Thinking about a U.S ARMS PATRIOT 15 lower

[stand125]

Was on my lunch break today chilling in a gun store and looked at a couple Polymer lowers. They had the very common NEW FRONTIER and it looked really flimsy. Then I looked at the U.S ARMS PATRIOT 15 complete lower and it really looks nice, and a lot stronger than the NEW FRONTIER. Has anyone had experience with these lowers. It had metal trigger parts and honestly it looked to have a lot more actual Polymer than the NEW FRONTIER.

On a goofy side note, the NEW FRONTIER does not have a bullet button since it is sold as a Rimfire lower.

[AreWeFree]

No way in hockey sticks would I ever burn money on polymer lowers...

Spend the cash and buy quality aluminum lowers. What's an extra $50 for something that will practically last forever?

[Mitch]

On a goofy side note, the NEW FRONTIER does not have a bullet button since it is sold as a Rimfire lower.

What could possibly go wrong with that?

[Gawernator]

no. lol

[stand125]

no. lol

coming from the guy who asked about a $29.00 rail LOL. Thanks for the input, Still thinking about it after reading alot of good reviews about this brand. Hell, if it breaks ( lifetime no BS warranty ) The internals and stock are worth the $175.00 price tag after dros.

[AreWeFree]

coming from the guy who asked about a $29.00 rail LOL. Thanks for the input, Still thinking about it after reading alot of good reviews about this brand. Hell, if it breaks ( lifetime no BS warranty ) The internals and stock are worth the $175.00 price tag after dros.

$175 isn't bad, and best of luck in whatever you buy, but you should still consider a regular aluminum lower. If you have a few basic tools to put one together you will have something that is essentially guaranteed to last your lifetime.

An aluminum lower for $100, then tax+dros, so let's start with $133 for stripped lower.

Now add a stock/buffer kit for $60 - $85 depending on if you want basic stock or upgraded MOE, Larue RAT, or fixed stock, and $65 for complete LPK.

That's approx $260 - $283 but you can get lower priced depending on parts you want and possible deals.

Since the lower is the registered part and it's not much more money it really is a good idea to buy something that will last.

[DoddRod]

Can't speak for the patriot 15, but I have a new frontier lower that I really love. Has a nice tight fit with my upper and out of the box it has a very , IMHO, nice crisp trigger. I think its at 4.5lbs. If you plan on replacing the stock you'll need to get a commercial diameter though.

[Gawernator]

Hahaha. Funny. $29 still made of aluminum lol. Balance between "cheap" and "inexpensive"

[Merc1138]

What could possibly go wrong with that?

The same thing that could happen to someone using any other lower and failing to pay attention to laws. There's nothing "rimfire lower" about it, so I'm not sure where the OP got that from.

The patriot-15 lower looks like it might have beefed up the pivot pin holes, but I'm not seeing what else they've done to make theirs stand out besides that. That polymer buffer tube... no way in hell would I use that with a normal collapsible stock. The area where the buffer tube installs in the receiver was already a weak point on most of the polymer lowers to begin with, but not the tube itself is plastic? Better hope you have a cleaning rod if brass ever gets stuck because somehow I don't think that would actually stand up to being mortared. It's enough of an issue to change the material that the lower is made of without changing the design up enough to give it the same strength as aluminum, but they've done the same thing with the buffer tube. At least it's replaceable.

[stand125]

The same thing that could happen to someone using any other lower and failing to pay attention to laws. There's nothing "rimfire lower" about it, so I'm not sure where the OP got that from.

That is what the store said. The Patriot 15 has a bullet button because it is sold as a centerfire lower, but the frontier arms does not since it sold as a rimfire lower.

[Mitch]

That is what the store said. The Patriot 15 has a bullet button because it is sold as a centerfire lower, but the frontier arms does not since it sold as a rimfire lower.

Selling a lower without a bullet button is a felony in the making. I don't care what the store calls it. How many dumbasses are going to walk in and say, "Oh, I want the one that let's me drop mags without a tool!" They don't even have to be dumbasses, just new to the game.

I have a pair of AR-15 rifles a few feet from me right now with no bullet buttons. They are dedicated rimfire. One I bought complete (S&W MP-15/22); the other I built from a stripped lower and always remains with its rimfire upper.

But selling standard lowers in California seems pretty dangerous to me. While we are acquainting n00bs with the laws, a better solution would be to sell bullet button lowers and let people exchange the bullet button for a standard mag release if they want to go rimfire. It sure doesn't take much effort to make the swap.

[DoddRod]

As others have said, it is not a rimfire lower. Clearly marked "CAL MULTI" in lower right

[Junkie]

Multi could mean that it's good for 22LR and 17HM2 or something like that.

I see no issue with selling them without a bullet button. Stripped lowers don't have one installed so why should assembled lowers? I do think it would be a good idea for the FFL to include a copy of the flowchart with purchases of pretty much every lower, though.

[Gawernator]

So they aren't breaking the law, but the presumption is that an ignorant person could buy the lower, turn it into a 'regular' AR15 and then go to jail for hella days?

[DoddRod]

Multi could mean that it's good for 22LR and 17HM2 or something like that.

I see no issue with selling them without a bullet button. Stripped lowers don't have one installed so why should assembled lowers? I do think it would be a good idea for the FFL to include a copy of the flowchart with purchases of pretty much every lower, though.

I concede that point to you, and agree that I don't see why they shouldn't sell them without a BB. Hopefully any shop that did that would explain that they need to install a BB for anything other than a rimfire upper