SBR AR Lower receiver question..

[creeky]

(*Dear Admins... Since we have members with SBRs, Vendors selling Suppressors, and AOW's... it would be nice if we had a common "NFA Weapons" section. Just a thought.)

I had planned to use my existing AR to convert over to

an SBR. I have been researching this stuff fro a while and have gegun to

confuse myself. (Which is easy.)

I have an Olympic Arms Lower. Had it for years, since about '94-ish. I have roughly 2-3k rounds through it. No problems. But I read this thread on another board... which said...

"3. Buy a quality lower preferably from a company that will service it after it has been SBRed. Olympic Arms doesn't count and neither does any cast 1980s crap."

Should I really be concerned about this? The only thing I have ever noticed

about my receiver is it will only "drop free" Colt magazines. Everything else I pull out. (I assumed this was normal.)

[Guest m4coyote]

I suspect that this comment was based upon the fact that once you SBR the lower receiver, and have it engraved, it will always be "THE" SBR. I do not own an Olympic Arms lower, and can't attest to their quality, but I have seen negative comments written about them from several sources. Try various searches on "Olympic Arms problems" and you should get some information.

The stripped lower is one the cheapest building blocks of an AR 15 SBR, and it will be the only piece that is the "permanent" part of an SBR conversion. The internals, barrel, plastics, sights, upper, and everything else can be replaced without having to pay plus wait for another approved $200 tax stamp from the BATFE.

LMT, Stag, and several other manufacturers are making excellent mil-spec lowers, and they have a rock solid reputation. I would prefer to do the conversion only once, and save the trouble of having jump through the BATFE hoops if something did go wrong with the Oly lower.

I learned from others mistakes on NFA weapons choices to do it right the first time, because you will be happy with it, and save money in the long run.

Edited January 31, 2008 by m4coyote

[creeky]

...but I have seen negative comments written about them from several sources. Try various searches on "Olympic Arms problems" and you should get some information.

Thanks...

Took your advice and did a little googling. It does seems that people have had problems with them. At least in the past. But my receiver falls into roughly the time frame right before I got mine.

One horror story was that a guy had one completely out of spec. He went to change uppers and the mag well was located so far out of spec it wouldn't chamber into the upper. Scarry! (Plus they wouldn't do anything about it saying it worked with the upper it shipped with.)

Mine was a complete build from the old days. My upper wasn't bought complete but assembled on the spot. I've never had a problem with it as is. But I'm afraid if I SBR'd it now, and wanted to sell it later... one look at

the "Oly" on the reciever and people might be scared of it.

Soooooo... since lowers are running around $100-110. I guess I ought

to just invest in a completely new build for the SBR, and keep the "Oly"

as my regular shooter.

Any other ideas or suggestion guys?

I'm open to them.

[Guest m4coyote]

About the cheapest and easiest way to manufacture an AR 15 SBR is to find one you like in a pistol configuration, get it engraved with your serial number, and then send in the BATFE form 1. Order a shoulder stock of your choice after you receive your approved form 1 back from the BATFE NFA branch.

There are several high quality manufacturers that make nice AR pistols, and the addition of a stock is a pretty simple task. Just do not have the stock and pistol in your possession at the same time, because this constitutes an NFA violation.

Doing it this way assures you of having a good working gun. There can be aggravating issues with getting the gas system to work dependably with some of the "built from scratch" AR-15 SBR weapons. By the time you add up the cost of all the separate items necessary to assemble an SBR from scratch, your time, and possible time & cash consuming problems, there will not be much difference cost wise between the two methods.

Google "Silencer Talk" and join that forum. There is no cost involved, and there is a virtual wealth of information about nearly all BATFE forms, NFA legal issues, and the manufacture of many kinds of SBR weapons.

[Guest utarch00]

Call Frank up and get a Sabre Defence lower from him. They are made right here in Nashville.

[creeky]

Call Frank up and get a Sabre Defence lower from him. They are made right here in Nashville.

Yeah... I think your right. The more I think about it... it makes

more sense to go ahead and build up what I want, and not try to slop

it together. I got a working "AR", so I can take my time and get parts I

want.

It's not that much more to do it right the first time. I just don't want

a lot of problems. I want the thing to just run.

Besides "Utarch" anyone else running AR SBRs?

If so what barrel lengths, and how do you like them?

Anything you would do different if you were to build another?

[Guest ETS_Inc]

Olympic lowers aren't totally useless.

Once you buy a Sabre lower from me (I have two in stock, and will gladly walk you through all the steps to SBR it, and you will be eternally happy.), you can use the Oly lower as a doorstop. Or a paperweight. Or, drop it in a fish tank and create a man-made reef for your little fishies to swim around. See, Olympic lowers have uses.

On a serious note, Olympic did have some QC issues in the not too distant past. I've owned a number of AR's, and handled quite a number of others over the years. The worst one of the bunch was the Olympic I picked up several years ago, during the ban. It didn't take long for me to sell it. I just didn't like the look of it, and they can be spotty when it comes to dropping mags.

If you want me to build you an SBR out of one of the Sabre's I have in the shop, that won't be a problem. We'll just need to sit down and discuss things like barrel length, type of stocks/handguards/sights, and a few other options. Basically, I charge $75 to register the SBR, engrave it, and do the paperwork for you. The lower itself is $125, plus the cost of the LPK, stock, and upper. I'll give you a good price. Just call me tomorrow, or better yet, come by the shop, so we can look at a few options.

[Guest ETS_Inc]

As for barrel length, I would recommend 11.5" for your first SBR'd AR. If you go below that, you might start having some cycling issues. (You shouldn't, really, though, because if you get it from me, you'll know it'll be built right, plus it comes with my word of honor that I'll make it work right.) Some folks will run 14.5" barrels, but I can't see why you'd spend an extra $200 just to chop off 1.5". If you wanted to that, you could just permanently attach a flashhider, and save some money.

Of course, you can always change barrel lengths, if you decide to do something different. It doesn't cost anything extra, except the cost of the new barrel/upper. If you do permanently change the bbl length, you're supposed to write BATFE a letter, and let them know about the change. But, if you keep the upper with the registered length barrel, it's not a permanent change.

I wouldn't recommend 7.5" uppers unless you're really just looking for a way to turn good ammo into impressive fireballs. You lose so much terminal ballistics, reliability, and range, that it's a serious waste of money. (That said, my 7.5" upper is fun for letting rip 30-round mag dumps and waking up everyone in a 4-block radius.)

[Guest darkstar]

I am by no means an expert on AR's or SBR's, but can vouch the fact Frank will provide you with great service and a fair price. I have very recently done business with Frank, and not only was his price fair, he took the time to sit down with me and show me a lot of stuff that you will not get from the typical gun shop. Plus he's got some good stories.

[awdbandito]

I vote we have an NFA section around here too.

I've never bought anything /from/ Frank, but he was a very friendly facilitator. I'm sure he would take good care of a person.

I'll throw out my recommendation for a 9mm SBR, suppressed. =)

[creeky]

I'll throw out my recommendation for a 9mm SBR, suppressed. =)

I handled a 9mm SBR flat-top with a can that Frank built custom for

a guy at a gun show a few months back. Not only did it look ten shades

of awesome, it just "felt" right. If that makes any sense. Balance and weight and all. No doubt Frank knows his stuff!

[Guest tngunman]

Olympic lowers are not the best but SBRing it will devalue it anyway