View Full Version : possible AR purchase... need input
found this on TGT... from this picture and description, does this look legit? yes, no, and why? im really skeptical, esp with this low of a price. what do you guys think? avoid like the plague?
http://texasguntrader.com/index.php?a=2&b=153376
$900 is low?
Have you searched here for any threads on PC lowers?
$900 is low?
Have you searched here for any threads on PC lowers?
did you see the pof upper with leupold? pof anything is $$$ and i have a lot of experiance with the pcf lowers im good friends with ryan at h o u s t o n g u n f o r u m.com he has done a few group buys with them, he just opened up a class 3 store in north houston. i love those pcf lowers
I'd pass on it (or any AR with a plastic lower) and save my money for a traditional AR. You're going to find that the majority of people here don't have a high opinion of Plum Crazy lowers. The user base here is oriented toward serious-use weapons, and I simply cannot consider the PCF lower serious-use.
I'd pass on it (or any AR with a plastic lower) and save my money for a traditional AR. You're going to find that the majority of people here don't have a high opinion of Plum Crazy lowers. The user base here is oriented toward serious-use weapons, and I simply cannot consider the PCF lower serious-use.
i can understand that, but later on down the road i can always put together a "serious use" lower. im a 19yo college student. i think the most serious use itll get is laying on a bag at my local rifle range blasting holes at 100yds. i should have specified, ignore the lower, and focus more on the upper. but ive been talking some more to the guy, and so far it seems legit. i will have to see tonight when i go to check it out in person.
Failure2Stop
10-11-11, 11:11
I wouldn't do it, but it seems like you have already made your mind up.
Ok, so did you search on POF here?
Ah, nevermind.....I kinda get the impression that no matter what anybody tells you here, you are still going to do whatever it is you want to do, so good luck.
Get the exact make and model of the scope and price it out. A PoF upper with that barrel sounds like a build to me and not factory. Ask how many round have been through it and inspect it very closely.
It appears it may be a good deal, but I would be cautious. I would also dump that lower (strip it) and get a decent one.
JackFanToM
10-11-11, 11:50
If price is your priority then I would spend $100 more and get -
http://www.palmettostatearmory.com/2557.php
It is better by far than the one you listed, but I would still highly recommend picking your rifle for your needs and wants, and just buy it piecemeal if necessary. This is a rather expensive purchase, and in my opinion one you should take your time and get right the 1st time. Even if you improve on the purchase later, you want a quality rifle that you can learn with and grow with...pay peanuts and you can rest assured it will be built by monkeys.
i have talked to him, he said when he got the upper it had a barrel he wasnt happy with, and had this one installed by a gunsmith here in the houston area. there are no rounds through it at all, which i would like to see atleast a couple mags through it to ensure everything was put back together correctly. i know that scope is not cheap. i am approaching with caution, if i do end up getting it i have without a doubt in my mind that i will be ditching that lower for something more to my liking. i DO NOT have my mind set on getting this, i was asking for unbiased opinions on the UPPER, as was stated, i have had maybe one or to replies that were actually useful to me and talked about the upper, and not the lower, which for some reason seems to make a majority of you say **** that trash its a piece of shit.
I wouldn't pay $900 for that. If money is tight there are other options available from the PSA offerings($600) to the Spikes LE Middy AIM has for $769 shipped. Either would be a better value that the one in that ad. Of course at the $900 price point you could put together a nice BCM or for just a little more you could buy a new Colt.
Get the exact make and model of the scope and price it out. A PoF upper with that barrel sounds like a build to me and not factory. Ask how many round have been through it and inspect it very closely.
It appears it may be a good deal, but I would be cautious. I would also dump that lower (strip it) and get a decent one.
thank you for a informative and useful reply. you are correct, according to the seller, he was not happy with the original barrel, and had it replaced. no, i do not at this time know the maker or twist rate of the barrel, but i will soon find out. besides wear to the bolt, what else should i be looking for? scratches/wear to the finish of any exterior parts do not concern me as they do not affect shooting at all. he said there has been no rounds fired through it, so of course there should be no wear to the bolt. should i be concerned with the fact that no rounds have been fired through it? should i request to fire a few rounds through it with my own ammo to insure reliability?
i also forgot to mention that i am doing a partial trade, trading up, plus a little cash on my side.
Did he say no rounds fired through the barrel, or the upper? If the latter, then there might be wear on the bolt. I'd also ask him which gunsmith he used...there are a ton of hacks in this city.
i know that scope is not cheap.
Looks like an FX-II, $270 new.
Did he say no rounds fired through the barrel, or the upper? If the latter, then there might be wear on the bolt. I'd also ask him which gunsmith he used...there are a ton of hacks in this city.
that he did not specify. he said it was done by todd at lone star armory. never heard of them, but then that is redundant as i dont know a lot of people in the gun world.
