PSA 5.56 AR review

Status
Not open for further replies.
That's about what I got from my PSA using BUIS and plinking hand loads. It's an ok gun so far.
 
Review was a poor word to use. How about it shot great. Thanks for correcting me. I am a strong believer in "words mean things".
 
Is that the SOCOM upper? If it is, can you take a picture of the barrel under the handguards? I've been curious for a while how thick it actually is. Thanks.
 
Tell us about the Freedom upper. What's the "feel" of it? Really good quality? Mid-range quality? I've read that the barrels are made by Wilson Arms. The prices are so good as to give me pause.
 
All the stainless "freedom" uppers I've seen are gov't. profile. The PTAC stainless seem to be luck of the draw on govt or HBAR.

I personally own two, one that I equipped with a UTG Pro 15" super slim, the other a middy MOE dissipator as-received. The quality seems pretty good, and they shoot well, running 1-1.5 MOA (10 shots @ 100 yards) with decent ammo, closer to 2 MOA with M193 or M855. Nary a malfunction out of either so far.

IMO, the freedom line is GTG.
 
I would say it is definitely midlevel. I do not know what the psa socom upper is so cannot comment. I shot my rra bull barrel (in the picture) The rra is quite accurate and the group size was comparable to the psa with same ammo. It is a nice package regardless of the cost.
A two stage trigger is all it needs. BTW I am not trying to promote PSA, just thought those on a budget might benefit from my experience. I recently did their 7.62 39 and the ar10. Pleased with them also.
 
Tell us about the Freedom upper. What's the "feel" of it? Really good quality? Mid-range quality? I've read that the barrels are made by Wilson Arms. The prices are so good as to give me pause.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine has a Freedom rifle that I've shot extensively. From what I can tell, aside from the barrel, all other parts are identical to what PSA uses on their standard line. The bolt wasn't HP/MPI tested as in their Premuim line. Accuracy is quite good.

For the price these complete rifles run (~$600-$650), I believe they are far superior to other competitors in that price range, including the Bushmaster, DPMS, and 2nd gen S&W M&P Sports (which lack the superior 1:8 twist 5R barrels of the 1st gen).
 
It really is amazing how cheaply you can put together a completely suitable Second Amendment purpose rifle these days. Any able-bodied male in this country who doesn't own a good fighting rifle really has no excuse.
 
My son built the same rifle last month and got the same excellent shooting results. He is active duty, and this is his third rifle. Best deal for a rifle that shoots very well and appears to be of good quality.

I built out my 10.5" pistol with a PSA upper and it performs very well also. I am about to buy the same Freedom Mid Length kit to build out my last lower. It will be my 23rd and final rifle build.
 
You know, I often wonder how "overboard" we go in analyzing what makes a reliable firearm. Were the rifles used by our GI's in WWII HP/MPI tested? Were the manufacturing processes as good then as they are today? Many of those Garands are still fine working arms. Is a Freedom upper going to stop working after some hard use? Is the barrel going to melt or something? I have to think that the majority of AR's being manufactured today are quality firearms that will exceed the needs of most civilians.
 
You know, I often wonder how "overboard" we go in analyzing what makes a reliable firearm.
Click to expand...

That depends on if you know you will be going into harm's way with your rifle. Myself - I want the best-made and most reliable rifle my finances will allow. Right now - that means BCM for me. But I also own some PSA rifles I've assembled and the quality and reliability are very good for the price.

Were the rifles used by our GI's in WWII HP/MPI tested?
Click to expand...

No, but they were tested by other means and proofed. HP/MPI testing would have been irrelevant for a rifle like the M1 Garand anyway, which has a much stronger bolt design than that of the AR-15.

Were the manufacturing processes as good then as they are today?
Click to expand...

Of course not. Technology has improved greatly in 70 years. But every one of those afore-mentioned Garands had to meet an exceedingly strict review by a government inspector. This is an added layer of QA commercial rifles do not receive.

Many of those Garands are still fine working arms. Is a Freedom upper going to stop working after some hard use?
Click to expand...

No way to know. The Garand has 70 years of hindsight on its side.

Is the barrel going to melt or something?
Click to expand...

Not unless you have a huge ammo budget and not much common sense to go with it.

I have to think that the majority of AR's being manufactured today are quality firearms that will exceed the needs of most civilians.
Click to expand...

This is certainly true. Some are definitely much better than others, but competition and the internet have forced most manufacturers to step up their game.
 
That depends on if you know you will be going into harm's way with your rifle. Myself - I want the best-made and most reliable rifle my finances will allow. Right now - that means BCM for me.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of this boils down to "reputation". From what I can gather, BCM has a very good reputation, particularly in the customer service area. But that's all we can go on, and I think relying on reputation in itself is not a bad way to go. Yet, we're still talking about essentially the same thing among manufacturers. They all produce essentially the same basic machine, which ultimately does nothing more than spit a bullet out of a barrel. And when we really consider the AR platform, it's not a terribly complex mechanism. I shot a PTAC upper that worked very well, shots tight groups, and appeared solid. I don't know what type of "harm's way" scenario I'd every find myself in, but that particular upper would be reliable to protect my home of serve as a reliable stand off weapon (not to mention hunting). Unless one is going off to sustained war, I just have to think that just about every manufacturer produces a platform that will serve the needs guys like me.
 
