View Full Version : PSA a good base?
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 11:38
Haven't heard much about them but would PSA be a good base platform for another build? Found one for $500 and thinkin of jumpin on it.
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Seriously? PSA is junk. Avoid it like the plague.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 11:56
Seriously? PSA is junk. Avoid it like the plague.
Will do then
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Haven't heard much about them but would PSA be a good base platform for another build? Found one for $500 and thinkin of jumpin on it.
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If you haven't heard much about them on this site you haven't been listening. LOL
Generally, the complaints run toward lack of QC and customer service, although the customer service aspect seems to be improved.
PSA is widely believed to be a notch below the median manufactures. Three of my first four builds used PSA stripped lowers, those lowers all worked fine.
I'd think the decision point for me is what you mean by build. If you are just going to put on different furniture and free float the barrel, I'd use another base.
If your idea of a build means that eventually you would end up with the receivers and extension tubes as the only PSA parts, I'd say rock on.
Have you seen these: http://www.gunbroker.com/item/689899195
Depending on what you want to do, you could sell the carrying handle, cut down the FSB to mount a freefloat tube, and not be too far off budget.
If you haven't heard much about them on this site you haven't been listening. LOL
Generally, the complaints run toward lack of QC and customer service, although the customer service aspect seems to be improved.
PSA is widely believed to be a notch below the median manufactures. Three of my first four builds used PSA stripped lowers, those lowers all worked fine.
I'd think the decision point for me is what you mean by build. If you are just going to put on different furniture and free float the barrel, I'd use another base.
If your idea of a build means that eventually you would end up with the receivers and extension tubes as the only PSA parts, I'd say rock on.
Have you seen these: http://www.gunbroker.com/item/689899195
Depending on what you want to do, you could sell the carrying handle, cut down the FSB to mount a freefloat tube, and not be too far off budget.
Shhhh. Don't reveal the best-kept secret in entry-level ARs... :nono:
Seriously? PSA is junk. Avoid it like the plague.
Hey Feline, this is just me, but, doesn't the forum frown on such answers without an explanation?
I read the other thread where you posted 'this isn't facebook' and I'm kind of the opinion ol' Shrillar67 was trolling to start a fight with his OP in this one.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 12:13
No I really didn't know much about them, ain't been on much lately. But basically in the end result all I'm gonna keep is the upper and lower and change the rest
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No I really didn't know much about them, ain't been on much lately. But basically in the end result all I'm gonna keep is the upper and lower and change the rest
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Are you saying you are going to buy a complete PSA rifle for $500 and strip it down to use just the upper and lower for another build?
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 12:26
Are you saying you are going to buy a complete PSA rifle for $500 and strip it down to use just the upper and lower for another build?
Yea and just sell the rest of the stuff as I do it. That or I might just buy a stripped colt lower and upper
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everready73
09-01-17, 12:27
go with a colt oem as a good base. Or the Colt Trooper. if you just want an upper lower set Sons of Liberty Gun Works sells them for a reasonable cost. I wouldnt spend $500 on a psa and strip it down to just the upper and lower. Waste of around $300 for lower quality parts compared to known good quality options
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 12:28
go with a colt oem as a good base. Or the Colt Trooper. if you just want an upper lower set Sons of Liberty Gun Works sells them for a reasonable cost. I wouldnt spend $500 on a psa and strip it down to just the upper and lower. Waste of around $300 for lower quality parts compared to known good quality options
I was lookin at their soul snatcher lower they seem too be made pretty good $229 can get the upper and lower stripped
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If all you're going to end up with is a receiver set, then I see no reason to use PSA. The only component that'd really be worth selling or using on another build is the barrel....if it's a CHF one.
The price increase to use Aero Precision receivers (or even Anderson, though I've never touched one), a quality lower parts kit, and a VLTOR or BCM receiver extension would be well worth it for a great build.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 12:39
Ok thanks for the advice I didn't know much about them
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Yea and just sell the rest of the stuff as I do it. That or I might just buy a stripped colt lower and upper
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If that is the case I would skip the PSA all together. Its more of a hassle to sell off the low end parts than it would be to just purchase a known quality receiver set and build from it.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 12:45
I guess the next question is go for colt or sons of liberty works
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That's an easy question.
