me.  Handguards are CAR. They are put together well, and tight. No gaps or spaces or looseness. Heatshields inside.


The M4 stock that M1S provided has the castle nut. This is the one with the square cut outs on the side of the nut, not the older style that has round holes around the center of the nut. For my stock with the square side holes you will need THIS WRENCH


There is one thing to note, this M1S came with an A1 sight post, not a A2 sight post. The A1 is a round post, that has a 5 prong base. The A2 is a square profile that has a 4 prong base. They require different adjustment tools. Some people don't need tools, but if you have one - you know. I don't know if I had to specify that when ordering - I remember a thread a long time ago dealing with this, but I forgot to mention it when ordering. Doesn't matter for me, they are both fine. Some guys might mind, so that is just a heads-up. The rear sight is a standard A2. The front sight base seems cast to me, not forged - unless it is a rough forging..?? Again, not ideal, but not a big deal either. Remember, this is a $450 kit, not a $1000+ rifle.  


Front Sight Base


Assembly went smooth, and was easy. Upper fits lower tightly. No wiggle or play. Wasn't hard to close it  and put the pin in, but it is tight though. I didn't have any hard time squeezing the hell out of the upper and lower to get them to close tight enough for the pin to go through like others have reported.


Overall, I took a risk (like many others feel they do with their first kit) and I feel I have been well served. M1S was nice on the phone, and their shipping was super-fast. Now only time will tell if the function of this rifle will be good or not. I have yet to hit the range as I just assembled it last night. Sorry for the bad pictures, I didn't have close up mode set on my digital camera and some of them aren't as sharp as they should be. I will post again in the future with nice sharp close up pictures when I get the time. Next time I will take pictures of more specific areas and parts.

If I have function problems, I will be back reading, if I can't find answers - you'll see me posting. I am confident this will work out fine.

*******
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AH! before I forget. A few weeks ago, there was a thread with people who were measuring the thickness of the magazine well wall on a variety of lowers from different makers. Since I ordered 5 MEGA lowers, and I have a good set of calipers, I have taken measurements. Sorry, I forgot the name of the thread so I will just post them here. They are the following:

.072
.073
.074
.072
.073

http://ranger.zftp.com/KP/ar15dotcom/AR2.jpg

Note: All my 5 lowers are sequential serial numbers.  Hope this helps!!

Nice info.  I was planning to do the same thing next week(mega and model1 kit).  I'm looking forward to your completed pics and range report.hippie.gif

Nice report.  Thanks for the taking the time to write it up.

Nice guy. I never caught his name, but he was very good on the phone and had plenty of patience for me and all my questions.

His name is Clinton Carrico, and he is probably one of (if not the) the best I've dealt with.

Nice report DTOM. I have a Mega lower and will be building it soon, probably the same kit you have but I might get a stainless barrel, all depends.

Can't wait for the range report

Very nice report. I am planning the same build but with a RRA lower. Interesting that the carbine barrel from M1S is lighter than the bushy.

Maybe you can post a picture of the finished rifle?

Thanks!

Thanks for clearing up some of my doubt.  I'll be embarking on the same project within the month, but with a DPMS lower.  I'm excited to hear how it functions at the range-accuracy, reliability, etc.

Quoted: Very nice report. I am planning the same build but with a RRA lower. Interesting that the carbine barrel from M1S is lighter than the bushy. Maybe you can post a picture of the finished rifle? Thanks!

I will post pictures next week. It is lighter than Bushmasters HBAR from what I can tell. NOT lighter than Bushmasters superlight barrels.

tag

Thanks for the report, I am considering the same project, and it is very helpful to hear about the parts and supplier you used.

You're welcome.

I always wanted to find an all in one type place to get a good in-depth testimonial about this combo. Again, I haven't shot this rifle yet, I will report back in (hopefully) the near future with results. I know from reading this board that many countless people have had good luck with these.


I could care less if it is some generic M1S or if it says Colt or Bushmaster on it. All I care about is that it works. Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing snobby gun owners from people with legitimate reasons for purchashing high-dollar guns. In my experience, 9 out of 10 times, it is a snobby gun owner who thinks they know everything. I will always seek out what works to my satisfaction at the lowest possible price. Plus the build was fun, and educational.


In the end, all I have to count on is MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, period. Web forums can help immensely, especially in cases where 99% of the people on that forum like something. Keep in mind though, there will always be that pain in the ass person who will spread all kinds of hate and criticizm for a company who is know by 99% of everyone else as having top notch customer service. All because they were wronged. Maybe they were, maybe they aren't telling everyone the whole story. There is always 1-2 in the bunch, and they are what you call a vocal or loud minority.


