PSA customer service really does suck

[MarinePMI]

Green mountain AK barrels have been considered garbage since I can remember going back to the early 00's.

Foreign Built AK barrels have always been more desirable and in demand.

The Barrel import ban really fucked us. Back then, you would usually get the intact barrel in a de milled parts kit. Hell some manufactures would make a whole gun and demill it brand new just to be able to sell to the US market. Those were the days. If you can find an AK kit with an intact barrel, they sell for a massive premium. Why do you think that is?

We also can't get the millions of M16A1 and A2 barrels out there and its why the latest m16 parts kits coming in are all barrel-less. Try finding a quality new M16A1 barrel.........they don't exist. USGI takeoffs are currently going for $700-$1000, for a barrel.

Now things may have changed due to it being almost impossible to get a foreign barrel and people using what they can get, along with kits drying up/getting expensive.

A real AK barrel is hammer forged.

Really? The same company who's barrels held the world record for BP accuracy? The same company that cuts more linear feet of rifle barrels in the US bar none? The same company that supplies barrel blanks to most rifle manufacturers? Have you ever machined and chambered a GM barrel blank? Are they Bartleins? No, but they are far from garbage. I dare say, there are several vendors here that use them for their pre-fit barrels, and people rave about how well they shoot (they just don't know it's a GM blank).

Your statement belies an ignorance of the manufacturing of firearms in the US. Kind of ironic considering you're telling others they don't know what they're talking about....

I'd suggest you refrain from making statements that are completely unsubstantiated and otherwise full of shit. Might save you some embarrassment.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

I know where not to come for sympathy.

 

[CrabsandFootball]

Really? The same company who's barrels held the world record for BP accuracy? The same company that cuts more linear feet of rifle barrels in the US bar none? The same company that supplies barrel blanks to most rifle manufacturers? Have you every machined and chambered a GM barrel blank? Are they Bartleins? No, but they are far from garbage. I dare say, there are several vendors here that use them for their pre-fit barrels, and people rave about how well they shoot (they just don't know it's a GM blank).

Your statement belies an ignorance of manufacturing of firearms in the US. Kind of ironic considering your telling others they don't know what they're talking about....

I'd suggest you refrain from making statements that are completely unsubstantiated and otherwise full of shit. Might save you some embarrassment.

An AK barrel is very different than a traditional bolt action button rifle.

Green mountain made cheap 10/22 barrels and other budget barrels going way back. I'm sure they are capable of making nicer stuff but not once can i ever remember someone mentioning a GM barrel in their rifle or product as a selling point.

Aero precision probably makes more lowers and uppers than anyone else via their OEM and house brand. Quantity does not equal quality, in fact the opposite most instances. I won't even use them anymore due to issues with fittment and lack of QC. Not everyone has the same standards.

I have never used a GM barrel for a build because I have never had that small a budget where I need to cut corners.

Cutting a lot of barrels and occasionally making a great shooter is not the same as putting out a great shooter EVERY barrel. Any product can get it right sometimes, its getting it right everything that separates the winners from the losers.

Don't take my word for it, go talk to AK builders. Ask them why they spend alot of time and money sourcing combloc barrels for their builds that many times exceed $2K. Some parts kits cost that alone.

There are some things the US does not do well, its or not economically viable. Optics are a great example. Its not that it can't be done, it just cant be done on a level that is economical. We have what, 1 completely US made scope on the market and even the reticle is German? Coming from the largest scope manufacture in country who can absorb lower margins.

We aren't talking about AR or bolt guns. AK's are a whole different animal. And thats just the barrel. There is much more to it.

 

[MarinePMI]

So, you personally have never shot one? But "everyone else says they're shit"; is that what you're saying?

And you're also saying that somehow a hammer forged AK barrel makes it superior? How?

 

[CrabsandFootball]

I never said I haven't shot them. I have 2 of them in my basement right now on 10/22's. They shoot like piss in fact, they are getting swapped out for Tac-sol threaded as soon as some other more important builds are finished.

A Hammer forged barrel makes it better in the same way a Hammer forge barrel is superior in the AR platform for a vollume shooter. These aren't new concepts. The data is out there for your consumption.

Here is a good article at a high level: https://1776tv.com/2019/03/combloc-aks-or-bust/

Keep reading and researching and you will understand why.

 

[RUTGERS95]

I've never heard of anything but good things for GM barrels

 

[Fig]

 

[MarinePMI]

I'd say something is wrong with your 10/22's then. The bedding and the firing pin staking are usual culprits. As to the barrels themselves, I have a hard time believing it.

TBH, I used to conduct independent QC on the GM 10/22 barrels, so I'm pretty familiar with what goes out the door quality wise. I've also known the GM owner since he was the General Manager back in the 90's. So again, I'm very familiar with what GM produces and the QC they hold. I'm also aware of the many major maufacturers that use them, to include some boutique manufacturers that specialize in unique firearms (.44 Automag comes to mind, as well as a couple of CHICOM machine gun manufacturers). I'd mention some of the major players, but that is not for public consumption. But suffice it to say, most everyone who's shot many guns, has likely shot one that had a GM barrel on it.