Colt all the way....Oem 1 or 2.
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Grab the 6920 trooper for $750. Pretty much no better deal out there. Sell the furniture and buy diff ones if you don't like the stock / grip / trigger.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 12:53
That's an easy question.
Colt all the way....Oem 1 or 2.
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Well then I better get busy
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If your idea of a build means that eventually you would end up with the receivers and extension tubes as the only PSA parts, I'd say rock on.
Have you seen these: http://www.gunbroker.com/item/689899195
Depending on what you want to do, you could sell the carrying handle, cut down the FSB to mount a freefloat tube, and not be too far off budget.
The only reason I suggested this was the 'eventually.' I assumed he would shoot the thing while he was stockpiling the parts.
The Colt Trooper would definitely be worth using.
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everready73
09-01-17, 13:22
It depends what parts you are going to keep. Are you still replacing all the parts but receivers if you go with Colt? The barrel is great quality and I would not change much other than furniture on the Colt
Everready makes a good point. The only parts I'd personally replace on a Trooper would be the grip and buttstock. Everything else is good to go.
The only component I'd replace on a Colt OEM is the grip. I'd just add furniture and a rear sight.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 13:34
Well what I would like too do if I stick with 5.56 is build an 18inch SPR probably a fixed A2 stock or 14.5 300 blackout ain't decided yet
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Hey Feline, this is just me, but, doesn't the forum frown on such answers without an explanation?
I read the other thread where you posted 'this isn't facebook' and I'm kind of the opinion ol' Shrillar67 was trolling to start a fight with his OP in this one.
An explanation is not warranted, imo, given the zillion of times the PSA debate has been rehashed on the internet.
The only reason I suggested this was the 'eventually.' I assumed he would shoot the thing while he was stockpiling the parts.
This is another good post.
Well what I would like too do if I stick with 5.56 is build an 18inch SPR probably a fixed A2 stock or 14.5 300 blackout ain't decided yet
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If you're just going to rebarrel there's a place selling trade in colts for 599
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Shrillar67
09-01-17, 14:00
If you're just going to rebarrel there's a place selling trade in colts for 599
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Where at
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Lots of people dismiss PSA as nothing but junk, but the truth is, if you know what to look for, you can end up with a PSA that will be reliable and durable. I've never had any problems with their receivers or lower parts kits including the fore control group. In fact, after lubing and a bit of shooting, the PSA trigger group turned out to be one of the smoothest standard AR triggers I've tried. PSA barrels run from good for a blaster to surprisingly accurate when using quality ammo. Many of their rifle kits use MagPul furniture and you can't go wrong with that.
Things that you will need to upgrade are the extractor spring and the buffer. PSA kits come with a carbine weight buffer which is too light. It should be replaced with with an H or H2 buffer. Many PSA kits include a "milspec dimension" RE. What that means is the RE matches milspec dimensions, but is made from 6061 instead of 7075. I've never heard of a 6061 RE ever failing, but it doesn't cost much more for a proper 7074 RE. Another upgrade a PSA may need is an adjustable gas block. The gas ports on some barrels are too large.
Choose your parts wisely and make upgrades where needed and you'll have a good PSA AR.
The flip side to that is the 6720 and the variants of the Colt 6920 don't need any parts changed or upgraded for the rifle to work right out of the box. Just clean off the factory preservative, lube the bolt and carrier and go shoot.
