1168
01-29-19, 12:00
I still qual with the M16a2 and a4 a couple times a year, and teach same. However, I only touch one a few hours per quarter. So I wanted to put together a similar rifle to keep up with that. That plan, however, went off the rails because I’m a habitual tinkerer. So instead, I built what I feel the M16a4 or a2 should have been. It still has rifle length irons and a fixed stock, so there’s still some training value.
Recipe:
PSA Dissipator 16” barrel assembly
A1 stock
DD A1.5 rear sight
Aero no forward assist upper
A2 FH
BRT EZ Tune gas tube
GGP lower
Sionics LPK
EDT2 trigger
Colt or FN RE, buffer, spring
DD grip
Brownell’s 20’s
Forward Controls Designs BCG
Gasbuster charging handle
BFG Vickers sling
Magpul handguard
Rationale:
This barrel is the only PSA product I own. Faxon has discontinued their dissapator barrel, so unless I pay Adco to make one, PSA is the only game in town. It was on sale in the store, so I snagged it. Other than being drilled for Tula or some other garbage low pressure ammo it seems ok. Remedied the gas with one of Clint’s gas tubes. The barrel does not exibit the huge gap under the FSB that is found in internet searches.
Everything was mounted and pinned correctly. It shoots straight, and groups as well as any FN or Colt M16 I have used. Zero’ing the irons was painless and was very close to center. The M4 cuts in the PSA receiver are not quite right, and snagged bullet points occasionally. First round in a fresh mag only. This occurred 3 or 4 times in 100 rnds. Remedied with Aero receiver. The barrel is labeled 5.56 Nato, but it does not measure out that way with Ned’s chamber gauge. It almost measures up, so I think its Wylde. I have no way to verify that, so I only run .223 through it. I’ve been using 55gr blems from Precision One. They are local to me and I I buy a 5000 rnd run from them a few times a year. I can recommend P1 without reservation for practice/competition ammo. PSA seems to have QA/QC’d this barrel well, but its still a hobby barrel. It will serve its purpose very well, and it has met my expectations.
I like A1 stocks a lot better than A2 stocks because I’m not a wookie. I prefer the DD A1.5 rear sight because it is simple and near grunt-proof. Its basically a pic rail A1 sight. The Gasbuster charging handle is because thats what I have on hand. I put them on every rifle I own. Similarly, every AR I have and one of my AK’s wears a Vickers sling. I went with the Magpul handguard because it came on the barrel. I’m toying with the idea of swapping on a A1 handguard because They are light and I like the ergos.
I went with the no forward assist upper because I have several of them and I hate FAs. I bought 10 a while ago and still have 5 in my garage. Sample of one, but I saw a forward assist roll pin break at an inopportune time on one of my Rangers’ rifle, and it tied the gun up, hard. Rationally I know its a fluke, but emotionally I have a hard time trusting them. I realize this is silly.
I do not yet have the FCD BCG. Its using a parts bin BCG currently.
The pics include a couple of configurations it was test fired in. I included a couple of pics with a commie gun for size comparison.
https://imgur.com/a/fmw0QeX
Recipe:
PSA Dissipator 16” barrel assembly
A1 stock
DD A1.5 rear sight
Aero no forward assist upper
A2 FH
BRT EZ Tune gas tube
GGP lower
Sionics LPK
EDT2 trigger
Colt or FN RE, buffer, spring
DD grip
Brownell’s 20’s
Forward Controls Designs BCG
Gasbuster charging handle
BFG Vickers sling
Magpul handguard
Rationale:
This barrel is the only PSA product I own. Faxon has discontinued their dissapator barrel, so unless I pay Adco to make one, PSA is the only game in town. It was on sale in the store, so I snagged it. Other than being drilled for Tula or some other garbage low pressure ammo it seems ok. Remedied the gas with one of Clint’s gas tubes. The barrel does not exibit the huge gap under the FSB that is found in internet searches.
Everything was mounted and pinned correctly. It shoots straight, and groups as well as any FN or Colt M16 I have used. Zero’ing the irons was painless and was very close to center. The M4 cuts in the PSA receiver are not quite right, and snagged bullet points occasionally. First round in a fresh mag only. This occurred 3 or 4 times in 100 rnds. Remedied with Aero receiver. The barrel is labeled 5.56 Nato, but it does not measure out that way with Ned’s chamber gauge. It almost measures up, so I think its Wylde. I have no way to verify that, so I only run .223 through it. I’ve been using 55gr blems from Precision One. They are local to me and I I buy a 5000 rnd run from them a few times a year. I can recommend P1 without reservation for practice/competition ammo. PSA seems to have QA/QC’d this barrel well, but its still a hobby barrel. It will serve its purpose very well, and it has met my expectations.
I like A1 stocks a lot better than A2 stocks because I’m not a wookie. I prefer the DD A1.5 rear sight because it is simple and near grunt-proof. Its basically a pic rail A1 sight. The Gasbuster charging handle is because thats what I have on hand. I put them on every rifle I own. Similarly, every AR I have and one of my AK’s wears a Vickers sling. I went with the Magpul handguard because it came on the barrel. I’m toying with the idea of swapping on a A1 handguard because They are light and I like the ergos.
I went with the no forward assist upper because I have several of them and I hate FAs. I bought 10 a while ago and still have 5 in my garage. Sample of one, but I saw a forward assist roll pin break at an inopportune time on one of my Rangers’ rifle, and it tied the gun up, hard. Rationally I know its a fluke, but emotionally I have a hard time trusting them. I realize this is silly.
I do not yet have the FCD BCG. Its using a parts bin BCG currently.
The pics include a couple of configurations it was test fired in. I included a couple of pics with a commie gun for size comparison.
https://imgur.com/a/fmw0QeX