AR upper help, opinions.

[PlantBasedPatriot]

Its hard to decide, should i get the wylde for a little more accuracy between rounds and longer barrel? Is nickle boron all that? Will the pencil barrel have bad accuracy?





PSA 16" MIDLENGTH 5.56 NATO 1:7 NITRIDE 13.5" LIGHTWEIGHT M-LOK UPPER WITH BCG, CH, & MBUS SIGHT SET $369

PSA 16" MID-LENGTH NITRIDE 5.56 NATO 1/7 PENCIL 13.5" M-LOK UPPER - WITH BCG AND CH $279

PSA 18" RIFLE-LENGTH .223 WYLDE 1/7 STAINLESS STEEL 15" LIGHTWEIGHT M-LOK UPPER WITH MBUS SIGHT SET, NICKEL BORON BCG, & CH $369

 

[GUNSICK]

What are you going to use it for?

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

What are you going to use it for?

General use, plinking, maybe some drills and such, a mag dump here and there. Im new to ARs so its quite foreign to me.

 

[Jem45472]

Just plinking, I'd go with the pencil myself.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

Just plinking, I'd go with the pencil myself.

Is that simply for weight savings? What would be your reason?​

 

[Eddie Gunks]

If you are buying PSA stuff dont worry about accuracy, nickel boron, or pencil. It doesnt really matter.

Bad accuracy will be inherent in the above.

 

[BDinPutnam]

First of all, I assume this will be a fixed magazine build as these likely all have muzzle devices. So factor that into your plans for mag dumps and drills.

Dollar for dollar I would buy the 18" but would look for a 1:8 twist so you can shoot 55 grain and 62 grain bullets well. Others here are smarter than me on this issue but my 1:8 has served me well on these as well as heavier bullets.

It doesn't say if the pencil comes with sights. If not you are looking at buying some or an optic or both.

And, Bulletguy responded before I did. I built mine- none of it is PSA and he makes good points.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

First of all, I assume this will be a fixed magazine build as these likely all have muzzle devices. So factor that into your plans for mag dumps and drills.

Dollar for dollar I would buy the 18" but would look for a 1:8 twist so you can shoot 55 grain and 62 grain bullets well. Others here are smarter than me on this issue but my 1:8 has served me well on these as well as heavier bullets.

It doesn't say if the pencil comes with sights. If not you are looking at buying some or an optic or both.

And, Bulletguy responded before I did. I built mine- none of it is PSA and he makes good points.

I would never do a fixed mag the thought of having to break the gun to reload is so stupid. I'll either send it to a shop to get it pinned and welded or file the threads off and jb weld a cap on to hid the hack job.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

If you are buying PSA stuff dont worry about accuracy, nickel boron, or pencil. It doesnt really matter.

Bad accuracy will be inherent in the above.

Well is there anyone in mind that can complete with prices and have decent accuracy?

 

[Podmonkey]

Actually for casual plinking I don't think the barrel profile matters too much. A pencil profile will be lighter and handier, heavier profiles will hold tighter groups as the barrel heats up compared to the pencil. Figure out what your priorities are. That said InRangeTV did a video with Faxxon's pencil barrel and found that it held reasonably tight groups even when hot. The premise being that modern materials and manufacturing methods have reduced the need for thick barrel profiles.
I do not know if this extends to the PSA product.

Also I agree with @BDinPutnam, the 1:8 twist is the most versatile twist for the 5.56/223 caliber.
For informal plinking I don't think length matters much either but I'd go with the now standard 16" midlength gas. An 18" with a rifle length gas would be very soft shooting.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

Is PSA as ghetto as he is saying it is, those daily deals do look pretty inticing I just don't want to get got. I'm hours away from this purchase and it could change a lot, even to a different company based on what you NY gun folk tell me, I have no reason to think you'd want to F-me.

 

[Podmonkey]

There is also an intermediate gas length system as well. As the name suggests it sits between the midlength and rifle length has systems. Kind of a moot point here though I've only seen it on offer from the tippy "top tier" manufactures such as Knighrs Armament and LMT.

 

[BDinPutnam]

Do you even have a lower yet?

 

[Podmonkey]

Is PSA as ghetto as he is saying it is, those daily deals do look pretty inticing I just don't want to get got. I'm hours away from this purchase and it could change a lot, even to a different company based on what you NY gun folk tell me, I have no reason to think you'd want to F-me.

I think PSA's quality levels are entirely appropriate to your stated purpose of use.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

You will pay for accuracy. Always. Unless someone else is buying.

If you just want a plinker out to 75-100 yards, by all means have at it with the pencil above.

Otherwise, you should build it. Shop around for decent parts. Wait for sales. Go featureless; the Thordsen stock is ugly as hell but fully functional. Put it together yourself. Read up on the mechanics and options, figure out what you really want, and then make it yourself. Very satisfying.

Well I already bought an Anderson lower from runnings for 50 bucks, I got a Patrick Henry for like 30 after shipping. I don't think I'd venture into complete upper assembly until I have more money and understand head spacing, I just wanna be able to beat the hell out of it like I do my ak but know it would be reliable if I ever really need it. By beat I mean run it hard and have a lot of fun and not have it jam constantly like my buddies mini 30 lol

 

[BDinPutnam]

For where you're at- buy the pencil. It's the cheapest. It'll get you where you want to go. Once you figure out if the platform is for you and what else you want to get out of it, you can upgrade. My barrel and BCG cost well more than that but I already knew what I wanted and they're matched match quality.

PS I would also check out barreled upper options at JSE Surplus.