I don't know what the cost difference is between a PSA with the right parts and a Colt 6920/6720 would be. If you want to find out if there is a savings and whether or not if the PSA is worth it, you'll have to do the homework. You can build a PSA that is solid and reliable. But the overall quality and the little details won't be as good as the Colt
Lots of people dismiss PSA as nothing but junk, but the truth is, if you know what to look for, you can end up with a PSA that will be reliable and durable. I've never had any problems with their receivers or lower parts kits including the fore control group. In fact, after lubing and a bit of shooting, the PSA trigger group turned out to be one of the smoothest standard AR triggers I've tried. PSA barrels run from good for a blaster to surprisingly accurate when using quality ammo. Many of their rifle kits use MagPul furniture and you can't go wrong with that.
Things that you will need to upgrade are the extractor spring and the buffer. PSA kits come with a carbine weight buffer which is too light. It should be replaced with with an H or H2 buffer. Many PSA kits include a "milspec dimension" RE. What that means is the RE matches milspec dimensions, but is made from 6061 instead of 7075. I've never heard of a 6061 RE ever failing, but it doesn't cost much more for a proper 7074 RE. Another upgrade a PSA may need is an adjustable gas block. The gas ports on some barrels are too large.
Choose your parts wisely and make upgrades where needed and you'll have a good PSA AR.
The flip side to that is the 6720 and the variants of the Colt 6920 don't need any parts changed or upgraded for the rifle to work right out of the box. Just clean off the factory preservative, lube the bolt and carrier and go shoot.
I don't know what the cost difference is between a PSA with the right parts and a Colt 6920/6720 would be. If you want to find out if there is a savings and whether or not if the PSA is worth it, you'll have to do the homework. You can build a PSA that is solid and reliable. But the overall quality and the little details won't be as good as the Colt
This seems to be true. Like the ar equivalent to the wasr aks. They can be good, but you have to be able to find the wrong or put of spec part (or mis-assembled part) that your rifle got. Which is fine for the people like you, that know, but for the novice, they will spend the difference looking for the cure. When your talking $200-300 difference, it's not worth it. Even for me, I've learned the platform enough for my wants, so I just want something that shoots, and worry about operating the rifle instead of the operation of the rifle (though the engineer inside still likes the operation of).
So in summery, they are not junk, but there is a good chance you will get a rifle that does not operate as intended out of the box.
Back on topic. What's wrong with the stock colt? What are you looking for performance wise that an off the shelf colt (ok, add a 13" half handguard) can't accomplish just as well? Are you looking for true sub moa performance? Because the colt barrels often get very close.
If it's a clone build that won't get shot, the PSA will be fine.
Lots of people dismiss PSA as nothing but junk, but the truth is, if you know what to look for, you can end up with a PSA that will be reliable and durable. I've never had any problems with their receivers or lower parts kits including the fore control group. In fact, after lubing and a bit of shooting, the PSA trigger group turned out to be one of the smoothest standard AR triggers I've tried. PSA barrels run from good for a blaster to surprisingly accurate when using quality ammo. Many of their rifle kits use MagPul furniture and you can't go wrong with that.
Things that you will need to upgrade are the extractor spring and the buffer. PSA kits come with a carbine weight buffer which is too light. It should be replaced with with an H or H2 buffer. Many PSA kits include a "milspec dimension" RE. What that means is the RE matches milspec dimensions, but is made from 6061 instead of 7075. I've never heard of a 6061 RE ever failing, but it doesn't cost much more for a proper 7074 RE. Another upgrade a PSA may need is an adjustable gas block. The gas ports on some barrels are too large.
Choose your parts wisely and make upgrades where needed and you'll have a good PSA AR.
The flip side to that is the 6720 and the variants of the Colt 6920 don't need any parts changed or upgraded for the rifle to work right out of the box. Just clean off the factory preservative, lube the bolt and carrier and go shoot.
I don't know what the cost difference is between a PSA with the right parts and a Colt 6920/6720 would be. If you want to find out if there is a savings and whether or not if the PSA is worth it, you'll have to do the homework. You can build a PSA that is solid and reliable. But the overall quality and the little details won't be as good as the Colt
It will cost more to get the PSA closer to Colt specs than the cost of buying a 6920 at today's prices- AND it will never be a Colt. Why do people debate this?
