Bushmaster v. Professional Ordnance pistols...

[Skans]

Professional Ordnance made the first all carbon-fiber/plastic AR pistol. It went out of business and sold out to Bushmaster. I believe Bushmaster still makes these.

My question to knowledgeable people is whether these guns use interchangeable parts or whether the parts are different. In other words, if I need to replace a part in a PO pistol, can I use Bushmaster parts? Sorry, but I'm not really looking for opinions on whether people like these guns, hate them, think they will poke your eye out, etc. I'm just trying to determine parts compatibility. Thanks.

 

[damienph]

Carbon 15 lower

Not sure if Bushmaster manufactures the Carbon 15 lower anymore but the new Wyndham Weaponry does. Theirs is a carbon fiber product with the same dimensions as their aluminum lowers and utilizes the same LPKs.

If it fits on a standard aluminum lower it is supposed to fit on a carbon/composite lower. You should be able to use any standard AR part on your PO lower.

 

[Quentin2]

It really boils down to "did Professional Ordinance use standard AR parts?"

I have worked on a Bushmaster Carbon-15 rifle and know that the lower receiver uses a standard lower parts kit and a commercial buffer tube/standard buffer/spring/stock. The upper receiver/barrel/BCG is standard, too, except early models lacked a dust cover and forward assist. Other than the polymer receivers the Carbon-15 is very much a standard AR. I see no reason the same is not true of the pistol version, just a shorter barrel and pistol buffer tube, etc.

I've heard the main thing Bushmaster did after acquiring Professional Ordinance was improve the polymer which was a problem in the PO receiver design. BM even built their Carbon-15 in the same plant in Lake Havasu City, AZ using the same equipment and production line until moving production to Maine around 2010. The Carbon-15 I worked on was an older one made in AZ in 2008. However, I have no first hand experience with the PO design.

 

[Skans]

The reason I questioned this is because the bolt carrier in my PO is not the same as what is used in a typical AR. An AR BCG might work, but that's not what came with it.