PSA BCG, quality or nah?

[Texas Sob]

I feel like PSA's "poor quality" reputation on these forums is just ghosts from their past. A lot of posters spent really good money on a rifle from a 'known quality assembler' and they just won't let their egos down long enough to see you can get good AR parts from lots of places. I have a PSA premium BCG from 2013 that probably has 4,000 rounds under it. Looks fine and will continue to ride in my main match rifle. I also have one of their nitrided BCG's from 2018 that now has past 2,000 rounds and it is also running great.

To rebuff the common: "PSA has good suppliers but they don't get the same specs as other companies" myth; I decided to measure the gas port on two 'PSA' barrels. Because everyone on the forums thinks PSA has terribly huge gas ports. The 10.5 mike'd out to 0.073 and the 16" mid by FN had a 0.076 gas port. Not the smallest, but they definitely don't deserve the bad rap they get here.

A lot of people come to the forums expecting some well thought out scientific presentation on why brand X is superior to brand Y, and the reality is; the data simply doesn't exist. Theres so much more ego and myth than testing and data in the gun world. I feel like in every post I defend PSA I have to also enumerate that I carried a Colt for years and have a BCM in the safe. Im not a budget whore, but Ill save money on parts and spend it on cases of ammo if I can.

good post thanks

[Hulkstr8]

You will see a common defense of PSA is the price.

[Hulkstr8]

good post thanks

that is not a good post. his arguments basically boil down to, "mine runs fine."

[jesuvuah]

I have a couple of their premium offerings. One lives in a 10.5" suppressed upper that gets abused. I would say it has a few thousand rounds through it and it's still going strong.

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[CrowCommand]

I feel like PSA's "poor quality" reputation on these forums is just ghosts from their past. A lot of posters spent really good money on a rifle from a 'known quality assembler' and they just won't let their egos down long enough to see you can get good AR parts from lots of places. I have a PSA premium BCG from 2013 that probably has 4,000 rounds under it. Looks fine and will continue to ride in my main match rifle. I also have one of their nitrided BCG's from 2018 that now has past 2,000 rounds and it is also running great.

To rebuff the common: "PSA has good suppliers but they don't get the same specs as other companies" myth; I decided to measure the gas port on two 'PSA' barrels. Because everyone on the forums thinks PSA has terribly huge gas ports. The 10.5 mike'd out to 0.073 and the 16" mid by FN had a 0.076 gas port. Not the smallest, but they definitely don't deserve the bad rap they get here.

A lot of people come to the forums expecting some well thought out scientific presentation on why brand X is superior to brand Y, and the reality is; the data simply doesn't exist. Theres so much more ego and myth than testing and data in the gun world. I feel like in every post I defend PSA I have to also enumerate that I carried a Colt for years and have a BCM in the safe. Im not a budget whore, but Ill save money on parts and spend it on cases of ammo if I can.

That is all well and good, but, as mentioned above, PSA probably does way more volume of sales, than your go-to BCM, Colt, KAC, Sionics, etc.

I don't doubt you have a decent barrel from them. But with all the sales they do, they're bound to get a lemon or ten out there, where-as the reputable companies have to charge more for the quality control.


ETA: I'm running a Toolcraft C158 BCG in an 11.5 pistol, unsuppressed, that has approximately the same round count (BCG mentioned above is in a 14.5"). All rings intact, though the bolt won't support the weight of the entire BCG vertically.

[Slater]

I never knew that there was such a disparity in quality among all the available BCG's. Live and learn.

[Cold/Bore]

that is not a good post. his arguments basically boil down to, "mine runs fine."

Exactly. Small sample size and comparatively few rounds fired.

[justin_247]

Some examples of bad PSA quality control, in these videos you can see several problems with a PSA upper, including a bad barrel extension, firing pin protrusion issues, and probably a tight chamber. And this was the third bad upper that this individual had dealt with from PSA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nupt3c-tQbw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-F2gWqSdog

I never knew that there was such a disparity in quality among all the available BCG's. Live and learn.

There are huge disparities in quality between them.

[Red*Lion]

Again I will say that PSA premium BCG are made by Tool Craft. How can some of you praise Tool Craft in this thread and then basically say that PSA Premium BCG made by Tool Craft is garbage? Makes no sense to me.

[26 Inf]

Exactly. Small sample size and comparatively few rounds fired.

If you've been paying attention, a lot of folks are saying their PSA's run fine, on this forum and others.

I think that at this point PSA's model - quantity sales - ought to be obvious.

Do they have the QC in place that BCM, Sionics and others have? No, probably not. But what they do have is several times the combined sales of BCM, Sionics and several others. I believe the Nazi's would have called the PSA Freedom line Volkssturmgewehr, Ford would call them Escorts.

Point being, they work fine for most folks.

Don't be this guy: (I think I saw this in a mem on pistol forum and modified it a little)

It's day eleven of the Apocalypse.

You've escaped into the hills with your supplies, and are crouching in some bushes watching with your Nightforce equipped long boi to see if you've been followed. Nobody could spot your ghillie suit from this hide.

All of a sudden, you hear a crack, frome closer than you'd expect. There's a sharp pain in your neck as the TulAmmo FMJ round tears it's way through. You've been hit by Boogaloo Bob, with his UTG decked out PSA.

You feel the wet heat as he looms inches from your face, dropping crumbs on the ground all around you. His voice creaks with moistness. 'Just as good' he whispers, stepping over your body as everything fades to black. He reaches out for your weapon with his Cheeto stained fingers. The last thing you feel - his NCSTAR sling gliding over your face.