Palmetto State Armory AR-15 Review

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DS-11B

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Ok, I finally got my rifle built completely so here is the review. First, some pictures of the rifle, the parts I used to build it, and then a range report.
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It is, a Palmetto State Armory upper and lower. The upper is completely PSA built. They do all the cool tests and inspections to the parts. The gas key is properly staked. The barrel is a 416 Stainless steel 1/8 twist .223 wylde chamber 16" barrel made by Wilson Tactical. The Free Floated tube is the very light (although arguably not as good as Troy tubes) Midwest Industries SS12. The compensator is an Arredondo nXg comp. Finally, it has a Vortex Viper PST 1-4X24mm 30mm tube milrad adjustment scope mounted in a one piece YHM scope mount and Magpul MBUS buis.

I built the lower half myself using a stripped PSA lower.

It has an VLTOR A5 stock, Daniel Defense Lower Parts kit, Magpul MIAD pistol grip and JP single stage adjustable match trigger.

So how does all that work together? Well, first, some groups to test for accuracy. First I will show what it CAN do, using high quality factory ammo, then I will show groups using more value ammo.

Using 69gr Fed Match Gold which uses SMK bullets:
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yes, that is 5 shots, from an AR-15, into a nickel

more typical groups from the 69gr Fed Match Gold look like this:
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60gr Hornady TAP:
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Hornady 75gr TAP:
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Pictures for the following groups will be added on (I hit the image/video limit)
And Fed Match Gold 77gr SMK


62gr Fed Am Eagle:


IMI 55gr 5.56mm:





Anyway, that is the stuff that has to do solely with PSA's contribution. I've put approximately 400 rounds through it so far, and I only use good magazines. No feeding issues, no failures to fire or eject, no malfunctions at all yet.

Additional details: I used an Arredondo compensator and an VLTOR A5 stock kit to have an AR that NEVER leaves the target when shooting and I have been happy. You can watch the rounds impact. It is LOUD and blasty compared to an AR with a standard Flash Hider but the recoil and muzzle rise is comparable to a .22lr rifle. The A5 kit makes the cycling MUCH smoother. Between the comp, the stock kit, the mid-length gas system, and the single stage 3lb trigger, you can empty a mag into a target, put every shot on target, never leave the target, and do it quickly.

Anyway, this concludes the review of my Palmetto State Armory AR-15. I will be happy to answer anyone's questions about it and provide more details for anyone who is interested. I am pleased with this rifle, the quality that PSA uses and I WILL buy from them again. To buy an upper capable of this and is 100 bucks cheaper than a BCM AND comes with the BCG sweetens the deal even more.Also, here is a video to see how it looks when shooting (note lack of recoil and muzzlerise:
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My conclusion is that this particular rifle likes 69gr SMK the best, however still does pretty well with the 75 and 77 gr bullets. Although it was far from my tightest group, I was most impressed with the IMI stuff. I bought this stuff 1200 rounds for 320.00 so for being cheap I thought it did exceptionally well.

P.S. I want to officially apologize to my buddy for hitting him with my spent casings lol
 

HackerF15E

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Thanks for the review! Glad to see continued good results with PSA products.

I'm currently gathering parts for a PSA 14.5" Carbine build which started with the PSA stripped lower buy over on the BoomerShooter forums. Hadn't even heard of 'em until the group buy...and now I'm happy I did!
 

alank2

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Hi,

PSA has some good deals and I've been pleased with everything I've gotten from them so far. I've got a MOE Lower Build Kit and Premium BCG from them and they've been great so far.

Good luck,

Alan
 

DS-11B

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I've been very impressed so far. My round count is around 400 and I haven't had any issues at all yet and I've used a pretty broad range of ammo types in my testing.
 

DS-11B

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Thank you, yeah I was a little leery at first about their claims to quality considering the low prices but my guess is they either have a good deal lined up with the companies they get parts from or they are not making much of a profit right now just trying to get their name out there. Either way, I'm happy with it!
 

Biggsly

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I have been very happy with PSA. I built a 9mm on a PSA lower and a couple of weeks ago, I built a 556 on a PSA lower. I know a few guys who have shot the hell out of them and really like them. I just started building a PSA lower tonight. It is going back in the safe until I decide what to do with it. I am sure that I will buy more PSA products in the future.
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DS-11B

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I see you put the Vortex 1-4x on it. Can you give an opinion on what your think of it?


I see you put the Vortex 1-4x on it. Can you give an opinion on what your think of it?

I like it a lot. Great reticle, clear glass, nice turrets, all the adjustment knobs are smooth and easy. Only things I wish were that 1. The illumination was brighter. In the brightest part of the day it is visible but not bright enough to effectively use as an rds. 2. That is was lighter. It is VERY sturdy and nice but I sure wish it was at 10oz like the leupolds that size seem to be. I'm sure its probably much more rugged but it is 5 or 6 oz heavier than some of the other optics in the same category.

The 1X works GREAT though on it. Not quite good enough to co-witness with iron sights but almost good enough. The reticule is fine enough to do precision stuff at longer distances but still big enough that it stands out well for closer in targets. The biggest plus is: I can't believe its only 500. This is of atleast the same quality as some of the 800 dollar 1-4X optics ive handled.

Hands down, the best thing though is the warranty....or lack there of I mean. They don't have a warranty card or anything. Bottom line, if it breaks, ever they will fix it. If you drop it, send it in, if it dies, send it in, if you accidentally do something to break it, send it in. The only thing they MIGHT not replace it for is if you sent it in with a bullet hole in it lol.

Let me know if you have any other questions about it.
 

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