I recently got a Palmetto State Armory, Classic lower parts kit for my AR.
Upon installation in my lower I’m not impressed, with the safety ON the trigger has about 1.5-2mm on play with noticeable grittiness. Same with the safety off and hammer cocked. The grittiness and creep of the trigger was almost expected as its not a high end kit, but the trigger play with the safety on/off seems unacceptable.
PSA stuff seems to be held in pretty high regard, so I’m not sure if this is right or if my expectations are to high.
A friend of mine got the same one (we ordered around the same time), and it is the same way as far as trigger play, creep and grittiness. I’ve used several other brands of rifles (stag, bushmaster, dmps, etc.) and have not experienced this.
It seems like I could polish the trigger to clear up the engagement but the tolerance between the trigger and the safety is too loose, almost like too much material was removed from the back of the trigger when it was made.
Has anyone else used this kit and had the same experience?
Every standard mil spec trigger I have ever handled has had a little play with the safety on. I have one PSA lower and it is not as good as my DD trigger in my other lower. But it is still a usable trigger IMHO
What do you expect from a low cost mil spec trigger? If you want a match quality trigger then spend the money on one.
Does the PSA kit function correctly? Is it possible to hit a man sized target out to 400 yards with this trigger? If so it sounds to me like you got what you paid for, be happy and put some lead down range.
I already have two other brands of “mil spec” triggers which function much better and have no tolerance issues. Being as there is some type of standard/spec for “mil spec” (or so the name implies) I was trying to find out if all PSA triggers were like this or if I somehow was unlucky and got one from a bad batch.
I planned on getting a high trigger group at some point but I got this to try out for now since everyone was giving PSA kits such praise.
Dollars to donuts says the trigger was installed dry. Remove it from the lower and apply grease or nickle based Never Seez to the pivot pins, sears and the curved bottom of the hammer. It will still have creep, but most- if not all- the grittiness will go away.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POLISH THE FCG. The case hardening can be thin and it’s too easy to cut through to the softer material below. Once that happens, doubles and other problems will shortly follow
In my experience, oil is not good enough. Grease or anti-seize should be used.
Yes, there is quite a bit of creep in a AR GI type trigger and it’s there to reduce the chances of an ND and the long reset is there to prevent doubling
Oil on the pins and each side of the Disconnector. then a dab of light grease on the contact surfaces of the hammer and trigger. Then a dab on the top of the hammer where it meets the bolt.
Then shoot the snot out of it!
Just put one of their lower build kits together. The disconnector was a little too tight, I assume due to tolerance stacking. I replaced it with a spare, and it now functions fine. I must have gotten lucky, as it has the best GI type trigger I have ever seen out of the box. I usually use a SSA or SSA-E, so I can’t confirm if this is an anomaly.
I’ve used the PSA LPKs and the individual parts look good enough but I only buy them w/o fire control group. I run Gucci triggers in my ARs because a stock GI trigger is a crap-shoot regardless who makes it.
the best stock trigger I’ve ever felt was on a Bushmaster lower that I had years ago for CMP competition. the worst was a DD…
Don’t know about the high regard part. If you search around, PSA was still building a reputation and was not considered everyone’s favorite on M4C. I think it’s the availability of parts making them popular currently. And compared to some of the popup companies making parts they seem much more dependable at this time. I’m building a complete PSA middy and a lower for my BCM. so will see in due time for me.
I said the same thing about my new LMT defender 2000 when I first got it, it still has movement when the safety is on, but after about 500rds the grittiness went away and now with well over 3000rds through it I can’t tell any noticeable difference between it and the ALG ACT. If your going to stay mil-spec then I say run it till it smooths out or get an ALG and keep the PSA as a spare.
Just my experience, I’m not a professional so take it Fwiw.
