just picked a few of these up but there is a problem with one of them.  i looked at it before accepting it and figured it shouldnt cause any issues with function (if i break it out so it doesnt rub on the bolt catch).

thoughts? the way shit is i really dont want the headache of trying to get through to customer service and arranging a replacement that may or may not come anytime soon.


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Interesting. I would not have expected a break there. Personally, mine split at the front of the magwell from top to bottom, which I would anticipate to be the weakest part of their lower due to the upper twisting on the pivot pin.

I don't see a strike mark but that looks like the kind of damage that could occur when you let a hammer fall without an upper in place .

+1 on this.

someone was dry-firing with no upper on it.  Bad form even for an Aluminum lower.

...sigh...

i suppose its my fault for not specifying what i consider the obvious when buying a stripped lower receiver.

this is a BRAND NEW lower receiver, FROM THE FACTORY.  i SERIOUSLY doubt they assembled it, test fired it with no upper, stripped it, then sent it out.

this thing has obvious sanding/milling done to polish up the receiver after it was molded.  my guess is that one of the machines had an "oops", or maybe it broke when the lower was removed from the molding.

bottom line, im not concerned with what it looks like or how it happened.  im only concerned with - is it structurally sound?

YOU GOT BONED

This is the reason you will find no love for polymer lowers. They're just not ready for prime time.

One day I'm sure, just not at the moment.

I may not affect rifle function other than the bolt release but you really should replace it.  I bet the ear will break off when you try to put in the roll pin.  If it does not then it may work just fine.  Are you in that big of a hurry that you are willing to eat a lower that may not function like it is supposed to?  That's just silly.  Call NFA, see what they have to say, send it back and I bet you have another in no time flat.  All this what-iffing accomplishes nothing.  Call NFA and see what they will do for you.  I bet you will have a replacement in no time flat.  Sending a lower back is not as big a headache as you are making it out to be.  Just do it and get a good lower.  
As to a polymer vs aluminum, I will not go there.  I have two NFA lowers I am happy with and the worst lower I ever got was an Olympic forged aluminum lower.  So nobody will convince me that aluminum is always better.

Personally, I'd contact their customer service to get a replacement.

Regarding the one you have functioning, I don't think you'd have any issues using it (if you can get it together without breaking it as stated above). I would personally try to put some kind of glue or epoxy on the rear of that little tab that's broken off, and put a bolt catch in place (with lots of oil on it) to hold it there overnight. If you can get the pin in for the bolt catch using vice grips or something, I don't think it would affect the function of the gun at all.

Again, I would still see about a replacement. Even in these times, a reputable company will have an allocated number of parts to take care of customer issues like this.

NFA has great CS. Contact them. Lifetime warranty on the polymer lowers.

I don't see any strke or impact mark on it.  This may have come from the piece ejecting out of the mold when it was made.  Either way its a QC issue and they should take care of it for you.  Shouldn't have gotten past the molder, but it happens from time to time.  Give them a call.

OP, I wasn't implying that you bought a used one or that you broke it. I don't really see how that could be anything other than what I was suggesting or a new guy at NFA got carried away when he was deburring it, but shit happens. Either way I wouldn't have accepted it as is. I don't know if you will have a problem returning it as it LOOKS like it could be user error, even though it is not. If your FFL can back you up by stating that that is the condition it was received I would suspect it would help. I'm sure if you contact them you will be able to return it and get a new one back asap. Everybody is running full steam but current owners usually come first when a repair or replacement comes in. I have no experience with NFA but I wouldn't expect any less out of a known company.
As to using it, I would probably use it in a .22 as the bolt catch/release is not always used and it would still "look" proper without putting stress on the broken edges. My opinion only.

Absolutely send it back. Sure to fail once in use