Alright, all of you out there that are well versed in the AR15 lifestyle will probably find this stupid, but hey, I'm just getting into this.  Here's the question.  If I have a lower that is designed for 5.56, can I just switch out to different caliber uppers or will I need a specific lower to be able to handle say, .50 Beowulf?

Thanks in advance and please be kind to the newbie.  

Generally speaking you can mix & match.  Depending on what you are doing you may need to swap a few parts like the buffer and maybe add a mag well block.  The lower receiver itself & the fire control group should all be compatible.

--Snowbound

The majority of calibers out there use a standard 5.56 lower. It's when you get into the longer calibers (such as .308) that you need a dedicated lower due to the magwell being too short.

The .50 Beowulf uses a standard lower.

i'm not in favor of telling a guy to "not post" until he's read through a great deal of the material on this site - i'd likely never post if that were the case.  i can say, however, that most of the stuff that is asked is covered somewhere somehow.  i'd encourage you to use the "search" feature often - it is valuable.  

most of the uppers i'm aware of fit the lower with no issue.  they will say "fits ar 15 lower" or "fits ar 10 lower" etc...  after you do some shopping around you'll find the ar platform is literally exploding.  a few years back there wasn't a great deal of interest outside a select few to rechamber the ar rifles into other calibers.  we now have different options all over the place.

i have a 6.5 grendel, 50 beowulf, .223, 5.56, and a .204 on the way.  all of these will pin onto the lowers i have.  .243, .308, 300RSAUM, and many others can be had as well.  start checking out the forums and links and you'll pick up a ton of info.  

i've lurked around a lot of sites, and opted to pay dues and become a team member here based soley on the value i placed on this site.  there are many out there, but i've learned a lot and have enjoyed myself here especially.  

i guess i can say welcome aboard and i'm sorry for the whole "texas" thing...  i had a girlfriend from texas once - it ended poorly for me...



septic tank

the markings are just that, markings

Quoted: i'm not in favor of telling a guy to "not post" until he's read through a great deal of the material on this site... i guess i can say welcome aboard and i'm sorry for the whole "texas" thing...  i had a girlfriend from texas once - it ended poorly for me... hr

Don't worry, I've surfed around enough forums in general to know to expect someone tell me to search, and normally I would, but this question popped into my head while at work and my slave driver boss has this thing about me surfing while he's paying me.

As for the Texas thing, it's only because it pays the bills and it's a d*mn sight better than OK (where I'm originally from).  Just miss the free shooting ranges in OK.

Quoted: img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/eklikewhoa/lowers/lowers2.jpg the markings are just that, markings

hey eklikwhoa,

what's that big thing setting in the rear lower magazine???  

man that stuff makes me drool...  man i've got this AR disease bad...

septic tank

If you are getting a Beowulf. I would recomend not using a 6 position stock, a little to much recoil.