As posted by a RRA dealer in the EE:

Quoted: Watch out you do not end up with a crap DPMS parts kit as well .

So are DPMS parts bad?  Seriously?  And please explain exactly how RRA parts are better than the other mfrs.  Again, seriously.

I want to start building my own rifles.  I have my credit card in my hand and certainly do not want to buy bad stuff.  But if the parts all meet  Mil-spec guidelines, then why spend extra money for one particular name over another?

Thanks in advance,
Eric

RRA LPK's are the best because it was stated by a RRA dealer.  If you ask a Bushmaster dealer who makes the best parts, what do you think they're going to tell you?

LPK's are components that are contracted out.  RRA does'nt "make" LPK's.  They (like most) buy them from another company that manufactures only LPK's.  

Reciever forgings are the same way.  So are bbls.  All the components are built to said company's specifications.

I used RRA lower parts in my build.  I like what I see from them, particularly the roll pins.  They are a different style than the standard split roll pins.  They seem easier to work with than regular pins.  I wouldn't have had a problem using DPMS either.  It just happens that I wanted to save a little shipping by getting the LPK at the same time I picked up the upper.  RRA is what they had.  I would have felt comfortable using any of the known lower parts kits i.e. RRA, Stag, DPMS.  No-name generic stuff, on the other hand...I'll pass.

I've used just about every LPK out there and RRA is one of my favorites.  However, I've built up a few lowers with DPMS kits and all of them were perfectly fine.  One lower with a DPMS kit in it has over 6000 rounds through it without a hitch and still going strong.  Go ahead and get the RRA kit and support the site dealer.

i would choose rra over dpms






but bushmaster over rra

Yeah, I pretty much figured that he was full-o-shit.  Just another salesman.

Thanks guys.

Eric

Heres a good price on a DPMS set.
www.del-ton.com/

I use DPMS exclusively.

I had a few others. Not bad, but nothing special. My main beef is plastic trigger guards and Hex grip screws.

They arent' mil spec. DPMS uses a slotted screw and metal trigger guard.

I guess it's all preference. Msot LPK's are darn near identical

Used both no problems.
I like the contour of the DPMS hammer for smoother operation on non-shrouded firing pin bolt carriers.

I have used RRA LKP in my last several builds. Never had any trouble with any of the lower parts kits.

Are you refering to Pete of Legal Transfers?  I bought a lower from him. No more purchases from that guy.  He sure can bad mouth other dealers and REAL gunsmiths.

Well, the LPK I bought direct from Rock River a couple of years ago came with a broken mag release, right out of the box.  That pissed me off enough so that i won't spend any money on their stuff again.

On the other hand, the DPMS pieces that came on the assembled lower assy I picked up at a gun show have ugly tool marks on the push pin heads, and the bolt hold open was so out of spec that it had to be replaced immediately, because the finger pad gouged  the upper. So I wouldn't buy one of their kits.  I do like the hammers though, and the triggers are also OK.

The only LPs I haven't had any complaints about are the Bushmaster, and the milsurp Colt stuff I can sometimes find at my gun show parts guy's table.

Just don't use OLY LPK's....yuck!

I've had very good luck with RRA LPKs, though a few of them have had minor issues.

I've had a couple of bolt catches and selectors with burrs on them, and a front takedown pin that wasn't machined properly. I've also had a couple of kits missing an occasional spring or detent.

All in all, no biggie

Quoted: I use DPMS exclusively. I had a few others. Not bad, but nothing special. My main beef is plastic trigger guards and Hex grip screws. They arent' mil spec. DPMS uses a slotted screw and metal trigger guard. I guess it's all preference. Msot LPK's are darn near identical

So does CMT/Stag Arms.

+1 for Stag LPK's. I would choose there's over any one else

Quoted: +1 for Stag LPK's. I would choose there's over any one else

Ive been reading a lot of good things about the STAG LPK's...

For my next build, I'll give one a try

I used a DPMS parts kit for my Lauer lower build and only ran into one problem.  The front hinge pin was too big.  It would go about 1/4 way in and then stick, like it was out of round or got wider.  I was able to get another pin from my gunsmith buddy, so it wasn't a huge problem, but it made me wonder how that happened.  I also used an RRA NM trigger/hammer kit in it, so I can't comment on the DPMS trigger/hammer.  

Quoted: Just don't use OLY LPK's....yuck!

Why is that?  


Blanket statements with no additional information are useless. I'm curious as to what first hand problems you have had.

I haven't had a problem with the 3 RRA LPKs that I've bought. They all came from RB Precision at gunshows.

