Psa uppers

[Wake27]

Another objective PSA Freedom review here,

Yup, I like Mr. G&G and he has several good reviews of them but I searched PSA rifle fails or something like that and thiswas the first thing that popped up. Its actually a positive review and the idiot summarized it by rating them 5/5 for reliability, but if you read it, both of the "5.56" uppers had failures in the first mag.

If you buy a PSA, it might work but it might also not. That's true of anything, but by the vast majority of accounts, its more likely not to work than many other brands.

[MontanaMarine]

I've got a total of five PSA uppers.

-

- 10.5" 5.56
- 11.5" 5.56
- 14.7" 5.56

-10.5" 7.62x39
-16" 7.62x39

I find them to run well, staked well, crush washers all correctly installed.

I'll say they are not as smooth out of the box as my BCM or Colt. But if you lube them up, and run 200-300 rounds through them, they slick right up.

[NWcityguy2]

Problems I found:
1) like every other PSA barrel I have checked, its not really a 5.56 chamber.
2) the crush washer was installed backwards.
3) the reason it was installed backwards is that the thread shoulder has a weird false shoulder on it, also like every PSA barrel I have checked

7) incorrectly marked 5.56

So basically, PSA sell tens of thousands of rifles a year and who knows how many more barreled uppers, but they don't know how to cut a chamber (FN too?) and you're the one who is spreading the word about it?

[alx01]

OP, Aero makes the receivers for Ballistic Advantage (same corporation owns both companies), and I assume most of the other parts are the shared. I “heard” that Aero barrels are sourced from Ballistic Advantage, which would make good sense.
Overall, considering the volume of rifles produced, I have heard of fewer problems with Aero products, and I’d personally choose them over PSA. Their M4E1 lower is beautiful.

I'll share my experience and opinion.

For a complete upper I can not recommend Aero.
I was going to create a separate thread on this a year or so back, but decided it was not worth the time. While quality of individual parts were okay, assembly (the most important part) was a complete joke. Interestingly, reliability was 100% during the time I had it before changing it (about 1-1.2k rounds), I was surprised it did not blow up in my face with improper headspace or some other failure. Here are the issues I had with my first and last complete Aero upper:
1. Handguard loose - screws were not torqued properly or locktited
2. Muzzle device - not torqued properly, hand tight
3. Gas block - not pinned, not dimpled, non-knurled screws, no locktite on screws, screws not torqued properly - light hand tight. Gas block loose on a barrel as a wizard's sleeve - definitely out of spec.
4. Barrel nut - not torqued properly, barely hand tight, no anti-seize on threads or a barrel extension.

To summarize above, pretty much everything which required assembly was incorrect. From the assembly line it was a pile of sh-t.

I still kept the Aero upper after I rebuilt it properly, but I would only use it for range practice. Barrel is surprisingly accurate in it.


After that, I decided to only buy a Colt, BCM, LMT, DD, or maybe Centurion Arms uppers with additional self verification on assembly, function, and fit on all of the brands or just build uppers myself (though not really wanting to do that).
You sometimes read about issues with Colt, BCM, LMT, DD, KAC and such to a lesser degree than a budget brands, but they still do exist.


I would only buy a complete Aero or PSA upper either for donor parts or if you're comfortable stripping it to parts and rebuilding it yourself with the proper tools and methods.

I must say that individual Aero parts have been of a fairly good quality; PSA is hit and miss with about 50% success rate for me - i.e. not a duty grade.

Probably one of the best deal I have seen is a Colt CCU upper from Brownells for around $500 (on sale) just add a quality bolt and a charging handle.

[NWcityguy2]

Its actually a positive review and the idiot summarized it by rating them 5/5 for reliability, but if you read it, both of the "5.56" uppers had failures in the first mag.

So you googled PSA rifle fails and the result you're bringing back is a gun that has two misfeeds in its first two mags but the problem went away within the same shooting session, and a gun that had one misfeed on its first mag but the problem went away within the same shooting session?

[Wake27]

So you googled PSA rifle fails and the result you're bringing back is a gun that has two misfeeds in its first two mags but the problem went away within the same shooting session, and a gun that had one misfeed on its first mag but the problem went away within the same shooting session?

Yeah, that’s a problem. No AR should require a break in period. And it’s not like those are the only reported issues. There are plenty of closed threads over the years (mainly from IG) about why PSA isn’t just as good as better manufacturers. Again, I like mine, especially for the price, but you’re more likely to get one with issues than you are from BCM.


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[Wake27]

I'll share my experience and opinion.

