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Thread: PSA 300blk upper

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by cdknox View Post
    how are the newer PSA complete 300blk uppers?
    Well we know they are cheap.

    It typically costs 2-3 times as much to go cheap.

    You'll never get any resale value out of that and IMO $250 is better spent on a quality upper.

    But if you just like fingerbang at the range a couple 3 times a year, it likely won't matter at all.
    Last edited by RHINOWSO; 06-11-19 at 12:28.

  2. #12
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    So I bought one for myself at the end of last year. When I inspected it, I didn't find the issues that many others have found. The rail was on straight, the parts were torqued within specs and it passed all safety and function checks. Mine was a complete build kit with this upper: https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...th-bcg-ch.html

    What I didn't like was the forend (it's heavy and overly bulky where the QD sling points are, plus I had to mill out the bottom rear slot to accept a Magpul handstop kit) and the barrel, which is completely unprofiled from the gas block back. It's a complete pig for being so short.

    In the interim I've been catching parts on sale here and there to build a better replacement. It will have a Faxon light profile 7.5" barrel with 5R rifling, an Odin Works stainless adjustable gas block, a "quiet comp", a lighter, slimmer M-Lok forend, upper receiver with no forward assist, Brownell's lightweight M16 BCG and an ambi CH.

    It will be interesting to see how much lighter it is than the pig, considering I'm going to have just $85 more in it than the PSA complete upper. I was just going to replace the PSA barrel and handguard, but when I ran the numbers it was going to cost me less to build a complete new upper and sell the PSA. I don't think you can buy a cheaper .300BLK upper than PSA, but will you be satisfied with it as is? If so, go for it, but if you're at all picky about stuff like I mentioned, go ahead and spend a bit more the first time around.
    What if this whole crusade's a charade?
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  3. #13
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    Glocktogo.....how’s the accuracy of the factory? I typically care about stuff which is why my others aren’t PSA rifles. This will mainly be a plinker and if I really hate it, I have a buddy who’s a PSA fanboy!


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  4. #14
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    Amazing price tag. I'm sure there is good value there. You might get a good one or you might get a lemon. My experience is hit or miss. I have the tools and skills to deal with smaller issues, but what I don't have is the time and patience to deal with their CS, as that is also hit or miss. Some issues just are not worth the hassle. In summery, you roll the dice with low price.

    Toolcraft BCG's are good (knowing that they only manufacture the carrier and spec/outsource the other components). Some of the details of how the bolts are made and tested (like HPT and/or MPI) are not detailed in the description. More times than not, these details were cut out of the process to keep the price very low and it probably reflects what PSA spec'd in their order. After many dogmatic years, I actually now prefer 9310 bolts. Neither choice is wrong, however.

    I don't like NiB (Nickel Boron) coating on BCG's. I actually prefer cheap old black phosphate. It's less money and IDGAF if it's not white glove clean. I'd rather that money went to, at the very least, a MPI process on the bolt.

    Quote Originally Posted by cdknox View Post
    Here is the one I was looking at. It claims it’s a Toolcraft BCG.

    https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...ib-bcg-ch.html


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  5. #15
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    Yeah it does seem roll of the dice. I have a friend with all the tools and knowledge to potentially fix issues or ill use their CS. I could certainly go a Midwest Industries complete upper but that is 3x the price just to try the caliber, lol.


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  6. #16
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    Well, if you're a glass-is-half-full type of person, go for it. It might be great for you and your purpose. If you're even slightly suspicious of amazing prices (knowing that nothing is free), go with a brand with a track record of providing high quality products and stellar CS, if something does go wrong.

    Quote Originally Posted by cdknox View Post
    Yeah it does seem roll of the dice. I have a friend with all the tools and knowledge to potentially fix issues or ill use their CS. I could certainly go a Midwest Industries complete upper but that is 3x the price just to try the caliber, lol.


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  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by cdknox View Post
    Glocktogo.....how’s the accuracy of the factory? I typically care about stuff which is why my others aren’t PSA rifles. This will mainly be a plinker and if I really hate it, I have a buddy who’s a PSA fanboy!

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Honestly I haven't shot it yet. Even if it's sub-MOA, I know I won't be satisfied with the weight and balance, especially once I have a can for it.

    I'm on the fence whether to shoot them side by side before I put the PSA up for sale. I'd love to know if there's an accuracy difference, but then it's no longer "like new" when I sell it.
    What if this whole crusade's a charade?
    And behind it all there's a price to be paid
    For the blood which we dine
    Justified in the name of the holy and the divine…

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by tehpwnag3 View Post
    Toolcraft BCG's are good (knowing that they only manufacture the carrier and spec/outsource the other components). Some of the details of how the bolts are made and tested (like HPT and/or MPI) are not detailed in the description. More times than not, these details were cut out of the process to keep the price very low and it probably reflects what PSA spec'd in their order.
    See, this is what happens on the internet - More times than not, these details were cut out of the process to keep the price very low and it probably reflects what PSA spec'd - somebody posts conjecture in a manner that seems factual, and the next person then posts it as fact.

    Nearly as bad is commenting about the quality of an upper that you bought and never shot. Fvck me running, am I on ARFCOM?