I was missing a trigger guard and TG rollpin in one, but Robert told me that he must have had a brainfart while putting the kits together while watching TV the night before

He had the rollpin and trigger guard to me in 2 or 3 days and all was well.

The M&A LPK that came with my kit left a little to be desired. The safety was (and still is after 2,500-3,000rds) notchy and the std trigger group I had in there was showing a decent amount of wear on the contact surfaces for the round count (1,500-1,800rds) I had on them before replacement.

I'm gonna stick with RRA, but I might go with a Stag/CMT LPK in the future because I've heard good things about them. I've also heard that Colt has a Semi-auto small-pin LPK that might be worth trying.



WIZZO

Quoted: I've also heard that Colt has a Semi-auto small-pin LPK that might be worth trying. WIZZO

Indeed they do-several of my builds use Colt .155" LPKs. They can be extremely pricey though-which is the primary downside.

It's tough to see in these pics, but notice that the takedown pins, selector, A2 buttstocks, and bolt catch are gray instead of black? Those are Colt LPKs:

Quoted: As posted by a RRA dealer in the EE: Quoted: Watch out you do not end up with a crap DPMS parts kit as well . So are DPMS parts bad?  Seriously?  And please explain exactly how RRA parts are better than the other mfrs.  Again, seriously. I want to start building my own rifles.  I have my credit card in my hand and certainly do not want to buy bad stuff.  But if the parts all meet  Mil-spec guidelines, then why spend extra money for one particular name over another? Thanks in advance, Eric

I've put together 4 lowers with the RRA LPK. Everything worked fine.

I didn't have any experience with the DPMS LPK until Tuesday night a friend called and told me he was trying to put together some lowers and was having a tough time installing the bolt catch roll pins. He said the pins were mushrooming. I told him to bring the stuff over and I'd give him a hand. Now my friend is just learing how to assemble AR's but, I think it's fair to say that some times he gets a little heavy handed.

On the first lower the pin was mushroomed about 0.05". It wouldn't go all the way in so I knocked it out and grabbed one of my spare RRA pins. (Yes, I keep spare pins!) I showed my buddy my tape trick for holding the pin and a trick for keeping the bolt catch aligned when I install the pin. It went in clean and straight, no problems.

Then he pulls out two more lowers and asks me to install the bolt catch and trigger guard on them. Well, the first thing I noticed was that the roll pins had very little chamfer on the end, this makes it more difficult to start them squarely. Then when I started hammering on them, they mushroomed too. Now I had the lowers clamped securely on my heavy bench, I used a good solid punch, and hit them squarely. They should have gone in cleanly, but it was impossible to not mushroom the pins. I asked him where he got them, and he told me they were part of the DPMS LPK he got from Brownell's.

I don't have as much experience with the various suppliers as some others here, but for my money - I'll go with RRA because I now know there is a difference. I will NOT use DPMS, again, because I know there is a difference.

JMO

Quoted: Quoted: I've also heard that Colt has a Semi-auto small-pin LPK that might be worth trying. WIZZO Indeed they do-several of my builds use Colt .155" LPKs. They can be extremely pricey though-which is the primary downside. It's tough to see in these pics, but notice that the takedown pins, selector, A2 buttstocks, and bolt catch are gray instead of black? Those are Colt LPKs: home.comcast.net/~cjan99999/M4_Click_Clack.JPG home.comcast.net/~cjan99999/Trunk_AR1.JPG

Any coincidence that CMT/Stag Arms' takedown pins, selector and bolt catch are gray instead of black?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I've also heard that Colt has a Semi-auto small-pin LPK that might be worth trying. WIZZO Indeed they do-several of my builds use Colt .155" LPKs. They can be extremely pricey though-which is the primary downside. It's tough to see in these pics, but notice that the takedown pins, selector, A2 buttstocks, and bolt catch are gray instead of black? Those are Colt LPKs: home.comcast.net/~cjan99999/M4_Click_Clack.JPG home.comcast.net/~cjan99999/Trunk_AR1.JPG Any coincidence that CMT/Stag Arms' takedown pins, selector and bolt catch are gray instead of black?

Excellent question Raptor.

The Colt LPKs I have and use are usually new (old stock) parts taken from older rifles that have been parted out. I haven't gotten my hands on a recent Colt LPK lately, aside from their .170" Sporter/Match Target LPKs.

CMT does indeed make many parts for Colt, but I don't know who Colt has been using recently for their LPKs. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they were CMT, but I've been out of the loop for a few years now so I can't give you a definitive answer.