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Thread: Palmetto State Armory AR-15 Review

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    Palmetto State Armory AR-15 Review

    Ok, I finally got my rifle built completely so here is the review. First, some pictures of the rifle, the parts I used to build it, and then a range report.






    It is, a Palmetto State Armory upper and lower. The upper is completely PSA built. They do all the cool tests and inspections to the parts. The gas key is properly staked. The barrel is a 416 Stainless steel 1/8 twist .223 wylde chamber 16" barrel made by Wilson Tactical. The Free Floated tube is the very light (although arguably not as good as Troy tubes) Midwest Industries SS12. The compensator is an Arredondo nXg comp. Finally, it has a Vortex Viper PST 1-4X24mm 30mm tube milrad adjustment scope mounted in a one piece YHM scope mount and Magpul MBUS buis.

    I built the lower half myself using a stripped PSA lower.

    It has an VLTOR A5 stock, Daniel Defense Lower Parts kit, Magpul MIAD pistol grip and JP single stage adjustable match trigger.

    So how does all that work together? Well, first, some groups to test for accuracy. First I will show what it CAN do, using high quality factory ammo, then I will show groups using more value ammo. (By the way, all the groups shown below were shot from 100 meters).

    Using 69gr Fed Match Gold which uses SMK bullets:


    yes, that is 5 shots, from an AR-15, into a nickel

    more typical groups from the 69gr Fed Match Gold look like this:


    60gr Hornady TAP:


    Hornady 75gr TAP:



    And Fed Match Gold 77gr SMK



    62gr Fed Am Eagle:


    IMI 55gr 5.56mm:





    Anyway, that is the stuff that has to do solely with PSA's contribution. I've put approximately 400 rounds through it so far, and I only use good magazines. No feeding issues, no failures to fire or eject, no malfunctions at all yet.

    Additional details: I used an Arredondo compensator and an VLTOR A5 stock kit to have an AR that NEVER leaves the target when shooting and I have been happy. You can watch the rounds impact. It is LOUD and blasty compared to an AR with a standard Flash Hider but the recoil and muzzle rise is comparable to a .22lr rifle. The A5 kit makes the cycling MUCH smoother. Between the comp, the stock kit, the mid-length gas system, and the single stage 3lb trigger, you can empty a mag into a target, put every shot on target, never leave the target, and do it quickly.

    Anyway, this concludes the review of my Palmetto State Armory AR-15. I will be happy to answer anyone's questions about it and provide more details for anyone who is interested. I am pleased with this rifle, the quality that PSA uses and I WILL buy from them again. To buy an upper capable of this and is 100 bucks cheaper than a BCM AND comes with the BCG sweetens the deal even more.Also, here is a video to see how it looks when shooting (note lack of recoil and muzzlerise:


    My conclusion is that this particular rifle likes 69gr SMK the best, however still does pretty well with the 75 and 77 gr bullets. Although it was far from my tightest group, I was most impressed with the IMI stuff. I bought this stuff 1200 rounds for 320.00 so for being cheap I thought it did exceptionally well.

    P.S. I want to officially apologize to my buddy for hitting him with my spent casings lol
    Last edited by DS-11B; 08-29-11 at 11:17.

  2. #2
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    geez no replies at all??

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    nice build. I do believe there lowers are on sale right now too. I also heard a rumor that labor day they will even be cheaper.

    Question: what is the difference between a DD LPK and Palmetto's mil-spec LPK? I've always wondered why the DD Kit is $30 more than a standard kit. THANKS

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    Nice rifle man. Why did you go with the .223 wylde. I haven't shot one but I am curious about it. I do like the scope the Vortex's are real sharp got to look thru one of my friends and shoot a few rounds but a little out of my price range. Unenjoyment kinda sucks. I was wondering if you had just put the camera on a tripod till it moved. I was lol on that one. Hope it didnt hurt your buddy as I know that spent casings can be a hot mofo if they get in the wrong place. Dont ask I wont tell. Enjoy your your new rifle I am jealous.
    WFD
    EMR
    FF

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    Quote Originally Posted by fatboyR6 View Post
    nice build. I do believe there lowers are on sale right now too. I also heard a rumor that labor day they will even be cheaper.

    Question: what is the difference between a DD LPK and Palmetto's mil-spec LPK? I've always wondered why the DD Kit is $30 more than a standard kit. THANKS
    Yeah I can't believe how cheap their stuff is considering the extra work they put in on them. Must be introductory or something.

    The difference between the LPKs....you know, you are the FIRST person to ask me that lol. The difference, I'm sure, is that I was on a very tight schedule to get this build done before August 22nd so I was in a hurry and unfortunately PSA doesn't have expedited shipping options so I ordered from Midway.

    As far as the quality? feels just like every other LPK I have ever handled. I guess if it says DD on the plastic bag it comes in, it warrants an extra 30 bucks lol

    It literally came down to if I would have ordered from PSA I would have received it on Monday Aug 22nd. By ordering on Midway I got it Wednesday the 18th. I'm not sure if there are any other differences, like I said, it looked and felt the same though.
    Last edited by DS-11B; 08-29-11 at 08:31.

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    Quote Originally Posted by DemonRat View Post
    Nice rifle man. Why did you go with the .223 wylde. I haven't shot one but I am curious about it. I do like the scope the Vortex's are real sharp got to look thru one of my friends and shoot a few rounds but a little out of my price range. Unenjoyment kinda sucks. I was wondering if you had just put the camera on a tripod till it moved. I was lol on that one. Hope it didnt hurt your buddy as I know that spent casings can be a hot mofo if they get in the wrong place. Dont ask I wont tell. Enjoy your your new rifle I am jealous.
    I didn't know what .223 Wylde was so I looked it up. (Prior to purchase of course). Anyway, from what they said about it, .223 is generally a little more accurate than 5.56 barrels, but .223 barrels can't shoot hot 5.56 loads. So .223 is an intermediate bore that is tighter to more resemble .223 accuracy but it can still handle the 5.56 rounds. That is my understanding anyway. I figured I would give it a chance and I haven't been disappointed so far!

    Yeah my buddy is ok, he is a marine anyway lol

    So far I have been really impressed with the Vortex scope. The only thing I wish was different is the that I wish the illumination on the reticule was brighter. During the brightest part of the day it is still visible but doesn't stand out enough to work as an RDS. I initially thought the 500 price tag was a little steep but it felt/looked/operated like the scopes more in the 800 price range so I was impressed with it. The best part is their "if it breaks send it back" promise. That includes everything except maybe shooting it lol. I don't know I'm just guessing they probably wouldn't give you a new one for shooting it. Aside from that though apparently they replace anything.

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    Nice review, but what was the distance on the groups you posted? Read through it twice and did not see it anywhere...

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    Good review.

    If I were going to build a gun for accuracy, I'd go with the Wylde or tighter chamber.

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    Quote Originally Posted by shootist~ View Post
    Nice review, but what was the distance on the groups you posted? Read through it twice and did not see it anywhere...
    Ah! Thanks for pointing that out! I edited it. All the groups on there are from 100 meters.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 120mm View Post
    Good review.

    If I were going to build a gun for accuracy, I'd go with the Wylde or tighter chamber.
    Yes that definitely seems to be the case. I was a little skeptical about the Wylde chamber at first but so far it has proven to provide exceptional accuracy. I don't know if it would be better than a 5.56 stainless barrel but it has proven to be excellent regardless.

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