shooter521
Certified Glock Nut
Earlier this year, the shop where I work started carrying stripped AR lowers from Roggio Arsenal (Our Products - Roggio Arsenal Inc.). A number of people have asked me about them; until recently, I had little information to offer beyond what was presented on their website, the fact that they looked pretty decent, and a few brief online reviews on other forums. We have sold probably 50 or so in the past few months.
Over the weekend, I built up 3 of these lowers for a co-worker. He supplied all the parts; I just did the grunt work. One lower was in the 21,800 serial number range; the other two were consecutively numbered in the 22,700 serial number range. Engravings on all three are fairly shallow, and the font looks like some kid's printing capital letters (not unlike Superior Arms). Not a fan. The front of the magwell features ladder type horizontal lines for grip enhancement; on one of the 22,700 guns the lines are very crisp and pronounced; on the other two guns they are much less distinct. Finish is a flat gray-black and does not appear to be very durable; all three receivers show several tiny nicks and chips just from storage, regular handling and assembly. Additionally, one of the 22,700 numbered receivers has a couple random machine marks/nicks on the left side near the top of the trigger well.
My co-worker provided LPKs of unknown origin (parts were bagged and covered in cosmoline, and have two "S-in-a-square" proof marks and a mold number on the hammer and trigger). Assembly was uneventful except for the front and rear pivot pins, which were *extremely* tight and hard to move once installed, and the pistol grip boss, which seemed to be a bit too wide and required some serious elbow grease and shaving of plastic in order to get the grip seated.
I tested all three lowers with complete LMT and Stag Arms uppers. The LMT would not fit on any of the Roggio lowers - the front pivot pin would not insert without some serious persuasion from a mallet, and even then the upper would not fully close; it appeared that the rear lug was dragging on something inside the lower. The Stag upper only fit the 21,800-serialed lower without requiring undue force; it would not fit on either of the 22,700-serialed lowers. My best guess is that the pivot pin holes in the Roggio lowers are ever-so slightly out of spec - too small and/or off center - enough to cause fit problems with some uppers. I had a Superior Arms "blemished" lower with similar issues a couple years ago; only one of the 4 uppers I had on hand at the time would fit. In contrast, my Stag and LMT uppers fit any/all of my Bushmaster and DPMS lowers without issue, and the pins in the provided LPKs fit the lower receiver holes in my lowers without any dragging or hesitation.
I'm not sure if the three Roggio lowers I built are a fluke (they are close in serial # range and could be from a single "bad" batch) or if they are generally indicative of Roggio's quality or lack thereof. AFAIK, we haven't had any customer complaints on the stripped lowers we've sold, but I have no idea if they are actually being built and shot or just put away for a rainy day.
Anyway, based on what I saw this weekend, I am less than impressed with Roggio's lowers, to put it charitably. I think there's only a few left at the shop; if the powers that be solicit my input, we won't be ordering any more. Fortunately, the AR lower supply/price crunch has pretty much abated (at least around here), and receivers of known quality are once again readily available at reasonable prices.
My
. YMMV. Any other INGOers built on these lowers? If so, what was your experience?
Over the weekend, I built up 3 of these lowers for a co-worker. He supplied all the parts; I just did the grunt work. One lower was in the 21,800 serial number range; the other two were consecutively numbered in the 22,700 serial number range. Engravings on all three are fairly shallow, and the font looks like some kid's printing capital letters (not unlike Superior Arms). Not a fan. The front of the magwell features ladder type horizontal lines for grip enhancement; on one of the 22,700 guns the lines are very crisp and pronounced; on the other two guns they are much less distinct. Finish is a flat gray-black and does not appear to be very durable; all three receivers show several tiny nicks and chips just from storage, regular handling and assembly. Additionally, one of the 22,700 numbered receivers has a couple random machine marks/nicks on the left side near the top of the trigger well.
My co-worker provided LPKs of unknown origin (parts were bagged and covered in cosmoline, and have two "S-in-a-square" proof marks and a mold number on the hammer and trigger). Assembly was uneventful except for the front and rear pivot pins, which were *extremely* tight and hard to move once installed, and the pistol grip boss, which seemed to be a bit too wide and required some serious elbow grease and shaving of plastic in order to get the grip seated.
I tested all three lowers with complete LMT and Stag Arms uppers. The LMT would not fit on any of the Roggio lowers - the front pivot pin would not insert without some serious persuasion from a mallet, and even then the upper would not fully close; it appeared that the rear lug was dragging on something inside the lower. The Stag upper only fit the 21,800-serialed lower without requiring undue force; it would not fit on either of the 22,700-serialed lowers. My best guess is that the pivot pin holes in the Roggio lowers are ever-so slightly out of spec - too small and/or off center - enough to cause fit problems with some uppers. I had a Superior Arms "blemished" lower with similar issues a couple years ago; only one of the 4 uppers I had on hand at the time would fit. In contrast, my Stag and LMT uppers fit any/all of my Bushmaster and DPMS lowers without issue, and the pins in the provided LPKs fit the lower receiver holes in my lowers without any dragging or hesitation.
I'm not sure if the three Roggio lowers I built are a fluke (they are close in serial # range and could be from a single "bad" batch) or if they are generally indicative of Roggio's quality or lack thereof. AFAIK, we haven't had any customer complaints on the stripped lowers we've sold, but I have no idea if they are actually being built and shot or just put away for a rainy day.
Anyway, based on what I saw this weekend, I am less than impressed with Roggio's lowers, to put it charitably. I think there's only a few left at the shop; if the powers that be solicit my input, we won't be ordering any more. Fortunately, the AR lower supply/price crunch has pretty much abated (at least around here), and receivers of known quality are once again readily available at reasonable prices.
My
. YMMV. Any other INGOers built on these lowers? If so, what was your experience?
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