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Posted: 9/8/2016 5:24:15 PM EDT
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hello all, I grew up shooting the AR, years ago I sold my last one and have been strictly an AK guy.. well just recently ( after shooting my son's AR) I have the urge to build one once again... so here is my dilemma
I have a stripped PSA Lower... I need a LPK and have been looking, but HOLY SHIT! there are so many options... I want the rifle to run great, but also want to stay in a sensible budget, what's the difference in a $49 LPK and a $89 LPK? I just want to build a shooter grade... nothing special, but also don't want to have issues with cheap parts... thanks in advance and sorry for my ignorance at the moment.. seems like AR's have changed a whole lot in the past 10 years... |
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Get a cheap LPK from PSA, then spend $99 on a Larue MBT and replace the stock trigger. (or pick up a kit that doesn't include the fcg if you can find it cheaper) I've done quite a few builds with PSA and Blackhawk LPK's. I did get a hammer with a bur on it one time that made it to wide to slide into the lower, that was from a $29 Blackhawk LPK. Didn't matter to me because I normally put in a nicer fcg anyways. |
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For a more cost effective solution, get an ALG LPK with one of their trigger options included...
http://algdefense.com/lower-parts.html First thing, ALG is to Geissele as Toyota is to Lexus, so I'm not concerned about quality there. Bill Geissele still does videos for ALG products, so his considerable rep is on the line. The QMS is basically a tuned "mil spec" trigger. Let's not go down the rat hole of "ain't mil spec unless it has an NSN". In AR market-speak, "mil spec" means more or less a clone of what Colt puts in semi-only civy market AR's, because any Colt part that is the same between mil & civy builds comes out of the same bin, and for the small number of parts that are different they are made to the same quality. OK, so you can do a "trigger job" on a "mil spec" trigger, but in the process you are shaving off the hardened outer layer on some of the parts, decreasing wear resistance. The QMS basically does that bit before the surface treatment, so you get about a 6 lb trigger with no adverse side effects. It is said that the design is such that LE unit armorers can't really tell by looking it isn't a factory stock semi-auto trigger (except the little "ALG" on the trigger). The ACT kicks that up a bit with a slicker coating on some of the parts, at the cost of the coating color giving away the show. You will see that they also offer LPK's sans trigger, and then you can buy whatever trips your trigger. On that note, one of our learned colleagues has suggested the Larue MBT trigger. I personally have no experience with that, but Larue is top notch in general and I have their optic mounts all over the place (and still working through a backlog of Dillo Dust, but fortunately #1 Son likes it on burgers, and teenagers can eat some burgers). My go-to trigger for a non-retro AR is the Geissele SSA. My precision rig has an SSA-E. Retro builds that I would not choose over the modern rigs if SHTF (but on GP I think any firearm should still be as good as possible for self-defense purposes just in case it happens to be what you have), get the ALG QMS. |
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Check out Red Barn Armory"build your own" Lpk.
Choose your grip, trigger , safety, and a few other options. Then everything comes in at one time, from one place, and you get what you want without leftovers. I bought one then a friend grabbed one for his gun. As far as price goes an Alg Act, BCM PNT, or a Right to Bear Arms trigger are great upgrades over stock triggers, without breaking the bank. |
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Quoted:
Maybe a silly question, but what's wrong with the LPK's sold on ARFCOM (ar15.com online store)? That is a silly question. What is wrong with them? Nothing that I know of. Like most others, I can't speak for the trigger quality, because I always get my parts kits without triggers and start right off with a good aftermarket fcg. Hard to complain a $27 for the rest of the bits n bobs that go in that hole, though, huh? |
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Quoted:
That is a silly question. What is wrong with them? Nothing that I know of. Like most others, I can't speak for the trigger quality, because I always get my parts kits without triggers and start right off with a good aftermarket fcg. Hard to complain a $27 for the rest of the bits n bobs that go in that hole, though, huh? Quoted:
Quoted:
Maybe a silly question, but what's wrong with the LPK's sold on ARFCOM (ar15.com online store)? That is a silly question. What is wrong with them? Nothing that I know of. Like most others, I can't speak for the trigger quality, because I always get my parts kits without triggers and start right off with a good aftermarket fcg. Hard to complain a $27 for the rest of the bits n bobs that go in that hole, though, huh? Only reason I mentioned them is I never see them mentioned, and admittedly never had even checked in the store until recently and noticed the LPK less FCG was 27 bucks. Seems like a good buy to me. I did buy an item from the store and it shipped quickly. If in need of the LPK again, I'll be trying them as opposed to PSA (which is where I usually get them from) |
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I have used LPKs from PSA Premium, PSA PTAC, Spike's, DPMS, CMMG, and Anderson.
The only problem I ever encountered was with the PSA PTAC kit. The bolt catch was out of spec and wobbled in the slot causing the botch not to lock back after the last round was fired. Spike's uses spiral pins instead of split pins. The spiral pins go in super easy, not that split pins are hard to install. The others all look the same and work well. |
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