For a complete upper I can not recommend Aero.
I was going to create a separate thread on this a year or so back, but decided it was not worth the time. While quality of individual parts were okay, assembly (the most important part) was a complete joke. Interestingly, reliability was 100% during the time I had it before changing it (about 1-1.2k rounds), I was surprised it did not blow up in my face with improper headspace or some other failure. Here are the issues I had with my first and last complete Aero upper:
1. Handguard loose - screws were not torqued properly or locktited
2. Muzzle device - not torqued properly, hand tight
3. Gas block - not pinned, not dimpled, non-knurled screws, no locktite on screws, screws not torqued properly - light hand tight. Gas block loose on a barrel as a wizard's sleeve - definitely out of spec.
4. Barrel nut - not torqued properly, barely hand tight, no anti-seize on threads or a barrel extension.

To summarize above, pretty much everything which required assembly was incorrect. From the assembly line it was a pile of sh-t.

I still kept the Aero upper after I rebuilt it properly, but I would only use it for range practice. Barrel is surprisingly accurate in it.


After that, I decided to only buy a Colt, BCM, LMT, DD, or maybe Centurion Arms uppers with additional self verification on assembly, function, and fit on all of the brands or just build uppers myself (though not really wanting to do that).
You sometimes read about issues with Colt, BCM, LMT, DD, KAC and such to a lesser degree than a budget brands, but they still do exist.


I would only buy a complete Aero or PSA upper either for donor parts or if you're comfortable stripping it to parts and rebuilding it yourself with the proper tools and methods.

I must say that individual Aero parts have been of a fairly good quality; PSA is hit and miss with about 50% success rate for me - i.e. not a duty grade.

Probably one of the best deal I have seen is a Colt CCU upper from Brownells for around $500 (on sale) just add a quality bolt and a charging handle.

My only experience with Aero’s uppers are from a buddy of mine. First day at the range with his AC-15, there were issues with the FCG. It seemed like a burr and went away after a few mags, but again, break-in period. Love their stripped lowers though.


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[JediGuy]

Kyle, here’s another good option for an upper. The price is well outside your range now, but the key is to watch for it to go on sale for ~$550 or so, then use one of Brownells’ discount codes. I got mine for $491 shipped, and earlier this fall they were going for $450-460. That is incredibly good for a complete Colt after float upper with a Centurion Arms handguard. You would need to add a charging handle and BCG. Patience is key, but it seems like you may be willing to wait it out for a good deal for a good product.

https://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...rod120469.aspx

[1168]

So basically, PSA sell tens of thousands of rifles a year and who knows how many more barreled uppers, but they don't know how to cut a chamber (FN too?) and you're the one who is spreading the word about it?

Have you measured any with a chamber gauge? Or are you just blindly defending them? My chamber gauge does not care how many rifles a year they sell.

If they install the crush washer backwards to cover up a cut-rate thread job, do you think it might be possible that they do other things incorrectly? I mean, no company that sells a lot of products would ever lie about a dimension that few know how to check, right?

I’m sure they and FN know exactly what they’re doing with the chamber. It just ain’t 5.56, for whatever reason they may have. I could forgive that if they were honest on the marking, but they’re not. Really, lots of barrels, especially budget brands are not. But just because their barrels are made by FN does not automatically make them infallible. Its not a gov contract rifle.

I simply reported my findings. No axe to grind with them.

[Renegade04]

Also was looking at aero uppers seem to be good quality

Aero Precision makes good stuff. I bought one of their upper assemblies from Primary Arms a few months back when they were on sale. I added my own BCG and CH. PSA offers several good options for upper assemblies. My advice, stick with their Freedom and CHF upper assemblies. You can get a really nice upgraded upper assembly for a good price as they have sales on frequently. Just after Christmas, I ordered one of their Classic Freedom M4 type uppers (w/o BCG and CH). I ordered an Aero Precision phosphate M16 BCG from Primary Arms when they were on sale. I already have a standard CH to use with it. The lower assembly I have had built for a year cost more than the entire upper assembly. Even with the cost of the Primary Arms Micro SLx and mount I am mounting on it, I am still in for about $650 and that includes the MAGPUL MBUS rear sight I have had laying around. This is one of my least expensive ARs I have slapped together. I have many more that cost quite a bit more, but for what I am going to use this for (general plinking and for the wife to shoot), it will more than suffice. Do not let others sway you from PSA products. You just have to be aware of what you are buying. Make the best use of your funds and that means budgeting for the AR, optic (if needed/wanted), BUIS, magazines, and ammo to get you started.