FN PS90: made in woodsheds by drunken monkeys ?

[Kaylee]

In this case, I'd be more concerned about how much care went into making the rest of the firearm if the outside was so sloppily done. It's not a question of trading fine looks for fine function. Sure, who isn't willing to do that? But it doesn't have to be an either-or, and at that price point it shouldn't be. We're not talking about tracking down A++ walnut blanks or spending hours of hand-engraving time on this machine.

At $1600, you should have more than enough time to at least stamp the chambering info on straight and knock the casting marks off the sight assy. That kind of finish work can be done profitably on airsoft toys costing less than a tenth of the P90.

That said.. I understand they're just starting up civvy production, and have to deal with both small market numbers and the kinks of (I assume) a new production line, so I'd be willing to cut 'em a little extra slack. But again, at that price point... those operating surfaces inside the gun had better be mirrors sliding over each other like glass and locking up like Fort Knox.

What's the inside of the gun look like?

 

[1911Ron]

May be Century International made it

 

[Black Snowman]

I don't own one but I hadled one at the local shop for quite a while. I was drooling over these for years but I too was put off the cheap cast appearance. The plastic didn't bother me.

What's the inside of the gun look like?

Well, of what I could see, bolt assembly, breach, etc. . . there were no sign of machine marks and everything looked fantastic.

If I ever get an SBR done, it will be a PS90. Mainly for my love of bullpup designs and it being just about the ultimate expression of that design. Although, while I'm waiting on paperwork, I'll probably do some clean-up on the castings and seams and then have the thing coated in Gun-Kote. But, that's $2000 by the time I put my labor, tax tag, gun, etc into it and that buys a lot of other goodies I'd like to have first. So that's going to be WAY down the road.

 

[VA27]

I've looked at one in a local shop. I can put up with the "military finish" but the optical sight is a joke! The reticle is so dim in a well lighted room that it is nearly impossible to see. If it was a flat-top (so I could mount my own sight) in the $500 range AND chambered in 22 WMR I MIGHT have to have one.

 

[MachIVshooter]

May be Century International made it

My Century G-3 has better fit and finish than any of the seven PS90's I've encountered. They shoot OK, but the overall quality is comparable to a Hi-Point carbine that costs 1/10th as much. And I think the folks at Hi-point take more pride in the exterior finish.

I have to agree with the original poster and other members on this one. For $1600+, I expect a whole lot more. The PS90 just plain feels cheap and poorly constructed. While a neat concept it may be, I can buy two top-quality Armalite M-15's for the price of one PS90. I wouldn't give more than $300 for one of those critters as they are currently made.

 

[Koobuh]

"That kind of finish work can be done profitably on airsoft toys costing less than a tenth of the P90."

Well, to be fair, most Airsoft guns are made in China, where the labor cost to knock flashing off is much, much cheaper.
I'm assuming of course that most of the parts for the PS90 are made in America, where labor is much higher paid and generally not as motivated (as compared to a pack of half-starved kids desperate not to be fired).

 

[redneck2]

Everybody's got their "thing". I have a hard time warming up to a lot of military stuff. This thing looks like it ought to be used to jack up a Buick instead of combat.

My Bushie AR is sure finished a lot better than that for $500 less.

I'm assuming of course that most of the parts for the PS90 are made in America, where labor is much higher paid and generally not as motivated (as compared to a pack of half-starved kids desperate not to be fired).

If this is true, no wonder our trade balance is so bad.

 

[steveracer]

I really wanted one...

...till I handled one.

 

[Master Blaster]

The entire Fire control group, Hammer, trigger, sear, are made of plastic,
OOPS I mean Polymer. While Polymer is just fine for furniture and frames and such, no one is going to convince me that its good for the FCG. Then there is the lovely 11 pound trigger pull, how does one do a trigger job on the polymer FCG???

IIRC there was a recall on the polymer FCG.

Sorry no thanks.

 

[hksw]

Forgot to address the magazine question.

One of the features of the gun that got me interested in the PS90 was the 90° stacking of the rounds in the mag. The curiosity of how the mag function was intriguing to me. I knew it was quite different than the HK G11 loading system where the gun was the working part that oriented the round into the correct direction but in the case of the PS90, the mag did all of the work. The mags from my friend's gun were never disassembled so a can't tell exactly how it works but the rounds are inserted pretty much like any single feed mag. As the round under the one being fed into the mag gets pushed down, it rotates.

Oh, also, the bolt hold open sequence is a bit goofy. To lock the bolt back, you have to insert a finger through the ejection port (located behind and below the strong hand grip) and push up a flap into place that will hold the bolt back, which is manually held back during the process. (The flap will block the ejection port hole.) To release the bolt stop, just pull back the bolt a little and let loose, like sling shotting a 1911 except the bolt will kick the flap out of the way instead of the flap just falling away. The instructions for this were on a seperate sheet of paper not attached to the manual.

 

[AZ Jeff]

The entire Fire control group, Hammer, trigger, sear, are made of plastic, OOPS I mean Polymer. While Polymer is just fine for furniture and frames and such, no one is going to convince me that its good for the FCG.

This FN product is not the first to use plastic parts in the FCG. The Steyr AUG has used them since it's introduction in the early 1980's.

I have not heard of any stories of durability issues with the Steyr trigger system parts, so I assume it's a non-issue.