It will cost more to get the PSA closer to Colt specs than the cost of buying a 6920 at today's prices- AND it will never be a Colt. Why do people debate this?
Seems to me this is built pretty close to mil-spec, except it has a stainless barrel and a mid-length gas system and handguards so you can stretch out a little:
PSA 16” Mid-length Stainless = 699.99
Barrel: 416R Stainless steel. Chambered in 5.56 NATO, with a 1/7 twist, M4 barrel extension, and a mid-length gas system. Barrel is finished off with a standard hand guard, F-Marked gas sight base, and A2 flash hider.
Upper: Forged 7075-T6 A3 AR upper is machined to MIL-SPECS and hard coat anodized. These uppers are made for us right here in the USA by a mil-spec manufacturer.
Bolt: Full-auto profile bolt carrier group. Milspec Carpenter No. 158® steel bolt, Shot Peened, High pressure tested, Mag particle inspected, Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specifications, Fastened with Grade 8 screws, and Staked per Mil-Spec. 8620 steel M-16 profile carrier is chrome lined and phosphate coated.
Lower: These forged lowers are quality made using material is 7075-T6 and are marked "MULTI" for caliber. Finish is hardcoat anodized. Mil-spec diameter 7075-T6 buffer tube is hardcoat anodized, has 6 adjustment positions, is fitted with a PSA M4 Carbine Stock and a PSA A2-style Grip. The fire control group is a PSA polished assembly.
As opposed to the Colt 6920, carbine length gas, and carbine length handguards for the warrior-sized operator:
G and R Tactical Colt 6920 = 899.99 (Magpul buis and one mag)
Seems to me it depends on how much value you add (or subtract) for the mid-length, stainless barrel, and polished trigger.
Like most things, value is subjective, if the Colt was a mid-length, it would be close, but I like that PSA stainless barrel for the reasons indicated below:
I bought a stainless mid-length upper from PSA a couple months ago when they were on sale for 159.00 or 199.00. My goal was to assemble a lower with basic furniture and treat it as shabbily as Eurodriver was currently treat a 6920 in a thread he had made. I put a Daniel Defense rear sight on it, took it out to sight it in, and, low and behold, it was a shooter. Pleasantly surprised. Enough so that I decided my youngest daughter needed it in addition to the .22 training rifle I had put together for her. No torture test for this one. It is still rocking the fixed sights, but I've upgraded the furniture, trigger (ALG ACT) and controls.
Nothing in the lower is PSA, including the receiver itself. But the accuracy lives in the upper, which is that cheapo PSA stainless mid-length, and plenty accurate. ETA: bolt is a Toolcraft.
Shrillar67
09-01-17, 23:44
I just wanted a good upper and lower platform too work with and change over and work with as I go. I have a Colt 6920 and swapped out the upper for a DD m4a1 that I had too assemble myself since the guy had it all apart. But I was looking at building a .300 blackout rifle or a 5.56 DMR style and want a good base too go with. I was planning on buying an upper and lower colt from G&R tactical but I figured if I could buy a decent full rifle I could have a beater rifle too play with as I go and change it over little by little that's why the question of the PSA came about
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Seems to me this is built pretty close to mil-spec, except it has a stainless barrel and a mid-length gas system and handguards so you can stretch out a little:
PSA 16” Mid-length Stainless = 699.99
Barrel: 416R Stainless steel. Chambered in 5.56 NATO, with a 1/7 twist, M4 barrel extension, and a mid-length gas system. Barrel is finished off with a standard hand guard, F-Marked gas sight base, and A2 flash hider.
Upper: Forged 7075-T6 A3 AR upper is machined to MIL-SPECS and hard coat anodized. These uppers are made for us right here in the USA by a mil-spec manufacturer.
Bolt: Full-auto profile bolt carrier group. Milspec Carpenter No. 158[emoji768] steel bolt, Shot Peened, High pressure tested, Mag particle inspected, Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specifications, Fastened with Grade 8 screws, and Staked per Mil-Spec. 8620 steel M-16 profile carrier is chrome lined and phosphate coated.
