I found a complete Hesse poly lower for about what a good A2 butt stock would cost so I bought it for the stock. Question is, anybody here have experience with there poly lowers? I've got enough parts laying around to make the Hesse lower shootable but have heard a good bit of bad talk about them. Any and all opinions would be greatly appreciated.
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Hesse polymer ar15 lower
- Thread starter lokidansk
- Start date
turtlehead
New member
Polymer lowers tend to break at the rear takedown pin. Shoot it until it breaks.
Tucker 1371
New member
Mine was a TN Arms Co poly lower. It was reinforced with aluminum where the buffer tube threads in but the polymer still cracked after a couple hundred rounds. I ended up buying an Anderson to replace it.
I purchased an ATI Omni which has a steel reinforced lower because it was dirt cheap and when it broke i could come on the forum and bash plastic parts. The Omni shot tiny little groups out of the box, in fact as good as one of my AR's that cost three times more. I have shot the beans out of this rifle and so far it " takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin", it is death on soda cans and steel plates and as much fun to shoot as any of my other much more expensive AR's.
Maybe some day i will be able to once again loathe plastic receivers, but not right now.
Also, I built seven rifles for a friends kids with PSA Freedom kits and supplied poly lowers without reinforcement....so far no complaints.....drat!!
Maybe some day i will be able to once again loathe plastic receivers, but not right now.
Also, I built seven rifles for a friends kids with PSA Freedom kits and supplied poly lowers without reinforcement....so far no complaints.....drat!!
CLC said:If it's Hesse I would be suspect until proven otherwise.
This was my reaction as well. I have polymer lowers that are amongst my favorite, but they weren't made by Hesse.
Tucker 1371
New member
...ATI Omni which has a steel reinforced lower...
What do those weigh compared to an all aluminum lower?
What do those weigh compared to an all aluminum lower?...
IIRC, a Bushmaster Carbon15 lower weighed about 4-5 ounces less than a 7075 lower. Not a whole lot, especially toward the rear of the rifle. I sure wouldn't go out of my way to buy polymer/composite.
"They break and strip easy, so Ive heard. Id rather have one of the $60 aluminum lowers that are abuntant these days."
I've heard that over and over BUT of the 8 or 10 I sold through my shop, I didn't see it happen.
A couple of those buyers were/are hard on stuff and they haven't busted theirs. I've carried one for several months, daylight to dark, and it hasn't mysteriously shattered, cracked, split, or stripped.
While some MAY have broken at the rear pinhole, I think most were broken by dumb arsed monkey wrenching.
The ones I sold were branded "PlumCrazy" or Frontier.
I've heard that over and over BUT of the 8 or 10 I sold through my shop, I didn't see it happen.
A couple of those buyers were/are hard on stuff and they haven't busted theirs. I've carried one for several months, daylight to dark, and it hasn't mysteriously shattered, cracked, split, or stripped.
While some MAY have broken at the rear pinhole, I think most were broken by dumb arsed monkey wrenching.
The ones I sold were branded "PlumCrazy" or Frontier.
I have a Professional Ordnance all polymer/carbon AR Pistol. Made over 15 years ago. I've shot it plenty, but never kept track of rounds. In fact, I usually shoot Wolf steel-cased ammo in it. There's no chance of the lower receiver or upper receiver breaking. There's more of a chance of one of the internal parts failing before anything would ever happen to the receiver.
They break and strip easy, so Ive heard. Id rather have one of the $60 aluminum lowers that are abuntant these days.
I can understand that preference now. When I bought a few New Frontier lowers for my first lower build, there were no $60 aluminium lowers. There were no $100 lowers.
My rifles are just rifles, not hammers or prybars, so ultimate durability isn't necessary for me. I do appreciate the lower thermal density and rattle free fit. The color all the way through the material is nice for one's first build, which might otherwise be covered in idiot marks.
I went on to aluminum lowers when the market changed. I found that some aluminum lowers rattle against the upper. That isn't a functional problem, but as an aesthetic matter, I prefer that an assembled rifle not rattle.