 

[Podmonkey]

Well I already bought an Anderson lower from runnings for 50 bucks, I got a Patrick Henry for like 30 after shipping. I don't think I'd venture into complete upper assembly until I have more money and understand head spacing, I just wanna be able to beat the hell out of it like I do my ak but know it would be reliable if I ever really need it. By beat I mean run it hard and have a lot of fun and not have it jam constantly like my buddies mini 30 lol

Its so hard to glean meaningfully accurate data from the internet amymore, but from what I gather PSA is kind of like the Century Arms of the AR world, hit or miss in terms of quality, only maybe a bit better than that.
You say you are an AK guy, do you have a WASR? Does it run well for you, you are happy with it? If so then I fancy your luck with the PSA product as well.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

I have a Saiga, first gun I ever bought, I think Tim from military arms turned me on to Aks.

 

[Podmonkey]

I have a Saiga, first gun I ever bought, I think Tim from military arms turned me on to Aks.

I wouldn't expect the PSA to be as nice as your Saiga then.
I would equate Saiga AKs to Colt ARs. Both represent the solid baseline of reliable and dependable quality in a no frills package.
Like I say I think the PSA equates to a WASR, particularly in the respect that both often work better than some would care to admit.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

I wouldn't expect the PSA to be as nice as your Saiga then.
I would equate Saiga AKs to Colt ARs. Both represent the solid baseline of reliable and dependable quality in a no frills package.
Like I say I think the PSA equates to a WASR, particularly in the respect that both often work better than some would care to admit.

Well from what I've gathered it's good to just jump in budget wise and see how it goes. Once I get my class A and have money flowing I could trick out an AR parts wise. Building beats the $999 dollar price tag I see on every AR I see in a shop or store.

Another question, will a 50-60 dollar lower parts kit included mil spec trigger suit me just fine or are there parts kits out there for 60-90 that have nicer triggers?

 

[Podmonkey]

Well from what I've gathered it's good to just jump in budget wise and see how it goes. Once I get my class A and have money flowing I could trick out an AR parts wise. Building beats the $999 dollar price tag I see on every AR I see in a shop or store.

Another question, will a 50-60 dollar lower parts kit included mil spec trigger suit me just fine or are there parts kits out there for 60-90 that have nicer triggers?

Once get your class A you nay find that you have the money to buy the gun stuff if your dreams but no time to shoot it. If you are like me and go OTR that is.

Anyway you can find lower parts kits that exclude the FCG so you can get the trigger upgrade of your choice. For around $100 HyperFire's EDT trigger is a really solid upgrade over milspec. I have one on both my ARs and I really like them a lot.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

Once get your class A you nay find that you have the money to buy the gun stuff if your dreams but no time to shoot it. If you are like me and go OTR that is.

Anyway you can find lower parts kits that exclude the FCG so you can get the trigger upgrade of your choice. For around $100 HyperFire's EDT trigger is a really solid upgrade over milspec. I have one on both my ARs and I really like them a lot.

Seeing as I have 5 kids (3 siblings) and 2 of my own, I'm going to try my very hardest to bust my back and get the best paying local driving I can get, the kids need some guidance, thanks for all the suggestions, I appreciate it.

 

[Jem45472]

Is that simply for weight savings? What would be your reason?​

Yes, for weight savings, and also price savings. If you were building a tack driver, or going to shoot thousands of rounds per year I might do something different. I've built several psa rifles with zero problems, my last purchase was a ss pencil barrel and it grouped tighter than my Daniel defense upper. If your just building a plinker, there's no use in spending a ton of money. Save it for an optic.

 

[Modean]

Is PSA as ghetto as he is saying it is, those daily deals do look pretty inticing I just don't want to get got. I'm hours away from this purchase and it could change a lot, even to a different company based on what you NY gun folk tell me, I have no reason to think you'd want to F-me.

Nothing wrong with PSA for a plinker. You'll be able to hit a man sized target at 300 yards, which is all an AR is really about. Careful of the AR snobs out there. You don't have to spend 2K to build a solid rifle.

 

[Eddie Gunks]

Well I already bought an Anderson lower from runnings for 50 bucks, I got a Patrick Henry for like 30 after shipping. I don't think I'd venture into complete upper assembly until I have more money and understand head spacing, I just wanna be able to beat the hell out of it like I do my ak but know it would be reliable if I ever really need it. By beat I mean run it hard and have a lot of fun and not have it jam constantly like my buddies mini 30 lol

Based on the above i would say the PSA stuff will do what you are expecting.

Well is there anyone in mind that can complete with prices and have decent accuracy?

No. Accuracy costs a little more. Adjust your expectations or your price range.

 

[BDinPutnam]

Well from what I've gathered it's good to just jump in budget wise and see how it goes. Once I get my class A and have money flowing I could trick out an AR parts wise. Building beats the $999 dollar price tag I see on every AR I see in a shop or store.

Another question, will a 50-60 dollar lower parts kit included mil spec trigger suit me just fine or are there parts kits out there for 60-90 that have nicer triggers?

Spend the 70-80 bucks and buy CMMG's LPK. I have them in two rifles and they're pretty decent milspec triggers. I have read/heard bad things about the triggers in cheaper kits. YMMV and if you're handy you could probably do some work on a cheaper set but for 20 bucks more, save yourself the hassle. Just my two cents.

 

[tony]

I believe a high quality trigger assy. will make range time more enjoyable regardless of what the target is and what upper you get. I prefer the longer barrels.

 

[PlantBasedPatriot]

What length of fixed stock a mid length gas system use?

 

[JamieZ]

The long kind unless you go with the short kind

 

[JamieZ]

In reality,,,if you buy a fixed stock it doesnt matter what length it is. It uses a rifle buffer and a rifle buffer tube,,,,,commercial or milspec is the only thing you need to determine when purchasing,,,,, when choosing stock and buffer tube,,,,buy milspec for both or commercial for both.