I finally hit the range yesterday with several ARs. Two I had for several years, but hadn't found the chance to shoot them while in MD.
Palmetto State Armory has a number of attractively priced AR variants, and some of you have probably wondered if the bargain-priced rifles are worth it. Fired:
DSA 1 in 9" twist pistol-length 5.56x45mm flat-top with Valdada micro RDS;
PSA 16" midlength 1 in 7" 5.56 with Bushnell 1-4x24 scope;
PSA "AR-9" 10.5" upper with dedicated pistol-length 9mm lower for Glock mags with Aimpoint PRO;
S&W 5.45x39mm upper with Bushnell 1x28 RDS;
PSA 7.62x39mm upper on un-remembered lower.
I should immediately point out that issues with receiver pins- too loose or too tight- were experienced on 3 of 4 PSA receivers. These may all be related to improperly fitted springs and detents, all of these lowers in question factory assembled.
9mm AR: a real pleasure to shoot. Minimal recoil, and plenty accurate. Brain pain shots at 25 yards were easy with the PRO, once sighted in. The ETS 31-round mags won't take a full magload yet, but I only encountered one malfunction, a FTF, in about 80 rounds, including about 12 rounds of 124 grain HSTs. Once I figured where to hold, I could hit the 200 yard steel with most shots.
Cons: rear take-down pin is so loose, it sometimes can slip out without even being bumped. The detent spring can be seen hanging out above the PG.
PSA 7.62x39mm upper: numerous light strikes/ignition failures on Wolf HP and SP. This tended to disrupt the tidy groups I was building as I sighted in.
S&W 5.45x39mm upper: I originally had this mounted on a PSA M4 lower, but problems with the takedown pins led to me finally shooting with the PSA "pistol" lower I had used with both 5.56 ARs. In some ways, this rifle was the most frustrating. It was showing a tendency towards very good accuracy, even with the Silver Bear Russian ammo I was using, and the cheap Bushnell RDS, but I was plagued with continual FTFs from the new 5.45x39mm mags I was using. I believe I also had 1 ignition failure.
Both 5.56x45mm upper experienced no negative issues whatsoever. It was almost like the whole system was designed and perfected for this cartridge! Go figure. (I was also lucky, in that the AR-15 pistol lower was the only 1 of the 4 PSA lowers with no problems.)
The surprise for me was how much I enjoyed using the little mini AR. Even with the tiny Valdada RDS, brainpain shots were quick and easy at 25 and 50 yards. Contact your congressman, and urge them to support the Hearing Protection.Act today.
There you have it. PSA offers AR-15 pattern rifles at very affordable prices. QC does seem to be somewhat lacking, and I strongly suggest carefully testing your PSA before putting it to serious use. On the bright side, poor fitting of lower parts kits is not very hard to resolve, just annoying when the factory does a poor job of it.
I really hope to find functional mags for the 5.45x39, and hope reliable ignition can happen with the 7.62x39mm.
Palmetto State Armory has a number of attractively priced AR variants, and some of you have probably wondered if the bargain-priced rifles are worth it. Fired:
DSA 1 in 9" twist pistol-length 5.56x45mm flat-top with Valdada micro RDS;
PSA 16" midlength 1 in 7" 5.56 with Bushnell 1-4x24 scope;
PSA "AR-9" 10.5" upper with dedicated pistol-length 9mm lower for Glock mags with Aimpoint PRO;
S&W 5.45x39mm upper with Bushnell 1x28 RDS;
PSA 7.62x39mm upper on un-remembered lower.
I should immediately point out that issues with receiver pins- too loose or too tight- were experienced on 3 of 4 PSA receivers. These may all be related to improperly fitted springs and detents, all of these lowers in question factory assembled.
9mm AR: a real pleasure to shoot. Minimal recoil, and plenty accurate. Brain pain shots at 25 yards were easy with the PRO, once sighted in. The ETS 31-round mags won't take a full magload yet, but I only encountered one malfunction, a FTF, in about 80 rounds, including about 12 rounds of 124 grain HSTs. Once I figured where to hold, I could hit the 200 yard steel with most shots.
Cons: rear take-down pin is so loose, it sometimes can slip out without even being bumped. The detent spring can be seen hanging out above the PG.
PSA 7.62x39mm upper: numerous light strikes/ignition failures on Wolf HP and SP. This tended to disrupt the tidy groups I was building as I sighted in.
S&W 5.45x39mm upper: I originally had this mounted on a PSA M4 lower, but problems with the takedown pins led to me finally shooting with the PSA "pistol" lower I had used with both 5.56 ARs. In some ways, this rifle was the most frustrating. It was showing a tendency towards very good accuracy, even with the Silver Bear Russian ammo I was using, and the cheap Bushnell RDS, but I was plagued with continual FTFs from the new 5.45x39mm mags I was using. I believe I also had 1 ignition failure.
Both 5.56x45mm upper experienced no negative issues whatsoever. It was almost like the whole system was designed and perfected for this cartridge! Go figure. (I was also lucky, in that the AR-15 pistol lower was the only 1 of the 4 PSA lowers with no problems.)
The surprise for me was how much I enjoyed using the little mini AR. Even with the tiny Valdada RDS, brainpain shots were quick and easy at 25 and 50 yards. Contact your congressman, and urge them to support the Hearing Protection.Act today.
There you have it. PSA offers AR-15 pattern rifles at very affordable prices. QC does seem to be somewhat lacking, and I strongly suggest carefully testing your PSA before putting it to serious use. On the bright side, poor fitting of lower parts kits is not very hard to resolve, just annoying when the factory does a poor job of it.
I really hope to find functional mags for the 5.45x39, and hope reliable ignition can happen with the 7.62x39mm.