I would pass. not that great of a deal.
Here's what I would want to know BEFORE hand, and apparently youy have some answers already.
1. Exact make and model of scope. Why do the rings look so weird?
2. Exact type of barrel, twist, etc....
3. What type of BCG? Is it staked properly, is it HP/MPI tested?
4. What type of barrel extension does it have and is it compatible with the upper? I.E- feedramps in upper, M4 barrel extension or rifle?
5. What type of lower parts kit?
6. Does it have a military tube or commercial and what type of stock? BM, Stag, etc... Same with buffer and spring.
Having said that all of that, consider this.
1. BCM 16" middy upper 1/8 stainless barrel- http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-SS410-16-Mid-Length-Upper-Receiver-Group-p/bcm-urg-mid16%20ss410.htm 489.00
2. BCM BCG- http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-Bolt-Carrier-Group-MPI-Auto-M16-p/bcm%20bolt%20carrier%20group%20auto%20mp.htm 139.00
3. Charging handle- 22.95
4. BCM lower receiver complete- 360.00
5. Magpul MOE handguard- 33.20
That's around 1043.00 for a brand new- no guess work solid AR that will be be very accurate. Assuming your deal is good then you would be getting a scope for free and save about 143.00.
But, you will still want to get a better lower which could be offset by selling the PC one and getting a stripped one and assembling it. In which case your 143.00 savings is now gone.
So in the end you get an AR with a free scope, assuming that it is good to go and not dicked up.
Deal is not that good. I would pass. Just my 2-cents.
Magic_Salad0892
10-11-11, 13:47
Screw that.
BCM, DD, Colt, KAC, Noveske, LMT, and Centurion will serve you well.
Not some POF, Plum Crazy, Scope mashup.
Plus. A high powered scope doesn't belong on this kind of gun.
A Vortex, NightForce, S&B, or SWFA 1-4X scope is more appropriate. Or EOTech, Aimpoint, or ACOG.
This deal seems like the suck.
PSA offers some cheap good guns. FNMI barrels too.
I think what was outlined above was pretty good advice as far a putting your own together. If you do that, you can be sure youre not buying someone elses headaches/problems/mistakes. That peace of mind to me carrys its own price.
Also part of me says that if this was assembled out of known quality parts that meets the specs that have mentioned here, the seller should know and would put that info out there.
thanks guys. i am still going to go check it out just to be sure. the guy could be like me, and not really know everything there is to know, he said he has six ARs and is looking for something different. or it could be very well a headache i should avoid. has anyone on here heard of lonestar armory?
There are two problems with this carbine going in-
Plum Crazy lowers have been reported by users with first hand experience to be less durable than needed as an AR lower. Receiver extension threads easily strip and some have split along the mold line.
The other problem is that the fire control group supplied with the Plum Crazy lower is also polymer. The polymer FCG is not suitable for installation in an aluminum lower. Not only will you have the added cost of a replacement lower, but of a replacement FCG as well.
In my opinion, there is nothing about a POF upper receiver, especially if it's a billet, that makes it worth paying a premium price for.
This carbine has never been fired in it's current configuration. It's not even known if it functions correctly. $900 is not it's final cost
did a google search on them, apparently they are here in pearland. here is what ive found:
http://www.snipercompany.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4250
according to some of the reading i have done from that article, i have reason to beleive that what has been done to the rifle might be listed in the article. still taking this with a grain of salt, i am being open minded. if i do end up getting it, and again i am trading for it, i have already found a complete lower to my liking. if for some reason i feel any funny feeling about it, no i wont do it.
alright thanks for the input. passed on it, found a complete palmetto AR without all the unneccesary tacticool shit all over it for a good price, negotiating now
alright thanks for the input. passed on it, found a complete palmetto AR without all the unneccesary tacticool shit all over it for a good price, negotiating now
Negotiating .....I hope you don't pay more than $650.
Negotiating .....I hope you don't pay more than $650.
if it goes through, and i get it, you and the rest of everyone on here is going to laugh their friggin asses off. im not saying until it actually happens though.
got it. traded a ria 1911 for it.
A most excellent trade. Just funnin ya. :-)
Do we get some pics?
at the risk of getting flamed, crucified, and perma banned, i think ill pass. fired a hundred flawless rounds through it today. am very satisfied. this will do for this "weekend warrior". might be picking up a vortex optic for it, as i have had great success with them on a few bolt guns.
i think ill pass.
Thanks for wasting everyone's time.
