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BROWNELL RECEIVER

44K views 160 replies 57 participants last post by  outdoorbum 
#1 ·
Just ordered a Brownell's railed receiver. The one without a rail was backordered. They said they were expecting those April 1st! Didn't happen so I thought I better get one while they at least had the railed version. Tech support guaranteed me that it was 0 moa. That was about all the info he had, no specific measurements on any thing else and who makes it is the BIG secret. I guess we will see. Anybody got one yet or any additional info?
 
#49 ·
I barreled up one of my receivers this morning. The barrel is a Green Mountain that I had cut down from 20 to 16.5".

I put the barrel in a padded vise, greased the chamber stub and used a dead blow hammer to seat it in the receiver. It took only a few light taps....

Hope to get to the range next weekend and try it. So far, so good....
 
#50 · (Edited)
Budget Ultimate

Keeping in spirit with the low cost of the Brownell's receiver

I built a low cost rig

Brownells receiver about $100
Green Mountain Muzzle-Weighted "Output Shaft" barrel $90 from Shooters Discount
BX trigger assy $60
JWH bolt $44 (on sale last fall)
Had the stock

The only Ruger parts are the stock and BX trigger assembly

The build went together ez-peazy
All holes were in the right places
Used the heat gun on the receiver and the barrel went in with a couple of taps with the Rawhide Mallet

 
#51 · (Edited)
Keeping in spirit with the low cost of the Brownell's receiver

I built a low cost rig

Brownells receiver about $100
Green Mountain Muzzle-Weighted "Output Shaft" barrel $90 from Shooters Discount
BX trigger assy $60
JWH bolt $44 (on sale last fall)
Had the stock

The only Ruger parts are the stock and BX trigger assembly

The build went together ez-peazy
All holes were in the right places
Used the heat gun on the receiver and the barrel went in with a couple of taps with the Rawhide Mallet

:bthumb:

all it's needs is a mueller apv in some leupold rifleman rings
 
#54 ·
I ordered one of the Brownells railed receivers last week. It arrived at my lgs yesterday and I got to eyeball it before I filled out the 4473. I’m one of the lucky souls that gets delayed every time so I won’t have much more to say about it till the 10th.
The finish was awful though. Brownells specifies that it’s a type 2 HC similar to an AR15. Well, my ARs are smooth and black. This was more of a dark grey with almost a fine sandpaper feel to it. There was a small blemish on the left forward rail shoulder. If it wasn't aluminum I would have sworn it was parkerized. Kinda made me feel sick.
I'm gonna try to shine it up with some clp and a rag, if that dont work then its off to the cerakote with it. That being said, for the price of the receiver and cerakote I coulda had a Kidd. I'll throw some pictures up after I pick it up. Hopefully the finish is all thats wonky with it.
 
#60 ·
I ordered one of the Brownells railed receivers last week. It arrived at my lgs yesterday and I got to eyeball it before I filled out the 4473. I'm one of the lucky souls that gets delayed every time so I won't have much more to say about it till the 10th.
The finish was awful though. Brownells specifies that it's a type 2 HC similar to an AR15. Well, my ARs are smooth and black. This was more of a dark grey with almost a fine sandpaper feel to it. There was a small blemish on the left forward rail shoulder. If it wasn't aluminum I would have sworn it was parkerized. Kinda made me feel sick.
I'm gonna try to shine it up with some clp and a rag, if that dont work then its off to the cerakote with it. That being said, for the price of the receiver and cerakote I coulda had a Kidd. I'll throw some pictures up after I pick it up. Hopefully the finish is all thats wonky with it.
What you are describing is nowhere close to the Brownell receiver I got. Fit and finish smooth as glass. Send it back........
 
#56 ·
I could care less about its finish because I’ll probably paint it. My biggest concern has been that everything lines up right and tight.

Barrel fits snug and bolt doesn’t fit real sloppy and tolerance in dimensions are consistent compared to a factory receiver.

I don’t think most that are interested are as concerned with comparison to TI or Kidd but more concerned with fit and finish compared to factory receivers.