Lower: These forged lowers are quality made using material is 7075-T6 and are marked "MULTI" for caliber. Finish is hardcoat anodized. Mil-spec diameter 7075-T6 buffer tube is hardcoat anodized, has 6 adjustment positions, is fitted with a PSA M4 Carbine Stock and a PSA A2-style Grip. The fire control group is a PSA polished assembly.
As opposed to the Colt 6920, carbine length gas, and carbine length handguards for the warrior-sized operator:
G and R Tactical Colt 6920 = 899.99 (Magpul buis and one mag)
Seems to me it depends on how much value you add (or subtract) for the mid-length, stainless barrel, and polished trigger.
Like most things, value is subjective, if the Colt was a mid-length, it would be close, but I like that PSA stainless barrel for the reasons indicated below:
I bought a stainless mid-length upper from PSA a couple months ago when they were on sale for 159.00 or 199.00. My goal was to assemble a lower with basic furniture and treat it as shabbily as Eurodriver was currently treat a 6920 in a thread he had made. I put a Daniel Defense rear sight on it, took it out to sight it in, and, low and behold, it was a shooter. Pleasantly surprised. Enough so that I decided my youngest daughter needed it in addition to the .22 training rifle I had put together for her. No torture test for this one. It is still rocking the fixed sights, but I've upgraded the furniture, trigger (ALG ACT) and controls.
Nothing in the lower is PSA, including the receiver itself. But the accuracy lives in the upper, which is that cheapo PSA stainless mid-length, and plenty accurate. ETA: bolt is a Toolcraft.
I agree with your assessment, the only difference being the assembly. Of all the issues I typically hear about PSA, problems with assembly are usually the top complaint.
All the milspec parts mean little to the novice AR owner, if they aren't properly assembled. For me, THAT is what separates the cheaper guns. That doesn't mean that a PSA won't be put together properly...it just seems they have a higher incidence of rifles that aren't.
I know you know all of this, just wanted to add since the OP said he is a PSA novice.
Glad your daughter got a nice little shooter. [emoji106]
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But the specs don't mean it's what you get.
I'm pretty sure the "milspec" PSA upper I got had an non milspec part, because it didn't operate properly. Once I got a known good part in there it worked.
It was a cheap and easy fix, but what else that is "milspec" isn't?
But the specs don't mean it's what you get.
I'm pretty sure the "milspec" PSA upper I got had an non milspec part, because it didn't operate properly. Once I got a known good part in there it worked.
It was a cheap and easy fix, but what else that is "milspec" isn't?
True enough, but even parts "made to spec" can fail or get past QA. No manufacturer...at any level, is immune.
If you don't mind my asking, what milspec part failed you?
And I'm not attempting to defend PSA, just looking at it from a manufacturing perspective.
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Glad your daughter got a nice little shooter. [emoji106]
Thanks! Problem is she is so darned busy she doesn't get to the range with me as much as she (and I) would like. The oldest was the same way, and now she's off to college.
I agree with your assessment, the only difference being the assembly. Of all the issues I typically hear about PSA, problems with assembly are usually the top complaint.
All the milspec parts mean little to the novice AR owner, if they aren't properly assembled. For me, THAT is what separates the cheaper guns. That doesn't mean that a PSA won't be put together properly...it just seems they have a higher incidence of rifles that aren't.
I agree and sometimes discount that because generally I'm assembling anyways.
In another thread, a poster was disappointed in the staking on some Toolcraft BCG's he'd purchased. It would have been no big deal to me, I'd just stake them better. It soured him on the brand completely.
I can't say that he is wrong in his assessment, it meets his needs, People's perspectives are different.
Renegade04
09-02-17, 18:02
Deleted.
I just read more of the OP's responses. Not going to comment on this guy's plans.
There are NUMEROUS PSA threads here. Utilize the search function and decide for yourself if making lemonade is worth all that effort.
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