Sticking my 223 lower on the 6.5 Grendel upper works great, but now I’m wanting a complete lower for the Grendel so I can have my 223 assembled full time. With that in mind, what reasonably priced lower is best these days? How about Aero Precision, at a bit over $300? What would you long time AR guys buy? It needs a good trigger.

PSA seems to be popular among the budget crowd.

I generally quality match the lower and upper. So depending on the upper or lower Im finishing out, I’ll pick a similar or matching counterpart. No need to run a nice billet lower with a budget upper and vice versa.

Ive run Aero and they are good to go. I would say Aero is about middle of the pack, not budget, not high-end, just solid.

Aero Precision makes a great lower

I’ll go with Aero Precision I suppose. Thanks for the feedback.

This!

aero has been my go to for recent builds, solid and quality

Unless I’m building a nice billet matched set I exclusively use Aero uppers/lowers. They’re really nice and packed full of features even the “top tier” makers don’t include.

My last PSA lower was a disappointment, several problems. Aero is good.

Good info. I appreciate it.

Sign up for Aero's emails, they send out daily specials, same with Bauer Precision, AR 15 Discounts, Arm Or Ally, Spice Tac and Aim Surplus just to name a few.

PSA receivers are hit or miss with non-PSA receivers, but if you currently have a PSA receiver, you'd be golden.

I think today primary arms still has 12% off site wide

Aero has two different lowers. Neither necessarily come with a good trigger. Look closely.

I'm looking at a KE Arms lower pretty hard for 6.5G straight-pull build.

Aero all day

Rock River with the 2-stage trigger. Depending on options, about $350-400.

One thing I do want is a good trigger, and preferably a 2 stage. I was wondering if I could get the Aero lower without a trigger and then add a LaRue 2 Stage. I’ll have a look at the Rock River.

You could do that or another good option is BCM.

Larue trigger to Geissele SSA -e

I'm sure you could! I have two RRA lowers, and while I don't have any other 2-strage triggers, I really enjoy those. Even if it came with a trigger, you can probably find a good deal on an Aero lower and then put a 2-stage in it.

With you mechanical skills 603, I'd suggest just building one. That way you get exactly what you want. I would not hesitate to go Aero and would rate them well above mid-tier. Although I have not tried one, the LaRue 2 stage seems to be one of the best values out there. Geiselee are over priced IMHO and I have 3 of them. The RRA 2 stage is good and have one of those as well.

Looking at prices, it seems the Aero is less expensive than the RR, but the LaRue trigger is an extra cost unless I can get the Aero without trigger. I have to wonder if the RR 2 stage is as good as the LaRue. I prefer the LaRue to the Geiselle single stage trigger, though I can’t really say why. The grandson’s Grendel has the very expensive Geiselle.

I’d just assemble one and get the exact parts you want. I learned early on to just do that because I would ultimately end up replacing the trigger, buffer, buffer spring, stock and grip. I thought it was cheaper to buy complete, and it can be if you leave it as is, but ultimately I ended up paying more. Aero makes solid lowers, I try and keep a few on hand at all times.

I'd just buy a stripped Aero lower and build it exactly how you want it. I love the CMC drop in triggers. Run them in every AR I have. I normally run the 3.5 in my guns but it was out of stock and I found the 2.5 in stock and on sale when I built my micro 300. Gotta say now I want to swap all mine out to 2.5's now. The Aero is very user friendly to build because almost all the springs are screw captured vs roll pin. Makes for a much easier build with minimal tools needed.

Well heck, I never built an AR lower before, and admit that I don’t know what parts I really want. I guess the internet will show me how to assemble the parts. So, maybe you guys will tell me what I want in the way of the good bits and pieces. First question is what buffer and buffer Spring do I need for the 6.5 Grendel lower. The lower in use right now is off the 223, so that should make it easy, but it doesn’t tell me what buffer and spring are in the 223 lower.

I’ll go with the Aero stripped lower and the LaRue MBT-2 trigger. You guys give me guidance on on the buffer and spring and I’ll get a stock like the one on the 223 lower. And suggest a grip that everyone likes. The other bits will be easy to get.

I suppose I’ll do this. Got nothing else to do. You guys are a bad influence but are still very helpful.

LaRue MBT-2... , great value, good choice.

An aero stripped lower and an aero lower parts kit should suffice. The weight of your buffer will depend on your barrel length, gas system and whether you’re shooting suppressed or not.

Im think the link below has some good info. I’m far from an expert, so I hope someone more knowledgeable will chime in with more info.

AR15 buffer weights