LPK - Windham Weaponry

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - LPK - Windham Weaponry

Posted: 4/18/2017 11:54:12 AM EDT

So, I have been looking around at all the LPK kits, some with trigger groups and selectors (don't want), and it ocurred to me that what I needed to do is piece together my own kit. I checked out Windham Weaponry and they were super nice over the phone, I had the tech go over all my choices for an LPK and made sure I had what I needed, just double checking my parts.

I am considering since I have a few builds going, all with enhanced selectors, grips, and triggers buying my lower parts with them. They say its all made in the usa...what do you guys think?

Posted: 4/18/2017 11:58:01 AM EDT

[#1]

I have nothing but positive things to say about WW and their parts.

Posted: 4/18/2017 12:59:43 PM EDT

[#2]

Their LPK's should be fine.

Posted: 4/18/2017 1:03:30 PM EDT

[#3]

I love the story, and in fact, I did do this years ago with one rifle and of course, it functioned wonderfully. But I am going to be investing in 4 sets of parts. Their story really motivates me and shows how the American dream can really work. However, stories aside, I am going to be putting these parts in my rifles and I just wanted to make sure that it sounded like a good idea.

I see LPK's all over, but I am always uneasy about the source of the parts. They tell me at Windham Weaponry that all the lower parts are USA made. This not only makes me feel good about it, it also makes me believe care and quality went into them.

I do know that China and its territories are putting out some quality parts now; they can make very good things when they are actually trying. However, I would really rather have something that is "stamped" made in USA if I can.

I hate to put all these wonderfully made American parts like my barrels, bcgs, triggers, etc. together around Chinese parts - something feels wrong about that.

Opinions? I do not think they would lie to me about the American made part, but I have been burned so many times by so many people that my trust level is almost at zero.

Posted: 4/18/2017 6:35:03 PM EDT

[#4]

They are reliable.

Nothing but good from Windham.

Posted: 4/18/2017 6:47:48 PM EDT

[#5]

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Quoted:
They are reliable.

Nothing but good from Windham.

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Nothing but good before, and nothing but good now that Windham.

Posted: 4/18/2017 8:00:55 PM EDT

[#6]

That is the biggest problem with having so many choices, even those who have a small amount of knowledge question every single little thing.

Posted: 4/18/2017 9:23:05 PM EDT

[#7]

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Quoted:
That is the biggest problem with having so many choices, even those who have a small amount of knowledge question every single little thing.

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Valid question, I thought. Amount of knowledge about one vendor does not sum up an individual's overall knowledge.

Wasn't long ago alot of us were asking for input.

Hell, the more I learn the more I find myself asking others for help.

Posted: 4/18/2017 9:55:30 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:

Valid question, I thought. Amount of knowledge about one vendor does not sum up an individual's overall knowledge.

Wasn't long ago alot of us were asking for input.

Hell, the more I learn the more I find myself asking others for help.

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Tig, come on, Windham?

Posted: 4/18/2017 10:13:04 PM EDT

[#9]

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Quoted:

Tig, come on, Windham?

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Windham is just another commercial AR manufacturer. Nothing special to write home about. As stated above, I wouldn't hesitate to use a LPK from them, but they wouldn't be a first choice for barrels, bolts, or other more critical components. I've seen more than one Windham that was noticeably overgassed. Nothing out of the ordinary for a commercial manufacturer, but it should be noted that is exactly what they are. A commercial grade manufacturer. As such, I see nothing wrong with someone questioning their quality before proceeding with a purchase.

Posted: 4/18/2017 11:03:40 PM EDT

[#10]

Windham is known for quality and accuracy. Are they the "best" ? Probably not, but a far cry from SEVERAL other (YAWN ) other mediocre brands out now.

And their CS is damn fine too.They are far from run of the mill, imo.

Posted: 4/18/2017 11:07:26 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
Tig, come on, Windham?

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

Valid question, I thought. Amount of knowledge about one vendor does not sum up an individual's overall knowledge.

Wasn't long ago alot of us were asking for input.

Hell, the more I learn the more I find myself asking others for help.

Tig, come on, Windham?

Gotta start somewhere you old goat

Posted: 4/18/2017 11:13:59 PM EDT

[#12]

GTG

Posted: 4/19/2017 1:51:15 AM EDT

[#13]

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Gotta start somewhere you old goat

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You are damned right Tig and I paid a lot to be an old goat!

Posted: 4/19/2017 5:44:41 AM EDT

[#14]

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You are damned right Tig and I paid a lot to be an old goat!

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I know Dave. Just saying, at one point a new Private named Dave was asking questions about
his issue M16. And the older guys were rolling their eyes

Posted: 4/19/2017 7:27:32 AM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
Windham is known for quality and accuracy. Are they the "best" ? Probably not, but a far cry from SEVERAL other (YAWN ) other mediocre brands out now.

And their CS is damn fine too.They are far from run of the mill, imo.

View Quote

Eh, I don't put them above any other commercial manufacturer such as RRA, Bushmaster, etc. They do nothing special that should put them above those other manufacturer's.

Posted: 4/19/2017 7:52:12 AM EDT

[#16]

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Eh, I don't put them above any other commercial manufacturer such as RRA, Bushmaster, etc. They do nothing special that should put them above those other manufacturer's.

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Your opinion. And fwiw, WW is Bushmaster.

WW CL bbls have great accuracy. Several here can confirm that much.

Everyone has their pet list.