    Here is the deal, Toolcraft may in fact play juggle the bolts in their BCG's. Seems to me it would be a hassle keeping the various bolts separate, I can imagine breaking in the new guy:

    "Okay in this bin we have the 9310 bolts that have been individually MPI and HPT tested." "Now in this bin we have the 9310 bolts that have been batch tested for MPI and HPT." "Over here we have the C-158 bolts that have been individually MPI and HPT tested." "Next bin over are the C-158 bolts that have been batch tested MPI and HPT."

    New guy: "Why not just decide what you want the bolt manufacturer to do and buy bolts to the spec in C-158 and 9310? Then you'd only have two bins. I learned in industrial management that..."

    Old hand: "Save that book stuff, kid, this is the real world."

    Could be, IDK. What I do know is that, regardless, if the bolt breaks Toolcraft will replace it. I honestly don't believe they would have that guarantee without a baseline of some sort.
    Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President... - Theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln and Free Speech, Metropolitan Magazine, Volume 47, Number 6, May 1918.

    Every Communist must grasp the truth. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party Mao Zedong, 6 November, 1938 - speech to the Communist Patry of China's sixth Central Committee

  9. #19
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    First, I didn't comment on something I don't have experience with. You must have me confused with someone else.

    Second, Toolcraft buys bolts. They do not make them. If you have proof that everything they sell is held to the same quality standard (OEM, distributor, and retail), please provide it and I will gladly tip my hat to you. As a cautionary tale, if the product doesn't list it, don't expect it. That's what I was trying to say. Everyone knows that non-HPT and non-MPI bolts are cheaper to produce.

    From the PSA product page: "Bolt Carrier Group: ToolCraft nickel boron BCG has a bolt made of mil-spec shot-peened Carpenter 158 steel. Gas key is secured with grade 8 fasteners and staked per mil-spec."

    Quote Originally Posted by 26 Inf View Post
    See, this is what happens on the internet - More times than not, these details were cut out of the process to keep the price very low and it probably reflects what PSA spec'd - somebody posts conjecture in a manner that seems factual, and the next person then posts it as fact.

    Nearly as bad is commenting about the quality of an upper that you bought and never shot. Fvck me running, am I on ARFCOM?

    Here is the deal, Toolcraft may in fact play juggle the bolts in their BCG's. Seems to me it would be a hassle keeping the various bolts separate, I can imagine breaking in the new guy:

    "Okay in this bin we have the 9310 bolts that have been individually MPI and HPT tested." "Now in this bin we have the 9310 bolts that have been batch tested for MPI and HPT." "Over here we have the C-158 bolts that have been individually MPI and HPT tested." "Next bin over are the C-158 bolts that have been batch tested MPI and HPT."

    New guy: "Why not just decide what you want the bolt manufacturer to do and buy bolts to the spec in C-158 and 9310? Then you'd only have two bins. I learned in industrial management that..."

    Old hand: "Save that book stuff, kid, this is the real world."

    Could be, IDK. What I do know is that, regardless, if the bolt breaks Toolcraft will replace it. I honestly don't believe they would have that guarantee without a baseline of some sort.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by tehpwnag3 View Post
    First, I didn't comment on something I don't have experience with. You must have me confused with someone else.

    Second, Toolcraft buys bolts. They do not make them. If you have proof that everything they sell is held to the same quality standard (OEM, distributor, and retail), please provide it and I will gladly tip my hat to you.

    All I know is that when I have called Toolcraft they have told me 'if it comes in a Toolcraft BCG we will replace it if it breaks.' When I asked if that included the bolts they purchased from elsewhere, they said (in essence) 'Yes, we spec them, we buy them, we sell them, so we will replace them.'

    I posted the same information a month or so ago in a BCG thread.

    Drilling down to this: If you have proof that everything they sell is held to the same quality standard (OEM, distributor, and retail), please provide it and I will gladly tip my hat to you, do you have proof they don't? That was kind of my point in the whole exchange.

    I called Toolcraft just before I made the post you responded to, they were gone for the day - I'm CST, they are EST.


    From the PSA product page: "Bolt Carrier Group: ToolCraft nickel boron BCG has a bolt made of mil-spec shot-peened Carpenter 158 steel. Gas key is secured with grade 8 fasteners and staked per mil-spec."
    I'll follow up with Toolcraft tomorrow, they might tell me.

    I tend to agree with this in most cases: As a cautionary tale, if the product doesn't list it, don't expect it.

    ETA: I know that post was kind of dickie. It just gets me that folks will bag on manufacturers as not being up to snuff, when apparently they don't shoot the stuff. Not directed at you, rather at the guy(s) who let it slip on occassion "I haven't been able to get to the range for several years" or "I couldn't shoot it past 25 because that is all my range allows."

    I said what I have to say about PSA in an earlier post: Notice, at no time did I say PSA was top quality. But, IMO, PSA is acceptable quality for the AVERAGE user, and with massaging, perfectly adequate for hard use.
    Last edited by 26 Inf; 06-11-19 at 17:52.
    Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President... - Theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln and Free Speech, Metropolitan Magazine, Volume 47, Number 6, May 1918.

    Every Communist must grasp the truth. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party Mao Zedong, 6 November, 1938 - speech to the Communist Patry of China's sixth Central Committee

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