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Thread: Is PSA a good rifle?
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2 January 2016, 16:43 #1New Member
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Is PSA a good rifle?
HI Guys
Just bought my very first AR15 can you tell me is PSA a good riefl?
Thank you
Jeff
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2 January 2016, 17:10 #2
It depends on what line of PSA you are looking at. The PTAC stuff is pretty terrible, the freedom line is decent, and their Premium line is pretty good, especially for the money. I hesitate to say they are as good as Colt or BCM but for the price point they are hard to beat.
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2 January 2016, 17:29 #3
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2 January 2016, 18:07 #4LEO / MIL
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Sounds like a question you should have asked BEFORE buying the weapon...
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2 January 2016, 19:47 #5
Good stuff. PSA outsouces their CHF barrels from FN like all other top tier barrel "sellers" and they have other parts made by LW Shneider, Wilson, and AP. I think the Freedom Line is slightly better than PTAC (Practical tactical) line. They are also having Lowers made by FN as well. Their BCG's are 158 Carpenter, shot peened, etc etc. They make the Freedom and Ptac to offer an affordable gun to first time owners. The main difference is going to be a lack of Chrome lining in the barrel, and possibly standard feed ramps in the PTAC line, but they are offering a Phosphate finish. There really is no difference in a 7075 forged upper, or lower, so your only areas of concern ate typically BCG materials, and barrel materials along with who is assembling it for you. All PSA rifles are test fired before they are shipped. I have owned, or do own about half a dozen, and know a ton of people who own them without a single issue. It's a big company with a very reputable name in the industry. There are some haters because they are offering a good product at an affordable price. As long as it's made in the USA, I have no issues with what they sell it for.
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2 January 2016, 20:14 #6
I have had a few of their CHF CL uppers with FN barrels and I would put them up against any chrome lined BCM or Colt. I would stay away from the PTAC stuff as QC lacks from examples I have seen, but for Milspec components their prices are hard to beat.
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2 January 2016, 21:05 #7
They're so hit and miss it's hard to endorse either way. I have never had a bad "Premium" upper and the Freedom stainless seems OK from the ones I have bought, but the Freedom melonite one I recently bought had trash melonited into the chamber and hung and gouged about 300 rounds until I gave up trying to "shoot out" the imperfection. A good friend of mine just bought a PTAC that looks and shoots fine, so like I said, hard to endorse either way.
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Experience is what you get... When you don't get what you want.
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2 January 2016, 21:35 #8
See posts 3 & 4 above. There is a good reason why some rifles cost $600 and some rifles cost $2500. Long drawn out posts don't change the facts.
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2 January 2016, 23:01 #9
The military pays about $600 a pop for their carbines.
There are also some really bad reasons why some rifles cost $2500: Branding, low productions rates, expensive choices in raw materials that don't improve functionality (e.g., Ti), re- or over-engineering the existing proven design (e.g., piston guns) or protection of NSN pricing (you can't charge the government more than you sell something commercially) are all good examples of where you don't get what you pay for. I've never heard of $300 billet lower failing. I've never heard of $70 forged lower failing, either. Chrome lined barrels are more expensive to produce yet offer no advantage over melonite. And I won't even get into the whole "lifestyle" branding thing.
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2 January 2016, 23:22 #10
Last edited by Stone; 2 January 2016 at 23:32.
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2 January 2016, 23:25 #11
Congrats on your new rifle. Absorb all the great stuff you read here, and beware the stuff you read else where. Well, actually, you should be wary on what you read on these here internets. That being said, learn your rifle. Take it apart, put it back to gather. Dry fire it (but never without an upper receiver attached), rack it, then take it apart and repeat. Don't be that guy at the range who can't lock the bolt back during a cease fire (I taught a guy how to do that today). What you may find out, is that the PSA may be a great rifle for you. Time will tell. If you only shoot it once a year, and all your shots make it down range, with no mechanicals, you may have picked up a good rifle. But as you run it, and I hope you do, you may start finding some shortcomings. This is when this site is great. I've had a lot of help from the folks on here. Replacing or upgrading a part here and there could help your PSA down the line. The fine folks here know a lot about every part.
I lurked and learned a lot. And I keep coming back.
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3 January 2016, 10:08 #12
I think you missed my point. I'm saying that a quality mil-spec carbine is cheap (at least, right now it is). You can get a very good rifle for well under $1K. You hit the point of diminishing returns pretty quickly. A good barrel and quality bolt get you 80% of the way there - everything else is just there to hold and operate those two parts.
To the OP, as some of the more thoughtful responses have pointed out already, PSA has a few different product lines and offerings, the quality of which varies from line-to-line. They FN produced barrels have a good reputation and their Premium line gets good reviews. The PTAC and Freedom lines cut some corners (materials, quality control) to keep prices low but PSA has a good reputation for standing behind their products in case something fails.
For your first AR, it's a reasonable entry point. Spend some time getting to know it and you might figure out what, if any, upgrades you may want down the line. Enjoy!
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3 January 2016, 12:48 #13
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3 January 2016, 12:57 #14
Don't really have anything to add to answers already provided, but ...
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14 January 2016, 16:38 #15New Member
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I didnt ask for a smart ass awnser I asked if they were any good