WW lpk will be gtg, IMO.

Posted: 4/19/2017 12:39:45 PM EDT

[#17]

Guys,
This has been great to read. I have learned a lot from you and your approach and opinions tell me a great deal.

I am not foreigner to the platform; I do have gaps in my knowledge because I do not really have AR friends, time to hang at local shops, and an ear to the ground in the industry. So, I am self taught and MANY of you have added to my education - thank you!

I do not want to fill my lowers with crap parts. Windham is a small company with a great story. I have heard many good things about them, but I wanted to know before I ordered my kit lists if they were still gtg. Many companies change and become bloated and start skimping on QC. I spoke with them, super nice and helpful. Therefore, I just ordered four LPK’s, minus a few parts since I am adding in my own stuff Bad levers, etc.

I really appreciate all the thoughts. We are all here to learn and help. In addition, the more we share the bigger the community gets which is a huge bonus for us. It is the people at the LGS and online forums that act like total A$$’s that make people run from the shooting sport. It should be welcoming and open to questions. Excluding n00b’s only hurts the community.

Speak on LPK’s another question. I have a DPMS blister pack LPK kit – how is DPMS fairing now?

Posted: 4/19/2017 12:51:18 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:
Your opinion. And fwiw, WW is Bushmaster.

WW CL bbls have great accuracy. Several here can confirm that much.

Everyone has their pet list.

WW lpk will be gtg, IMO.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

Eh, I don't put them above any other commercial manufacturer such as RRA, Bushmaster, etc. They do nothing special that should put them above those other manufacturer's.

Your opinion. And fwiw, WW is Bushmaster.

WW CL bbls have great accuracy. Several here can confirm that much.

Everyone has their pet list.

WW lpk will be gtg, IMO.

I know Bushmaster is WW, hence the reason I lump them together.

Posted: 4/19/2017 1:13:44 PM EDT

[#19]

What is so interesting and enlightening in the AR business, is the unique nature of it, many of us build our own guns, with that being so prevalent, if bad parts hit the street, we all know about it pretty quick. I agree we need to be aware of companies putting out bad parts, but another uniqueness about this business is the opinions on what constitutes a "bad" even out of spec parts will often times run quite good for a long time.

Being able to weed through bad "opinions" as much as dealing with good companies is good skills to have, what I consider an acceptable part, another might say it is the worst they have ever seen, well if I have a gun with those parts and it runs fine and doesn't give me problems, then I am good to go, where as another might say it was the worst purchase they have ever made.

At some point in time, we all have to ultimately make the choice for ourselves what is "good" and what is "bad" because we all have a lot of choices these days.

Posted: 4/19/2017 1:16:08 PM EDT

[#20]

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I know Bushmaster is WW, hence the reason I lump them together.

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You shouldn't lump them all together, Brushmaster is in name only these days since the Freedom group took them over, many of the guys at WW are the old Bushmaster guys who started this company

It is more accurate to say, Windham is the "Old" Bushmaster, not the current Bushmaster.

Posted: 4/19/2017 2:13:36 PM EDT

[#21]

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Quoted:

It is more accurate to say, Windham is the "Old" Bushmaster, not the current Bushmaster.

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It's even more accurate to say, Windham is the "Old" Bushmaster but without the canted FSBs and purple receivers.

Posted: 4/19/2017 2:17:54 PM EDT

[#22]

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Quoted:

It's even more accurate to say, Windham is the "Old" Bushmaster but without the canted FSBs and purple receivers.

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There's a company in SC now that handles those duties.

Posted: 4/19/2017 4:47:18 PM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:

You shouldn't lump them all together, Brushmaster is in name only these days since the Freedom group took them over, many of the guys at WW are the old Bushmaster guys who started this company

It is more accurate to say, Windham is the "Old" Bushmaster, not the current Bushmaster.

View Quote

While the old Bushmaster may have been better than the new, I still rank them with any other commercial manufacturer. Bushmaster never was anything special. Don't get me wrong, they used to make a rifle that would work just fine, but wasn't manufactured to any standard, but their own.

Posted: 4/19/2017 5:39:51 PM EDT

[#24]

All I can say is the Old Bushmaster was made to the specifications of the US Military and Law Enforcement, there were a lot of them sold to agencies.

Just about anybody that makes AR, is simply a commercial manufacture and that includes Colt, which seems to do a good job of loosing their ass quite often.

That said, just to get back on target, the WW LPK's are fine for what the majority of us will ever do in life.

Posted: 4/19/2017 7:00:33 PM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:
All I can say is the Old Bushmaster was made to the specifications of the US Military and Law Enforcement, there were a lot of them sold to agencies.

Just about anybody that makes AR, is simply a commercial manufacture and that includes Colt, which seems to do a good job of loosing their ass quite often.

That said, just to get back on target, the WW LPK's are fine for what the majority of us will ever do in life.

View Quote

Respectfully, I'd have to disagree. Older Bushmaster's were not made to meet the military specification. I've personally repaired Dept. issued weapons from the early-mid '90's that had commercial receiver extensions, oversized gas ports, non F-marked FSB's with flattop uppers, blue extractor inserts with TINY little extractor springs, etc. This has also been verified by very well qualified members of TOS. In fact, if I remember correctly, there was a thread from a few years back discussing this very issue over there. Just because some agencies issue DPMS, which they do, does NOT mean DPMS builds their rifles to meet the TDP. It simply means this is who met their bid or Cheif is buddies with someone there.