Im not shilling for PSA: I just wanted to alert the community to a potentially good deal. PSA is selling pistol build kits in both 556 and 300blk in the $270-$450 range. These kits come with a fully assembled upper, BCG and lower parts kit so all you need to have a fully functioning firearm is a lower reciever and white light. All the kits come with either a shockwave or SBA3 brace, so that really helped me make the decision. I didnt want a pistol without a SBA3, and my total build will come in under $550. Thats glock money for an AR. Besides the good braces, these kits come with c158 bolts but the barrels are nitride treated, not CL.
Before everyone jumps in about: “How PSA aint a Colt”. I know. This is not my first AR or my first build for that matter. I have owned both colt and BCM rifles. I do have a complete 14.5 pinned rifle that started out as a PSA parts kit, just like these are and it has ran 3K rounds trouble free. Also MrGunznGear did a video on one and had some really good experiences in his 800 rounds:
For myself I purchased a 10.5 that has the 12" rail and linear comp, and comes with the SBA3. Im really curious if I am going to like or hate the linear comp. Right off the bat I am going to throw the carbine buffer in the range bag (There’s probably a few in there now) and put in a decent spring with H2. If the H2 I have on hand doesnt fully cut it than I will buy and H3. 10.5 is new territory for me. I also have a spare BCM extractor kit that I will probably throw on the BCG.
I should be recieving mine in the mail next week, but I will be out of town untill the following week. Once I unbox I’ll report back, and then continue to add to this thread when I get a real range time on it.
I own some “high end” AR’s and some PSA’s-a Dissipator build and a 16” mid-length. The Dissy upper didn’t have grease on the barrel nut threads but the 16” seems fine. Both have functioned well. PSA scratches an itch without the high likelihood of my wife beating me to death after logging into our bank account :jester:.
last night i put together a PSA 10.5" Classic Shockwave Pistol kit (everything except a stripped lower) and was able to complete the project in 30 minutes. i considered the overall quality as i worked. having build many dozens of ARs over the last 45 years, for a kit running only $280 i was pretty darn impressed. besides the lower, all that was required to make it fully functional was a rear sight and magazine, bringing the total to well less than $400. no bad at all.
Put together a PSA pistol last week and finally got a chance to shoot it. 5 mags no problems, brass ejected into a neat pile to my right. So far so good.
I have one of the PSA pistol uppers and It’s been quite good. Had some issues early on with steel cased ammo getting stuck on extraction but found out that it had some brown cosmoline type gunk in the chamber and bore. Once I got that cleaned out it has been flawless. I have less than $400 into it minus the red dot and for something to bang around on the tractor or in the rear of the UTV it can’t be beat.
I just picked up a PSA pistol lower with the SBA3 brace. My first PSA anything. I was sick, and tired of traveling out of state, and not taking my SBR with me. Now I can just put that upper on the pistol lower.
The buffer tube on the PSA lower wasn’t that great, it cross threaded real easy. I decided with the SBR not traveling, I’d put the Law Tactical folder on the pistol, but when I backed the castle nut up on the buffer tube on the PSA, it cross threaded. I ended up moving the SBR tube over. So now I’ll have to get a new buffer for the SBR… unless I take it to my gunsmith… Still, everything else is good quality for the price. Everything fit great, and works as it should. I also moved my J P trigger over. I really like that SBA3 brace. Best one out there I think.
Had to take my VFG off. Guess it’s time for an angled one. It’s over 26" so it would be a “firearm” if I left it on, but I need to preserve the pistolness of it so it’s covered by handgun laws. Stupid, confusing laws…
Just know going in that you never know what you’re getting with PSA. You’ll either get something that works or it will be a soup sandwich. I’ve had both with PSA.
I probably have enough PSAs for 4 complete carbines. Out of those, one upper was swapped out. The “bad” upper had not been completed with the machining / milling process (the outside end of the upper (both sides) where the ch is inserted / crazy). Regarding pistols, my first was a 5.56 w/ gen 1 Shockwave (8.5"). Runs great. I replaced the Shockwave w/ a SBA3 and like it much better. But like you said, it can be a crap-shoot with them. Trying to ween away from them except perhaps for killer ammunition, optics, etc deals.
upon unboxing and first inspection it appears that my charging handle may be slighty out of spec. Theres a bit of rub from the charging handle on the left side of the reciever right before it latches closed. I can either run it as is, and Im sure it will clearance itself out and leave a nasty mar, or I will just get a new charging handle. Probably the latter since I need to get some other parts anyways.