"The biggest communication problem is we don't listen to understand, we listen to reply"
 
#59 ·
I could care less about its finish because I'll probably paint it. My biggest concern has been that everything lines up right and tight.

Barrel fits snug and bolt doesn't fit real sloppy and tolerance in dimensions are consistent compared to a factory receiver.

I don't think most that are interested are as concerned with comparison to TI or Kidd but more concerned with fit and finish compared to factory receivers.

"The biggest communication problem is we don't listen to understand, we listen to reply"
I get that. That's where I was coming from. I wasn't trying to build anything fancy, or for competition. I just wanted a solid shooter. I originally ordered it to replace the reciever on my old 10/22. I liked the rail option and the cleaning hole. Then I got a little ambitious with all these Fourth of July bargains and wound up ordering a whole new rifle in pieces. Now I got all these parts coming to build a new rifle and the first one shows up and it looks 10 years old out of the box. It's a shot in the gut.

Sure, with a little time and money I could fix it up, but it's not what they advertised. Every picture and video on their website shows it with the typical type 2 HC. Even a can of Durakote is another 30. The Kidd is way more than I want or need, but to pay 180 and be done with it or pay 120 and have to mess with it? That's all I was saying about the Kidd.

Like I said though, if everything's tight and lines up right and they're willing to knock off some money for the time and effort I gotta put into making it right, then it won't be a deal breaker. Just a disappointing purchase and a lesson learned.
 
#57 ·
Honestly I’ve never sent an ffl item back. I wouldn’t even know where do start. Do I pay the ffl 25 to ship it back? Then I’m out 35 between brownells charges and theirs and I still don’t have a reciever.

I’m gonna probably call brownells in the morning and see how it works. Then I’ll head over to the ffl at 1 and snap some photos. Guess I’ll be bringing a barrel with me too. Hopefully with some pictures they can adjust the price down as a blemished unit. I’d be alright paying 45- 50 for it if the fit is ok and it’s just cosmetic
 
#58 ·
Their finish is indeed ugly. Most people do not mind imperfections like chips, dings, and anomalies in anodizing. I do and I do a lot. My TI receivers have been perfect. No scratches and the finish is perfect. Of course, they are more expensive but I would rather shell out more than save and be disappointed.
 
#64 ·
If it is not acceptable you are under no obligation, are you? And they should do a ‘call pick-up’ or send a shipping label for the return as well as refund your payment. If you paid for it with a credit card you have built in protections, also.
 
#65 ·
Keep us updated on this. During the next year, I'll end up doing a side build with a barrel I picked up only because it was cheap. Had intended to go with a Brownells receiver, as this would be 6th 10-22 and budget minded using basically closeout parts. I'll be interested on how this turns out.
 
#66 ·


Here some pictures of mine. I went in today to take them for brownells. As you'll see, the color is off and there are some blemishes. The texture itself is also a little in the rough side. Thankfully my ffl is a 10/22 enthusiast. We got to talk a little about it. He agreed with me it's nowhere near type 2 and reassured me I wasn't being too critical. Talked to Brownells and the girl said to email the photos and she's going to talk to her manager and see what can be done. Im still waiting to hear back.
 
#68 ·
I don't understand what Brownell needs to discuss. A refund and a shipping label is in order. I still can't figure out how that made it out the door. Maybe second party shipping? They sounds like they have never actually seen it. My bet is that they will make it right.
 
#69 ·
Well I'm the problem there. They said I can send it back to them for a refund of the purchase price. I have a hard time being out their 10.00 ffl fee and 25.00 for the transfer here for a product they put their name on. It shouldn't cost me 35.00 to send their product back to them. Lesson learned. I'm trying to get them to discount it down for being severely blemished. All that on top of heaping pile of optimism that the finish is the only thing wrong with it. So far here though there has only been one bad review for fitment issues.
 
#72 ·
Someone else’s fitment isnt that one, it is time to be SURE there are NO fitment issues, if Ok keep it, work with Brownell’s on ‘adjustment of the price’ and either use as it or get some automotive caliper paint and make it your own.
 