I have built out the rifles that I want, and I really can't think of another configuration that I would want. I am about to do a 2 rifle swap out rebuild, taking two of my rifles and switching out the barrels, uppers, and lowers to better suit my needs. 2 of the builds were for my son, and he has now built his first, so he is good to go. I guess at my age and with the medical issues I have had I am about done building, but I am not done.
 
Good for you Doug...sorry about medical issues. I have no reason to do any more builds either. I was thinking of maybe a 6.8. Just to mess with reloading that round. I hunt with bolt rifles though so not a lot of use for the ar's. I need to sell some of mine. My problem is picking up stripped lowers on sale. Then I feel the urge to put a rifle together on the 'lonely' lower.
 
If it ever comes time to invoke the 2A option, I think just about any low-end AR with a cheap scope (heck, just about any rifle really) will be just fine for most of the things that need to be done. The thing about playing the insurgent is that you don't have to beat anybody on the battlefield to win... you just have to snuff enough of the officials the bad guys send to rule you so as to make yourself ungovernable. Still, there is the possibility of having to tangle with some of their hired muscle. And even aside from 2A situations, I still like the reassurance of proof testing for a good old home defense rifle or trunk gun.
 
From what I can gather, BCM has a very good reputation, particularly in the customer service area. But that's all we can go on, and I think relying on reputation in itself is not a bad way to go.
Click to expand...

BCM's reputation did not materialize out of thin air. It was built out of a history of an extremely high level of QC and QA, and clear publication of and adherence to specifications that many other makers ignore, gloss over, or obfuscate. And that's what many folks like about BCM - they give you much more to go on than reputation. The opposite would be a manufacturer like today's Remington, which only seeks to cash in on a well-known name, because it's products can no longer be sold on basis of quality.

Yet, we're still talking about essentially the same thing among manufacturers. They all produce essentially the same basic machine, which ultimately does nothing more than spit a bullet out of a barrel.
Click to expand...

The question is how consistently and reliably does that machine spit that bullet out of that barrel. Despite a similarity of design, all ARs were not made equal.

.
 
Last edited:
The question is how consistently and reliably does that machine spit that bullet out of that barrel. Despite a similarity of design, all ARs were not made equal.
Click to expand...
I agree that all AR's are not equal. I have read that psa barrels are made my fn. If true they are probably very good barrels. There are some crappy AR components out there for sure. But most of the stuff is fine for a rifle that will last a lifetime with many thousands of rounds downrange. One of the reasons this is true is this: It does not make sense to manufacture a cheap barrel or bolt or whatever. The bulk of the costs are in the machining operations. In those instances doing it correctly does not cost more than making it out of spec. Sure there are blems and mistakes people try to pawn off but that is the exception in my experience.
 
It was built out of a history of an extremely high level of QC and QC, and clear publication of and adherence to specifications that many other makers ignore, gloss over, or obfuscate
Click to expand...

BCM has an excellent reputation, as it appears that people who have purchased their products are very happy with the purchase. It also appears that when there is a problem, BCM is very quick and professional to resolve it's problem. The customers then hit the internet and talk about the great product or service. That's how BCM made its bones. The rest of us rely on the opinions of others, with good cause. It's all about rep. BCM may publish data, but except for speculation, it does not appear that anyone knows from whom they get their barrels. I'm told that they use FN barrels, which would be the same that PSA uses in their premium line of uppers (I've read). So BCM is not actually as forthcoming as we would like to believe - and the barrel is a major component! And I would respectfully challenge your opinion on "QC" (quality control?). Unless we work for BCM or have a close relation at BCM, none of us have any ideas as to how BCM follows through with QC, or whether its procees is better than that of PSA's or S&W, etc... We assume it has good QC, because it has a great reputation. But as I said, that's all we can go on, and that's enough to go on, frankly. I get back to my original point: for everyday 2nd amendment use, a $600 SW Sport is just as good as a $3,500 Noveske.
 
The bulk of the costs are in the machining operations. In those instances doing it correctly does not cost more than making it out of spec.
Click to expand...

It just seems that most "makers" of AR's are getting their components from established manufacturers. Do we have any doubt that FN is practiced at making good barrels? Or Wilson Arms? In fact, do we know of any major manufacturers of barrels that don't make a quality product? Same with other parts. I think all the manufacturers are now making sufficiently reliable components. Take the Freedom upper on the example in the OP's picture. Is there any doubt that it will give good service over 20,000+ rounds?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
Review of PSA 20" AR (lots of pics!)
Replies
8
Views
4K
henschman
H
3
  • Locked
AR lower receiver parts kits question
Replies
3
Views
410
MetalMan52
MetalMan52
R
  • Locked
PSA PA-15 Inexpensive AR
Replies
14
Views
2K
MagnumWill
M
Q
  • Locked
New PSA upper on ArmaLite lower
Replies
10
Views
977
Quentin
Q
JShirley
  • Locked
AR Range Day
Replies
11
Views
997
JShirley
JShirley
Back
Top