I don't find poly lowers to have any significant advantage at the present time: http://arpartsfinder.com/instock/index.cgi?type=lower&quant=50&page=4
as of June 2 2016 posting date they can be had under $50 either way.
The real issue is that a look alike poly lower isn't molding to strengthen areas where poly isn't as strong as forged aluminum. The buffer tube connection is a significant one. It could be easily reinforced by moving the grip lug back 3/4 of an inch under the lug to strengthen the joint and increase the length of pull for the modern American hand. The issue grips would then work just fine.
I'd also like to see a short magazine well version similar to the AR180. The trigger guard could hinge on the grip like a Garand and drop down for winter use. The front lugs should be more heavily reinforced to take that stress by extending down further. Right now most of the molding composites lack higher end features the way automotive engine parts have - a better grade would help a lot but put costs even higher making them more uncompetitive.
Nope, what we have is an industry making commodity forged lowers so cheap there's no economic incentive to bother with polymer at this time. Too bad as a forged aluminum 1911 frame for $45 buck would be a huge seller.
as of June 2 2016 posting date they can be had under $50 either way.
The real issue is that a look alike poly lower isn't molding to strengthen areas where poly isn't as strong as forged aluminum. The buffer tube connection is a significant one. It could be easily reinforced by moving the grip lug back 3/4 of an inch under the lug to strengthen the joint and increase the length of pull for the modern American hand. The issue grips would then work just fine.
I'd also like to see a short magazine well version similar to the AR180. The trigger guard could hinge on the grip like a Garand and drop down for winter use. The front lugs should be more heavily reinforced to take that stress by extending down further. Right now most of the molding composites lack higher end features the way automotive engine parts have - a better grade would help a lot but put costs even higher making them more uncompetitive.
Nope, what we have is an industry making commodity forged lowers so cheap there's no economic incentive to bother with polymer at this time. Too bad as a forged aluminum 1911 frame for $45 buck would be a huge seller.
I agree... If there was a significant cost advantage to a polymer lower, it'd make sense. It just doesn't make sense at the moment.
I'm have all Anderson lowers, some I paid 40$ for 50$ for the others.
The Anderson lowers have mated perfectly with the following uppers with no rattle: PSA, AeroPrecision, Rainier Arms. The Rainier being the closest of all fits.
I'm have all Anderson lowers, some I paid 40$ for 50$ for the others.
The Anderson lowers have mated perfectly with the following uppers with no rattle: PSA, AeroPrecision, Rainier Arms. The Rainier being the closest of all fits.
The only reason Professional Ordnance made an all poly AR pistol was to side-step the poorly written Clinton Assault Weapon Ban. P.O was the first to make a poly AR.
Clinton's ban banned certain pistols based on weight. At that time, you may recall that there were a number of "assault pistols" being made: Mac 10's, Tech 9's, Spectre, and other semi-auto version of small sub-guns. These (as configured) were all banned from further production. Also, AR pistols were in their infancy, and the ban, so Clinton thought, would ban them as well. Professional Ordnance got around the ban by making all poly AR pistols - because it was within the weight requirements and by using a non-threaded compensator, it wasn't subject to the ban.
I'd agree that all-poly AR's, while feasible, have no real purpose today. I just wanted to point out that cost savings was not the overriding factor in the first polymer AR's.
Clinton's ban banned certain pistols based on weight. At that time, you may recall that there were a number of "assault pistols" being made: Mac 10's, Tech 9's, Spectre, and other semi-auto version of small sub-guns. These (as configured) were all banned from further production. Also, AR pistols were in their infancy, and the ban, so Clinton thought, would ban them as well. Professional Ordnance got around the ban by making all poly AR pistols - because it was within the weight requirements and by using a non-threaded compensator, it wasn't subject to the ban.
I'd agree that all-poly AR's, while feasible, have no real purpose today. I just wanted to point out that cost savings was not the overriding factor in the first polymer AR's.