Thanks for wasting everyone's time.
man, im so sorry if i "wasted" your time. would you like a manpon? if your time is so valuable, then what are you doing on a gun forum 24/7? everytime i look on here you are online. i came here, asked, listened, and as a result avoided a potentially bad deal. let me pull this bit on you, sound familur? "well, you have your mind set, so i doubt anything i will say will change that." you have been so quick to condemn anything i say or do. no matter what i have said, you have shot everything down, and have not provided ANY useful info like some of the other industry professionals that have commented. if you feel that your time has been wasted, then explain to me why you felt the need to come back and comment so? i have searched a lot of your posts, and good god you are contender for biggest online troll i have ever seen. your elitist attitude cracks me up. so what, i didnt take my time to build a "proper" AR. so what if i have a low end AR? it functions flawlessly and properly, and is pretty darn accurate. do i really need one of the ARs that a lot of the professionals on here build? hell no! so, unless you have any useful advice and tips on maintaining my AR properly, please feel free to gtfo of my thread. thanks, and have a nice day.
Lighten up Jared, I was just jabbing at you in hopes that you would post what rifle you wound up with.
And as far as being online all day, yeah, I keep M4C open (but minimized) on my desktop pretty much all day while I am in the office. Big deal....
And on the Vortex optic, there are quite a few posts here about the Viper 1-4 that you might find useful if that's the route you were considering. Seems like a pretty good optic for the price.
well then if that is truly the case, i appollogize for my rant. its just your standard run of the mil psa. no rails, standard A2 front sight and gasblock, stainless barrel, 6 position stock, A2 grip, flat top upper, he gave me the leupold 2.5x20mm optic off of the other one. has a stainless 16" 1/8th barrel. looks a lot like the one i posted to begin with.
i have had that very same vortex on a bull barreled ruger 10/22. i will have to try and find some pics of it. as for the Ar, it looks exactly like the other one did.
Jared, sent you a PM.
Sounds like you did much better with this one than the PC'd AR, and cool that he threw the Leupold in with it. On the stainless barrel....did he have Lonestar do that one as well? I have head their name mentioned a time or two, but nothing ever negative.
You probably already know, but check the carrier key and castle nut to make sure they're properly staked. If not, I have a staking tool that you are welcome to borrow.
have a pic of what a properly staked nut should look like? im pretty sure it is, but cant hurt to double check
Is it that time of the month here or what? Everyone take a deep breath and relax. WTF, over?
Breadstick
10-12-11, 14:23
Fine job on the trade.
PSA are good, new, but good.
Per the website ( and owners of thier carbines and rifles) they are keeping thier rifles mil-spec from materials used, to staking, to proper 5.56 chamber, twist rate on barrels (plus HP tested), auto BC and bolt HP/MP...among other things like proper reciever extension, buffer/tube etc.etc.
I have an PSA upper coming in Friday I plan on going over with a fine tooth comb, then running through the ringer.
Would have gone BCM but never in stock.....and they don't come with BCG or charging handles....both have darn close specs.
We'll see on build quality, durability.
I don't beleive they're bottom tier...they're fairly new to the market and haven't gotten out there enough to be proven...that takes time.
have a pic of what a properly staked nut should look like? im pretty sure it is, but cant hurt to double check
Check this thread for carrier key staking: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=6993
Staked castle nut should look something like this:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc421/021411/IMG_0139.jpg
lol my gf is on her rag i blame her. and yup thats what i thought it looked like, it is indeed staked properly. woohoo! if you will look at the tgt add again, notice those wild mounts are mounted in such a way that the scope is over the charging handle and makes it hard to get to, and since its not a bcm gunfighter, it was putting all the strain on that pin and binding since i could only really get that side of the charging handle to rack it. well, i twisted the mounts back around the other way, so that they are pointing fowards, and pushed the scope fowards, the charging handle is now accessible to use with two fingers instead of one. i have no idea what kind of wacky mounts these are, no markings on them, but they will hold that leupold on zero just fine. went to academy ( yea yea yea i know i know) to have them laser boresight it, then took it to the range for a few minutes to get an idea of what itll do. didnt get any pics of my target, but groupings were what you would expect. for a carbine that one might possibly use for home defense or hog hunting, instead of zero at 100 yds, would it make sense to zero in at 50-75 instead?
for a carbine that one might possibly use for home defense or hog hunting, instead of zero at 100 yds, would it make sense to zero in at 50-75 instead?
Look in the sticky section above for a thread called Zeros and Trajectories....will tell you all you need to know.
Look in the sticky section above for a thread called Zeros and Trajectories....will tell you all you need to know.
that was an excellent read.
Breadstick
10-12-11, 19:34
I've read, and reread that sticky sooo much.
basically spent the past few years on this sight reading stickies and such way before I posted anything.
TunaFisherman
10-12-11, 23:20
PASS
That kinda $$$ like everybody has said you can buy way better quality
Sounds like you did good with the PSA.
well, i think either one would have been a good trade for me, i traded a ria 1911 for it all lol
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