Even things where the majority agree upon, I have found (sometimes) that my experience differs. So as such, forums and web boards are only useful as a guage, not as proof of what you will experience. Use your best judgement to try and cut through the BS. Try to analyse the way people rwrite and try to determine if what they say is sincere and from personal experience or if they are just parroting and bandwagoning myths and ideas that float around.


Good luck.

I'm getting ready to build the exact same kit. I found a local dealer that carries Mega lowers, they were out of stock so I'll be getting it next week. I like the looks and price of the Model 1 kits. It was suggested that I go with a Sherluk kit, but I may get the Model 1 since there seems to be a lot more info on here regarding it over the Sherluk.

Don't Tread On Me,
I have a M1S kit as well, put it on a DPMS lower, I noticed the heavy trigger pull as well. Check out the spring kit that Brownells has. It works VERY nicely. Not 1 miss fire or anything and it definately lightens up the trigger pull for ya! Here's a link talkin about them.

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=201818

Brownells website:
www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=7582&title=AR-15+REDUCED+POWER+SPRING+KIT

Got a MEGA combo (lower, upper and charging handle) from Iblis awhile back along with a Stinger lower.

Product and service were all Top Notch!

Iblis

Parts went together slick.



Danny

Quoted: Don't Tread On Me, I have a M1S kit as well, put it on a DPMS lower, I noticed the heavy trigger pull as well. Check out the spring kit that Brownells has. It works VERY nicely. Not 1 miss fire or anything and it definately lightens up the trigger pull for ya! Here's a link talkin about them. www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=201818 Brownells website: www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=7582&title=AR-15+REDUCED+POWER+SPRING+KIT

Thanks Rat, I might just do that spring kit. This pull must be 9lbs! I always love a cheap fix for things. I am not crazy or picky to demand a 1lb trigger, so 4-5lbs for $10 is just what I like.

Good to hear you have no misfires. The last thing I would want is to install a spring that doesn't smack that primer hard enough. For me, function comes first, before nice trigger pull. Priorities.


Thanks for the link.

RANGE REPORT.


Finally got to shoot this thing. OK-


60 Rounds of XM193 (saved 40 for defense - only had 100) and
100 Rounds of Wolf Polymer 55gr fmj.

Used two magazines. These are the 30 round, teflon coated Bushmasters which I believe are made by Labelle with green followers.


ZERO malfunctions, ZERO problems at range. Everything fed well, worked well, fired well and ejected well. Sights were almost dead on. No need to max out any windage or anything like that. Thank god, read some horror stories about this issue.



One issue. Back home, during cleaning, I noticed a loose gas key. Not really loose, but loose is loose, and that is unacceptable. Going to vise the carrier one of these days and bust out the torque wrench and take care of this. I blame the staking. The impacts were not made to apply pressure onto the allen screws to prevent them from turning and unscrewing. I hope I am right in thinking this is how its suppose to work? That the stakes work to keep it scewed tight, rather than keep them captive? The stake marks were only good enough to keep the screws captive had they lost all tension and became totally loose. This should be no biggie. I am going to read up on how to do this.  How much torque do I need, do the stakes need to apply pressure to the screws etc....


Before I shot the rifle, I checked it out, I oiled it up. I didn't check the gay key screws at all though. Didn't use an allen to double check or anything like that. So who knows how tight they were in the first place. I do know that the key was not loose before I shot it - so loosening did occur during the range.


I am pretty happy. Gun shoots great. No major issues. Not concerned about the key, easy fix. Of course, this isn't some sort of a mandate of reliablity, 160 rounds is not even break in level. But for starters, at least I didn't get any jams, failure to feed, fire or eject. No broken lower parts either. Nothing catastrophic - which I consider a good thing.


Only time will tell...


here is a picture of the rifle:



Oh yea, WOW what a difference between Wolf and XM193...jeesh! Makes you feel like you are shooting another caliber.

Great looking rifle. An easy fix for the carrier key is to just restake with a nail set.

nice!

mr c carrico is an awsome dealer; recommend him to everyone

Oh yea, WOW what a difference between Wolf and XM193...jeesh! Makes you feel like you are shooting another caliber.

Makes it feel like a real weapon!

I found this page for an AR15 trigger job.  Haven't tried it, but worth a read: www.geocities.com/molonlaberkba/triggerjob.html