#73 ·
I’m actually thinking about getting some cerakote and doing it myself. All I really need to buy is the cerakote itself and I been looking for an excuse for a while. Then maybe I can take pictures an post a how to or a how not to, depending on how it comes out. I kinda felt bad coming to the forum to learn, and my first post is to whine about my reciever. Maybe my second can be a little more of a contribution.
 
#74 ·
I'm actually thinking about getting some cerakote and doing it myself. All I really need to buy is the cerakote itself and I been looking for an excuse for a while. Then maybe I can take pictures an post a how to or a how not to, depending on how it comes out. I kinda felt bad coming to the forum to learn, and my first post is to whine about my reciever. Maybe my second can be a little more of a contribution.
I think your report is very useful and not a whine at all. You've shown us that Brownells is selling different receivers. This may account for why one member has sent his back, yet others have found them to be built well.

You've saved me some money. I was going to put together a rifle using this receiver, but now I'm going to wait and see what Brownells does and if they settle on one manufacturer to put out a quality receiver.
 
#75 ·
Thanks! I just felt like I was beating it up a little too much. Glad I saved you and a few others the troubles. I can’t wait to hear back from them on that they’re gonna do with it. They were supposed to call me back Friday and never did. I was hopping to hear from them today but that was a bust. Probably Monday now. As soon as I hear what they’re willing to do I’ll update.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#76 ·
Mine both came with the "parkerized" type finish. Got out to the range today with one of the rifles.

In looking back over my records for this particular barrel/ammo combination in its previous receiver I was able to record about a 10 % increase in accuracy vs using the original Ruger factory receiver.
 
#77 ·
Well, Brownells got back to me today. Apparently their techs checked and the finish on my receiver is the same as everything else in their stock. They said I could send it back as it was blemished. I explained I would be out 35 dollars due to their 10.00 fee and my lgs charging me 25 for the transfer. They knocked 10 off for the blemishes instead and gave it to me on a gift card.

As for the reciever.. I brought it home today. I test fit a barrel. It slid in freely 90% and stopped so I'm assuming it will securely tap in as it should.


I didn't go all the way because I'm still not sure what to do with this. I test fit a JWH bolt and charging handle. It wouldn't drop in and required slight filing to fit


Not a fan of the charging handle retaining notch. The charging handle popped out a couple tunes installing the bolt and did some damage to the reciever.

I'm not sure if this is normal or if the aluminum is a softer grade.

Either way, I got it assembled and the bolt appeared to function well until it stuck in the forward position and wouldn't cycle back. Once I freed it up I removed it and decided to give it a good oiling and cleaning.

The good news, most the blemishes were dust stuck to the Fine abrasive surface of the finish. I first soaked it with clp and began wiping it down. It went from slick to gooey quickly and there were little clumps forming on the surface. At first I didn't know what they were. Turns out it was the finish removing material from the rag. I took it to the sink and scrubbed it with dawn dish soap and a plastic gi brush. I rinsed it with hot water and blew it off with compressed air. I tried doing some touch up after that with rubbing alcohol and a cloth. The receivers finish quickly wore a hole in a brand new chuck rag


At that point I got too aggravated and had to walk away. The good news is the 2000 grit finish is a good substrate for cerakote. Other than that it's useless.

All in all I'd say the receivers aren't worth the money. It's a cheap attempt at mimicking a quality product. In the future I will just order a Ruger factory receiver from sap outfitters for 65.00. They are higher quality in fit and finish than this Brownells item at a better price.

Some people have had good results and are happy with them, but for my money I won't gamble on them again. As far as this one goes, I'll probably cerakote it, then coat the bolt with glocks copper break in grease and see how it goes after.

I'll be ordering the Kidd classic slip for receiver tomorrow for the rifle I planned on using this for.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#78 ·
Thank you for the very informative post. I am very, very disappointed that they advised that there stock is the same as yours. I think Brownells is going to be disappointed also. Again, except for the same bolt fitment issue, mine is black and like glass. Thanks again, I'm sorry yours is inferior but you just saved some folks some problems.
 
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