thoughts on psa pa-47 upper.62

I bought a spare complete magpul lower from psa a few months ago to have in case of a ban. Anyways I'm not happy with it just sitting there and have the itch to get an upper for it. Something cheap. Anyone have experience with the psa 7.62x39 upper? Have the issues with this caliber been sorted out for the most part? Will finding reliable and affordable mags be an issue? I've done a lot of searching but many of the threads are 5+ years old.

I'm not reloading yet and want something that packs a little more of a punch than 5.56 on the cheap for plinking which is why I'm looking at the 7.62x39. I just cannot justify going the 300 aac route due to the ammo prices... you can shoot 308 for that.

I considered the caliber, as I have an old SKS, but the magazine feeding issues at the time put my mind elsewhere, I also reload, so 300BO was my second choice of AR calibers after my 556.
Also Kalifornia and the 10 round limit... Not sure if there were 10 round Kal legal mags at the time...

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I picked a 16 inch 7.62x39 upper a few months back on sale and I think PSA did a very good job on it. A little over 600 rounds later it has ate every ammo that I have fed it, brass or steel cased. I picked up 4 ASC 20 round mags, and 2 ASC 30 round mags, and 2 Cproducts 5 rounders, and all have worked fine. The ASC mags were a little stiff loading the last 5 rounds or so, but they have improved with use. So far no problems setting ammo off, even Tula. It is decently accurate and fun to shoot.

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Originally Posted by Tbat

I picked a 16 inch 7.62x39 upper a few months back on sale and I think PSA did a very good job on it. A little over 600 rounds later it has ate every ammo that I have fed it, brass or steel cased. I picked up 4 ASC 20 round mags, and 2 ASC 30 round mags, and 2 Cproducts 5 rounders, and all have worked fine. The ASC mags were a little stiff loading the last 5 rounds or so, but they have improved with use. So far no problems setting ammo off, even Tula. It is decently accurate and fun to shoot.

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This has been my experience with the PSA upper and ASC mags, also. I have been pulling the fmj bullets from Russian ammo and replacing them with soft-points. Have had no problems with feeding the exposed lead tips. This upper just plain works.

I've had my PSA AR47 upper for a year now, no issues running Privi Partizan (brass cased), surplus Yugo M67, Golden Tiger or Brown Bear ammo. Not quite as accurate as my other 7.62x39 AR w/stainless barrel but close, better than expected for the price. Runs 100% with the new CPD 30 & 20 round magazines. All my ASC 7.62x39 AR mags are 4 or 5 years old and have been modified to run with my first build, they didn't run as well as the CPDs in the AR47.

My only concern was the bolt face, the walls of 7.62x39 AR bolts are thinner than 5.56 and more prone to failure. Most bolts I've seen are 'straight cut' like a 5.56 bolt just with thinner walls but the PSA 7.62x39 bolt was bevel cut on the inside, so the outer lip/wall tapered to a sharp edge like a chisel point. That design might improve feed & ejecting but I had concerns as to how durable it would be. I had a spare LMT enhanced bolt in my spares drawer so I swapped it after the first 100 rounds so I can't say that it's an issue.

Is the PSA upper cut differently than a 5.56? Or is this reliability all coming out of the newer mags?

It could be due to a variety of things. My PSA 7.62x39 upper has been igniting steel cased ammo just fine, without the use of an extra power hammer spring. I have tested it on at least 3 different lowers. Of course the availability of decent magazines doesn't hurt anything either.

I have seen posts about other brands modifying the feed ramps, but I don't think that this uppers feed ramps look any different than the standard M4 feed ramps on other AR15's. I will have to check it later when I get home. They could have enhanced the firing pin or bolt tail, to improve reliablity as well.
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My first 7.62x39 AR from 5 years ago had it's feed ramps filed out quite a bit, my ASC mags were occasionally allowing a round to 'nosedive' when it came up to be stripped, hitting the inside of the mag. I cut down the front face of the mags til these rounds cleared then filed down the ramp to allow it to come up in to the chamber. Alter I discovered the ASC 30 round mag springs weren't nearly as long or strong as a stock AK mag spring so I swapped them all out, lost two rounds of capacity but seemed to eliminate the nose dive.

All my ASC 30s are old so I can't say this is true for new production. I bought two of ASCs 20s when they first came out, stronger springs than a 5.56 20 but still would occasionally nosedive til I threw in a stronger spring.

This hasn't been an issue in my PSA AR47 with CPD mags, both 20s & 30s. No mods to the rifle or mag, no failures. As reliable as my BCM 5.56 upper.
Most 7.62x39 failures that I've seen are mag related, followed by bolt failures. Neither of my 7.62x39 ARs need extra power trigger springs as long as they have enhanced firing pins.

The newest ASC's have a really nice looking follower. They also have flat springs. I talked to their people and they told me to flip the springs to where the top coil is to the front of the mag. "All the new production ones are installed that way." BS! It does help the tilt of the follower somewhat.

C-Products just work!