View Full Version : PSA lower parts kit trigger quality
I recently got a Palmetto State Armory, Classic lower parts kit for my AR.
Upon installation in my lower I'm not impressed, with the safety ON the trigger has about 1.5-2mm on play with noticeable grittiness. Same with the safety off and hammer cocked. The grittiness and creep of the trigger was almost expected as its not a high end kit, but the trigger play with the safety on/off seems unacceptable.
PSA stuff seems to be held in pretty high regard, so I'm not sure if this is right or if my expectations are to high.
A friend of mine got the same one (we ordered around the same time), and it is the same way as far as trigger play, creep and grittiness. I've used several other brands of rifles (stag, bushmaster, dmps, etc.) and have not experienced this.
It seems like I could polish the trigger to clear up the engagement but the tolerance between the trigger and the safety is too loose, almost like too much material was removed from the back of the trigger when it was made.
Has anyone else used this kit and had the same experience?
Every standard mil spec trigger I have ever handled has had a little play with the safety on. I have one PSA lower and it is not as good as my DD trigger in my other lower. But it is still a usable trigger IMHO
What do you expect from a low cost mil spec trigger? If you want a match quality trigger then spend the money on one.
Does the PSA kit function correctly? Is it possible to hit a man sized target out to 400 yards with this trigger? If so it sounds to me like you got what you paid for, be happy and put some lead down range.
polymorpheous
04-19-13, 13:50
Completely normal.
Welcome to the world of mil-spec triggers!
What do you expect from a low cost mil spec trigger? If you want a match quality trigger then spend the money on one.
Does the PSA kit function correctly? Is it possible to hit a man sized target out to 400 yards with this trigger? If so it sounds to me like you got what you paid for, be happy and put some lead down range.
Completely normal.
Welcome to the world of mil-spec triggers!
I already have two other brands of "mil spec" triggers which function much better and have no tolerance issues. Being as there is some type of standard/spec for "mil spec" (or so the name implies) I was trying to find out if all PSA triggers were like this or if I somehow was unlucky and got one from a bad batch.
I planned on getting a high trigger group at some point but I got this to try out for now since everyone was giving PSA kits such praise.
Every standard mil spec trigger I have ever handled has had a little play with the safety on. I have one PSA lower and it is not as good as my DD trigger in my other lower. But it is still a usable trigger IMHO
Agreed but this is more than a little. That's why I was concerned.
polymorpheous
04-19-13, 14:22
Mil-spec triggers are a crap shoot.
Some maybe crisp, some gritty.
Check out ALG's offerings if you are not happy with yours.
GI trigger feel is hit or miss regardless if brand
Dollars to donuts says the trigger was installed dry. Remove it from the lower and apply grease or nickle based Never Seez to the pivot pins, sears and the curved bottom of the hammer. It will still have creep, but most- if not all- the grittiness will go away.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POLISH THE FCG. The case hardening can be thin and it's too easy to cut through to the softer material below. Once that happens, doubles and other problems will shortly follow
Dollars to donuts says the trigger was installed dry. Remove it from the lower and apply grease or nickle based Never Seez to the pivot pins, sears and the curved bottom of the hammer. It will still have creep, but most- if not all- the grittiness will go away.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POLISH THE FCG. The case hardening can be thin and it's too easy to cut through to the softer material below. Once that happens, doubles and other problems will shortly follow
Actually I was mindful of this when installing as I've worked on numerous other guns. Everything was lubed with M-pro 7 oil prior to install.
Again it was the play that had me most concerned.
BufordTJustice
04-19-13, 16:12
Mil-spec triggers are a crap shoot.
Some maybe crisp, some gritty.
Check out ALG's offerings if you are not happy with yours.
THIS.
OP, I have installed 5 or 6 early production PSA LPK's and their triggers were damn decent...but it's always a lottery.
If you want to forgo said lottery, grab an ALG QMS for $45, lube it with any quality grease, and enjoy. :D
Actually I was mindful of this when installing as I've worked on numerous other guns. Everything was lubed with M-pro 7 oil prior to install.
Again it was the play that had me most concerned.
In my experience, oil is not good enough. Grease or anti-seize should be used.
Yes, there is quite a bit of creep in a AR GI type trigger and it's there to reduce the chances of an ND and the long reset is there to prevent doubling
Oil on the pins and each side of the Disconnector. then a dab of light grease on the contact surfaces of the hammer and trigger. Then a dab on the top of the hammer where it meets the bolt.
Then shoot the snot out of it!
CavReconScout
04-20-13, 12:23
Just put one of their lower build kits together. The disconnector was a little too tight, I assume due to tolerance stacking. I replaced it with a spare, and it now functions fine. I must have gotten lucky, as it has the best GI type trigger I have ever seen out of the box. I usually use a SSA or SSA-E, so I can't confirm if this is an anomaly.
I prefer the core15 lpk. The parts are a darker black, and the trigger was perfectly smooth out of the package.
I've used the PSA LPKs and the individual parts look good enough but I only buy them w/o fire control group. I run Gucci triggers in my ARs because a stock GI trigger is a crap-shoot regardless who makes it.
the best stock trigger I've ever felt was on a Bushmaster lower that I had years ago for CMP competition. the worst was a DD...