Also the inside of the reciever and buffer tube do not have the grey coating like my BCM, although the PSA reciever has the same forging mark as the BCM. The BCG appears fine and the gas tube is properly aligned. I can’t tell if the gas block has thread locker unless I take the rail off, but I can tell there is a VERY small amount of grease on the barrel nut. I think they are boarding on the line of a little too conservative.
This is only a report on the quality of the upper, as I do not have the LPK put into a lower yet so I cant comment on that quality.
With the Bads out of the way:
This rail is dead SEXY. It looks like a knock off LVOA rail. I’ll try and post pictures soon.
upon furhter inspection I noticed that there is no chrome lining on the BCG. This is kind of a bummer and I am gonna contact PSA about it. I also noticed that the charging handle is bent and completely out of spec and has a slight bow to it. Im gonna throw it in the trash and get a new one.
The product information is quite light regarding the bolt carrier group. If it has a Nitride finish, then it won’t be chrome lined, since the Nitride is supposed to be as good as if not better (not in my opinion). If it’s got a Phosphate finish, then it should be chrome lined.
I just went and re-read the ad, and it does outline the BCG as having most of the milspec traits. Thank you for pointing out that its nitride as at first I thought they just missed the chrome lining process. I know the pressure and conditions around the gas rings want a good hardness. Im now back to being satisfied with my purchase if all I really have to replace is a charging handle for a serviceable kit. I actually dont hate that it’s nitride because I can now objectively compare it to my couple of milspec BCG’s with a couple K on them.
I contacted PSA just to see what they will say. Basically just: “Hey the charging handel is bad, and the BCG isnt as advertised” If they dont even respond I wont mind, but CS is a good indicator of a company and Im already posting this much of the process.
I look at them as "you roll the dice and take your chances. Of all the PSA stuff I’ve dealt with, I’ve run into exactly one out of spec upper (they replaced it free of charge and didn’t even want the defective one back) and one out of spec disco* (I tossed it in the trash and grabbed a spare I had in the AR parts bin). *Definitely do your full function checks prior to loading up at the range!
I just ordered a “Daily Deal” kit from them:
PSA 8.5" Pistol-length 300AAC Blackout 1/8 Phosphate 7" Lightweight M-Lok Classic Shockwave Pistol Kit - 5165449142 $329.99
PSA “MAD DOG” AR-15 Stripped Lower Receiver (not big on gimmicky lowers, but it’s SECDEF Mattis and it was on sale for $49.99+$9 S&H to FFL)
Holosun Micro Sight, Dot Reticle with Shake Awake - HS403GL $119.99
10 - Sig Sauer 300 AAC Blackout 120gr HT Ammunition, 20 Round Box - E300H1-20 $159.90
So for a complete .300BLK pistol w/Shockwave brace, red dot optic & 200 rds of premium ammo, I’ll be out the door at my FFL for $688.87. So long as it works as planned, I’ll add a sling, BUIS, hand stop, light and more ammo once it’s all tested. Then a Sandman-K once Uncle Sugar gets off their duffs and DONE!
I’ll try to post a follow up once it’s all sorted out.
This morning I recieved an email with RMA instrucions. Honestly I’m not gonna send anything back. So far my my complaints only include a out of spec charging handle and cotter pin. Thats less than $15 in parts. Even though they sent the wrong BCG, Im willing to give nitirde a chance. Until now I only have experience with milspec BCG’s so I’ll see how this nitirde cleans up.
Took the PSA pistol upper out today and put about 200 rounds through the gun. Mainly 55gr reman but I did run a full mag of 77gr to confirm function as thats my go to load. The BCG felt a little tight hand cycling before firing any live rounds, so I was wondering if that would lead to any stoppages, but after racking the charging handle a dozen times it seemed to clearnace whatever sticktion there was and just ran without a single issue. Since it was a brand new upper, I lubed the BCG and barrel extension very liberally, and then applied a good amount of white lithium grease to the charging handle and BCG rails. I feel the white lithium grease helps break in a new upper. I dont regularly use it otherwise. The lower I put the upper on had an H2 buffer and milspec spring from BCM. Brass ejected pretty consistantly to the 3’o’clock suggesting that this 10.5 isnt terribly over gassed as some are. Besides the out of spec charging handle I havent found anything wrong with the rest of the kit and function has so far been perfect. Super happy with my $400 AR. The rail is drool worthy, and the blast forwading device seems to work very well. I’ll try and get proper pictures of the gun tomorow and host/post them in the next few days.
I was really surprised that connecting at 2-300 yards on steel ipsc with a red dot was no problem for the little barrel. I havent even properly zero’d the rifle past a rough bore zero, so I cant comment yet on proper group sizes at 100 yards. This range trip was more about testing function, and I cant be happier with the results so far.
