I am looking or info on a PWA lower.  Is it any good and is it forged
Thanks

Quoted: I am looking or info on a PWA lower.  Is it any good YES and is it forged YES Thanks

I have a pre'94 and two post '94s and they are all top quality.

agreed, top notch

Yep what he said.


quote]Quoted:
agreed, top notch

I guess I'll have to break ranks.

My PWA lower was purchased from a board vendor not long ago, its serial 505xx.

Functionally, I have only two reservations; the lack of a weephole in the front pivot pin, and a magwell that won't let some of my mags drop free.

Cosmetically, I have more gripes. There are very visible mill marks on the front of the magwell, and on the rear strap. Also, there are some notable imperfections in the aluminum forging itself. The magwell "lips" are also gouged and dented in the aluminum. My Tangodown Battlegrip does not seat correctly, and is not flush with the rear of the receiver, because the grip area on the receiver is not milled well (this could be almost a functional issue) .

My friend's PWA also shows the same problems as mine.

The PWA isn't a bad choice, but bear in mind that other receiver makes are cheaper, have correct specs, and are cosmetically quite good. I recommend RRA personally.

Photo mosaic

My SHTF rifle is built up on a PWA reciever that was manufcatured sometime around 1985 from what I can tell (serial number 58xx, and at some point I thought I  had seen a list of approximate yearly production/serial numbers, but maybe I just dreamed that up).  A little worn, but no problem with mags dropping free, and has always function fine.  Despite some rumors about PWA making cast receivers, no one has ever been able to actually post proof of one, so it is most likely forged.

PWA = Pac West Arms and their tooling was eventually bought by Rock River Arms when they formed up.  in fact many of the early RRA receivers were actually stamped PWA if I recall correctly.

Not_A_Llama is the first guy I have heard of who had problems with them (I don't doubt your issues, just stating what I have heard).  Everyone else seems to think they are quality.

I got two PWA lowers recently, serial number 506XX and 508XX, maybe from the same dealer as you.
Word is that these were made by Lewis Machine and Tool, and sold off when PWA defaulted on their order or went bankrupt or something.
The finish on my two is fine. No noticeable milling marks. There is no weephole, but I don't consider that a deal-killer.
Only mags that don't drop free from mine are some Center's that won't drop from anything!

For what it's worth, I own a "pre ban" PWA lower (actually manufactured by LMT) that has a tight mag well.

It's not that bad however... only 9 or 10 of my 130 USGI mags won't drop free, so I simply mark them for use with my other two lowers (Colt & OLY Arms), as I have no such problems with these lowers.

Sure... I wish all my mags fit properly in my PWA, but I really like it otherwise (fit, finish, general level of quality), so I live with the minor inconvenience.

Cosmetically, I have more gripes. There are very visible mill marks on the front of the magwell, and on the rear strap. Also, there are some notable imperfections in the aluminum forging itself. The magwell "lips" are also gouged and dented in the aluminum. My Tangodown Battlegrip does not seat correctly, and is not flush with the rear of the receiver, because the grip area on the receiver is not milled well (this could be almost a functional issue) .

Mine is the same way and the upper does not fit too tight onto the lower. My RRA lower was way, way nicer in finish.

I've owned two PWA lowers, a pre-ban and a no-ban and both were extremely nice lowers. The fit and finish was just as good as any lower I've owned or handled. I would recommend a PWA lower to anybody. Hell, my no-ban is in the process of being registered SBR.

i have three ar's,a bushmaster m-4,colt 9mm,and pwa lower with colt 20inch a-3 upper.the pwa is by far the smoothest lower of the three.

The current crop of PWA lowers are probably LMT lowers stamped PWA. I gat 25-30 of them they are of to quality. There were a total of 100 produced by LMT for whoever bought out the PWA name then they welched on the purchase and caused LMT to sell them th other Dealers.

Red

Funny to see this!  I just now purchased an AR build on a PWA lower.  The price was too good to pass up, so it was one of those "buy it first and then research it" things... dumb, but, hey, I am an Impulse buyer!!

Either way, I have not shot it yet (Getting ready to do it right now), but the fit between the upper and lower are the tightest I have seen in an AR that didn't have a buffer in it.   I am very impressed with the fit and finish of it.... I have been looking for something short (Stock and barrel) for local carbine matches... this fit the bill quite well, and was very affordable for what you got.

http://guns.wicked96ss.com/pwa_ar-15/thumbs_d/mi_pwa_6_1_jpg.jpg