PSA stuff seems to be held in pretty high regard, so I'm not sure if this is right or if my expectations are to high.
Don't know about the high regard part. If you search around, PSA was still building a reputation and was not considered everyone's favorite on M4C. I think it's the availability of parts making them popular currently. And compared to some of the popup companies making parts they seem much more dependable at this time. I'm building a complete PSA middy and a lower for my BCM. so will see in due time for me.
Upon installation in my lower I'm not impressed, with the safety ON the trigger has about 1.5-2mm on play with noticeable grittiness. Same with the safety off and hammer cocked. The grittiness and creep of the trigger was almost expected as its not a high end kit, but the trigger play with the safety on/off seems unacceptable
I said the same thing about my new LMT defender 2000 when I first got it, it still has movement when the safety is on, but after about 500rds the grittiness went away and now with well over 3000rds through it I can't tell any noticeable difference between it and the ALG ACT. If your going to stay mil-spec then I say run it till it smooths out or get an ALG and keep the PSA as a spare.
Just my experience, I'm not a professional so take it Fwiw.
Red falcon
04-20-13, 16:01
Completely normal. All my LPKs have been hit or miss.
The ones I have tried have been pretty good and way better than DMPS .
I've used the PSA LPKs and the individual parts look good enough but I only buy them w/o fire control group. I run Gucci triggers in my ARs because a stock GI trigger is a crap-shoot regardless who makes it.
the best stock trigger I've ever felt was on a Bushmaster lower that I had years ago for CMP competition. the worst was a DD...
One of the best 'feeling' stock triggers I ever pulled was a Carbon 15 I just worked on for a guy. Part of that was due-I am sure-to a hammer spring that was quite weak. But it had zero grit w/very few rounds on it.
-Jax
One of the best 'feeling' stock triggers I ever pulled was a Carbon 15 I just worked on for a guy. Part of that was due-I am sure-to a hammer spring that was quite weak. But it had zero grit w/very few rounds on it.
-Jax
that's what I mean - zero grit/no stacking, just a little take up and a clean break. this was in my comp gun. while others felt the need to go to match 2-stage triggers I just ran this one. understand this was Bushmaster so long ago that CMP was still called DCM... :cool:
The best Mil trigger and the worst Mil trigger for me both came out of PSA kits....
I'm diggin' the ALG ACT these days. For the buck, it's spot on. Otherwise it's going to be a SSA
I recently purchased one of their MOE lower build kits and noticed that the trigger would not reset. Upon further inspection I noticed the hammer they sent me was slightly bent and so I took the hammer from my other lower to test. Sure enough it was the hammer. Emailed PSA with a pic and they sent me a replacement in less than a week. New hammer installed and works as intended.
curlyburns5
04-27-13, 11:58
I would advise the ALG also. The best GI trigger I have is from a G&R lpk. But my experience with stock GI triggers are all the same really. My rock river and DD and BCM triggers are, for the most part indistinguishable.
curlyburns5
04-27-13, 12:23
I would advise the ALG also. The best GI trigger I have is from a G&R lpk. But my experience with stock GI triggers are all the same really. My rock river and DD and BCM triggers are, for the most part indistinguishable.
I have one PSA trigger and one ALG trigger installed. Equal in smoothness, and no play. guess I got a good one.
AGENT TIKKI
04-27-13, 13:57
I've been through about 8 psa lpks on my personal builds and helping out friends. of the 8, 3 were nice and crisp. Of the 3, none were mine :mad:
First things first, take your trigger out and clean it real good. Then grease it up nicely, on the pins, and a good amount on the sear surfaces. Put it back together and dry fire it a few thousand times while watching your favorite show on the boob tube. This should get rid of any gritiness and smooth things out a bit.
I built 3 rifles using the PSA LPKs prior to the current crazyness, maybe I got lucky, but all 3 were top notch. I have used other mfgs kits that were no where near as well finished or functioned as nice.
i have also installed a complete PSA LPK with excellant results. The trigger pull was smooth and not grittty. I never put grease or antisieze on it only gun lube (slip 2000 EWL)
SpeedRacer
04-28-13, 18:55
The best Mil trigger and the worst Mil trigger for me both came out of PSA kits....
I'm diggin' the ALG ACT these days. For the buck, it's spot on. Otherwise it's going to be a SSA
This 100%. I installed a PSA kit for a buddy and the trigger felt great along with the rest of the lower parts. I ordered one for my next build and it was the complete opposite. Trigger was terrible, the safety was floppy and spongey and a couple parts were missing
I won't use PSA parts anymore, I'm a big fan of consistency and they have zero.
My LPK was also from GandR.
Came with the QMS. So no BS coating and a good trigger.
It won't go anywhere unless I get a killer deal on a Geissele SSA.
Off topic, but I just got done using a CMMG LPK and it was GTG. However I did not used the trigger and selector, SSA and BAD CASS coming my way hopefully tmrw, wifey was supposed to have them for my B-day yesterday but oh well it's her AR anyway:smile:
But yeah I would not hesitate to order a CMMG again if I needed to, I did not find the DD LPK I wanted so for the small amount of items I needed parts were nicely finished and fit great into my Rainer Lower
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.