Building a PSA AR based rifle

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cowtownup

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This is my first AR build and I really want to just buy a complete lower and then a complete upper and slap them together and begin learning about the parts and pieces that way.

I am going to get this lower:

http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/complete-psa-ar-15-lower-classic-edition.html

My question is when I go to buy the barreled upper assembly, I will need to get one with a BCG & a charging handle? Is that correct? or I will need to buy those seperately. Once I have those, will I have all the parts required to assemble? ie. pins, bolts, etc. etc.

This is going to be a learning / budget / beater rifle that will probably spend more time in the RSC than anything, but I want one.. LOL... I'm open to some guidance, but this AR talk loses me pretty quickly and I don't want this thread to go DEEP.. I just want to get one and start learning the parts, shooting it some, dissasemble and reassemble to familiarize myself with it... I'm buying the lower now and the upper later in order to save up the money..

Thanks in advance...
 
A "complete" upper with BCG/CH is everything you need to have in order to just pin them together. A complete lower + complete upper with BCG/CH is all thats needed.
 
All you need is the complete upper and you can pin it together. You'll of course need to make sure you have the BCG and charging handle. And make sure you have iron sights or optic or both.
 
Last edited:
cowtownup said:
In regards to the iron sights.... Some barreled uppers appear to have the front sight, I will just need a rear sight that attaches to the picatinny, correct?

Such as this upper:

http://palmettostatearmory.com/inde...psa-16-hammer-forged-midlength-upperpper.html
Click to expand...

That upper is very nice and for a great price! With the complete lower you linked you'll have a great rifle. Just need rear sight (Magpul MBUS2 would be good), magazines, ammo and some day a sling.

Nice choices! So much better than an AR off the rack at the LGS.
 
Yeah, all you'll need is the rear sight. Don't get in a hurry to order from PSA. Stuff that's out of stock comes in all the time. Sign up for their email alerts.
 
The MBUS2s are good sights, but there's a wide range of quality sights available from companies like Knight's Armament, Troy, MI, GG&G, and LMT. It all depends on your personal tastes and budget.
 
They have blemished lowers with lower parts kits as a package deal for $99 again today. It's a pretty tough deal to pass up... factoring in the cost of the LPK, you're getting a lower for what... like $50?
 
Yep, everything but the lower receiver ships to your door. You can get an upper with no BCG/ch and buy the BCG and ch separately if you want. They just slide into the upper. Removing them is part of basic cleaning, so it isn't really any extra assembly. No pinning required or anything.

That said, the deal you linked to is pretty hard to beat. It would make an awesome first AR.
 
PSA is slow on shipping. Expect 2-3 weeks wait time before shipping on uppers. My order on 2 uppers was placed 3 weeks ago and just shipped today. They will charge your credit card when the order is placed. They don't combine shipping either, so there is no advantage to buy multiple items in one order. The $99 Blemished lower + LPK kit shipping is $15 which is basically adding the shipping charges of the 2 together even though they sell as a package and they are relatively small parts that fit in one small box. Still a pretty good price anyway. I bought my lower/LPK kit ($99)and adjustable stock ($32) when they had free shipping if over $50. With the M4 complete upper which was on sale for $320 + 15 shipping, I can put together a rifle at $450. Now the holiday season is getting close, they probably will offer free shipping again.
 
I'm building my second right now and a lot is coming from PSA. It is important to be patient in ordering parts because that gets you the best deals. If you are in a hurry you can just go to the store and buy an AR, but if you wait for the deals you can build one for really cheap. I just ordered a complete BCG and upper parts kit for ~110 shipped.
 
If you're sure you're going to go with rails later, you might as well just get an upper that has them now if you can afford it. Personally, I like a more streamlined rifle without rails, but that's just me.
 
Many rail systems are an easy upgrade. If you're thinking about rails you may want to get a MagPul MOE handguard now. It's a $30 drop in part that most folks find to be a nice step up over the standard handguard. You can very easily bolt various length rail sections to the MOE handguard. That way you can see try different configurations and see how much rail you actually do (or don't) need before dropping far more money on a dedicated rail system.
 
I had zero experience putting a AR together, but it was fun trying it. Last Summer I put a PSA Mid-length together. I built the lower with all PSA parts and then bought one of their built uppers. It was a nice rifle that performed well.

IMG_3621.jpg
 
Ordered this lower Wednesday, had my FFL fax over their license yesterday and got shipping notification from UPS today... Thats what I'm talking about....
 
It's OK, but why get a carbine length gas system with short rail..................when you can get a softer shooting mid-length with more room on the rail.

Sent from my DROID RAZR
 
Carbine vs. Mid-length vs Rifle gas systems

Carbine is Mil-spec, but it doesn't mean it's the best for a 16" or 14.75" barrel.

I think the mid-length shoots softer. It has the added benefit of giving you more room out front on your rail to mount a light and a sling attachment. I like to hold my rifle out front further than you can do with a Carbine.

If you don't get a barrel with a FSB, but has a low profile gas block, then it doesn't matter all that much which gas system you get. You can get as long of a rail as you want. I still prefer the mid-length gas system.

6284852777_6959712be8.jpg

53092510.jpg
 
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