At first I thought it was a bad photo or trick of light.  I examined the picture closely and saw the mag catch slot is cut at an angle!  As everyone is aware it should be cut parallel to the top of the receiver.  Go to the follwing link and look closely at the top lower and compare with real lowers.  Somehow I THINK you might have a problem with the Hesse.

http://www.gunsnstuff.net/p/028f.html

HOW, my God HOW does a company let a photo  (or product)like that out the door???  I think Hesse is owned by Communist China or North Korea and is here to pollute the gun supply with garbage.

[url]http://www.gunsnstuff.net/p/028f.html[/url]

Hey don't insult the commies like that, even they don't deserve to be compared to Hesse!

The worse part is those poor newbies that get taken in by Hesse.
If my first AR had been one, I never would have bought another.

Regardless of how much Hesse sucks, I don't think I can see any non-parallelism between the top of the receiver and the mag catch slot on the kevlar receiver from that tiny, grainy picture.

yea im not a fan of HESSE but i guess i just dont see the non parallel cut, sorry.

Adam......You may be able to answer my question.

I have been going to buy a Hesse carbon fiber upper and lower for a build...just for the heck of it. Anyway, the ones I saw a year or 2 ago didn't match finish texture-wise. The lower was smooth and kinda shiny and the upper had a nice matte/textured finish. Do thet still look this way?

Hesse has altered names to Vulcan arms, for what reason I cannot explain but have had a few come to me for repairs. All I can tell you is that spend the fee for a quality receiver, and think twice before purchasing a Hesse or Vulcan upper or lower receiver. Quantico arms have lowers for 85.00 each, very high quality Eagle arms, by Armalite. Carbon fiber receivers cannot be repaired by normal means, where as alloy can be repaired.

I built a lightweight 16" carbine on a Hesse kevlar lower, its one of the nicest looking lowers I have owned or seen and have had zero problemw with several thousand rounds, the only thing I have noted while perusing the web is that some mag wells are tight, of course other "major" makers of aluminum lowers have had the same problem.

As far as repairing these lowers, I highly doubt you will see one break, they are an extremely tough polymer that will stretch long before it will break, plus it is easily glued if need be whereas aluminum must be welded (typically) and that is a much more difficult and iffy proposition.

I might also add that most Hesse problems are with his completed guns, his receivers are usually fine except the FAL eceiver which might need minor tweaking (I have owned and built 5).

Jeff

Jeff, question:  How do you think the fire action control pin holes will hold up?  What will you do if they wear out?  Do you know if the polymer they use will shrink much in the extreme cold (I live in Alaska)?

BTW, I have seen a Hesse AK-47 receiver horibly twisted, and  I had a Garand receiver that was dangerously out of spec.  My Hesse FAL/STG-58 receiver works well enough though.  Got Lucky.

I've seen these receivers in person; they're ridiculously light, and feel just as sturdy as their aluminum counterparts. I will be using one in my next ultralight build.

Carbon fiber construction really is fantastic; if you REALLY abused it (more than Alumninum)and managed to break it somehow, it would be repairable easily with epoxy or cyanoacrylate glue.

As for the rest of the Hesse/Vulcan wares.. well, caveat emptor

AK_MIKE,

Hard to say about how cold will effect it, I suppose if you had a large enough freezer the experiment could be tried, I would certainly hope it would not present a problem.

As far as wear is concerned, I purchased my lower used and it was original set up as a 9mm so it has the appropriate hammer with heavier springs, it is hard to say how many rounds were through this from the prior owner. Currently with my useage and the past useage I cannot discern any wear to the holes. Also the upper to lower fit is very tight but still easy to push out the pins as the material is self lubricating.

Hesse has made some junk I will allow, most of the problems though have been with QC on assembled weapons although I have really not heard much ill associated with his AR's, I rebuilt an FAL-H that would not run (congo model), it was beautifully finished but just had to many hurts done to the front end so I rebarreled it and it was fine, the receiver had a great smooth even finish and was in spec. I have built on 4 other Hesse FAL receivers and all went well except one required 2 or 3 hours of extra tinkering which was very frustrating but for the cost it was worth it.

I really like these kevlar lowers and will probably end up with more down the road, I would also like one of his uppers but would prefer it to have a forward assist and port door, finish match isnt all that important in my opinion where function is more important (spray paint is always an option for the anal).

I will try to get a pic of my carbine tomorrow and post it for you.

Jeff