But to your article. How an AK is made does require a different approach to building them (I agree on that). The hammer forging is really irrelevant though, if anything, it's a matter of material hardness. The AK's are sloppy (as designed) and so, parts are going to bang onto one another a lot. Also, AK's tend to be hand fit because of the variance in the parts themselves. So, it's not that US makers can't make an AK, its that it is incredibly costly to hand fit things here in the US. And with the variance in parts, a US maker would have to make everything from soup to nuts, AND know where that slop was needed.

So, back to my main point of contention. GM barrels are not shit, and to say so is just bullshit ignorance. How those barrels get fit, and by whom, in a rifle system that is inherently sloppy and inconsistent, is what determines the accuracy and reliability. To say GM barrels are shit is like saying, "I run 104 octane racing gas in my 3 banger Yugo and see no difference. This gas is shit.". It's putting a better, more consistent part, into many machines of such loose tolerance that there are going to be issues. It's like blaming a spoon for making you fat.

BTW, I'm laughing at the Tac-Sol comment...I wonder where they get their blanks....LOL...

 

[CrabsandFootball]

Good to know about GM, Thanks for the education on them.

My Brothers buddy Clint owns Beyer Barrels and I have been to his home/shop to see how they are made. I may give them a shot instead of tac sol.

 

[JMGlasgow]

Isn't PSA using FN barrels for their AK's? Last I checked those were hammer forged...for those that think it matters. Chrome lining matters more than how the rifling was formed for high volume use.

And I wouldn't consider the YouTube channel AK Operator's Union 47-74 a paid schill channel. He thoroughly tests them and if they fail we will hear about it. He's also from one of the eastern com block countries and has seen how they are made. You should maybe actually watch some videos, you may learn something, or not. It's up to you Crabby

 

[c ward]

Kalashnikov USA

Explore the world of Kalashnikov - the manufacturer of true, authentic AK platform firearms and tactical accessories, proudly made in the USA.

kalashnikov-usa.com

I guess they didn't get the message about it being impossible to build AK's in the states .

 

[168BTHPM]

Green mountain AK barrels have been considered garbage since I can remember going back to the early 00's.

Foreign Built AK barrels have always been more desirable and in demand.

A real AK barrel is hammer forged.

Hey, how is your LPR shooting these days? When did you transition from being a KAC fanboi to an AK fanboi?

 

[Yondering]

Green mountain AK barrels have been considered garbage since I can remember going back to the early 00's.

LOL what? You and whoever you've been getting your "considering" from are drinking too much of someone else's koolaid. GM makes some very accurate barrels, speaking as someone who's actually turned and chambered a few myself.

I'm getting a chuckle at an AK fanboy turning up his nose at supposedly garbage barrels too, or acting like AK builders are somehow the final word on barrel quality.

I think the phrase "you don't know what you don't know" applies here, but in a little different way than the training concept...

 

[Constructor]

Unbelievable but I agree with Crabs. I had GM make 100- 223 Wylde barrels about 4 years ago and the chambers were some of the roughest I have ever seen, had to have been cut with HSS reamers. I returned them and they sanded the chambers.

 

[Stevo86]

Is this still available ?

 

[CrabsandFootball]

LOL what? You and whoever you've been getting your "considering" from are drinking too much of someone else's koolaid. GM makes some very accurate barrels, speaking as someone who's actually turned and chambered a few myself.

I'm getting a chuckle at an AK fanboy turning up his nose at supposedly garbage barrels too, or acting like AK builders are somehow the final word on barrel quality.

I think the phrase "you don't know what you don't know" applies here, but in a little different way than the training concept...

GM AK barrels were know garbage. AK barrels. No one said anything about anything but AK barrels till someone brought up some unrelated shit because they got offended that someone trashed their brand. Im sure GM makes very nice bolt gun barrels or whatever the fuck they are into. Never once have I ever seen someone claim their GM AR barrel was comparable with any of the mid-top outfits, in fact, I have only seen them on budget parts guns. I have build hundreds of AR's over the years using just about every barrel you can name and don't recall once using a GM barrel, or having one requested. Perhaps there were one or 3 in some cheap parts build but I wouldn't know now. But thats not important. Whats important is we were talking about GREEN MOUNTAIN AK BARRELS. So if you don't have some knowledge or expereince with them, you are bringing nothing new to the table, other than trying to get your free shots in.

If simple reading comprehension is too difficult, maybe you should slow down and read before posting. Sorry you have zero experience with the platform. I own more 28ga shotguns than AK's but somehow a fanboi for having a small amount of knowledge of the subject. Must be an AR Demi-god by your logic.

Maybe, just maybe, AK builders and enthusiasts (Of which I have never claimed to be either) are the final word on AK barrel quality. Crazy Idea right?

 

[clcustom1911]

So you haven't watched the video.

Hey everybody, we got us a badass over here. He's a "gun person".


JFC, "Iron Block" AKs are stamped sheet metal, wound wire springs, and a shitty barrel.

Naw man. Crabs says they are made with tooling that we inferior Americans can't even fathom. So superior to anything we've ever had...ever in the history of ever.

 

[clcustom1911]

Oh, and to the OP:

Yeah, it's really terrible when you purchase a product and when you ask for a warranty repair the company pays for to/from shipping and will inspect/repair and send back to you free of charge.

That's fucking terrible customer service... I would be complaining too.

I personally like being told to pound sand and I'm on my own.

 

[hlee]

 

[powdahound76]

You actually looked something up and have facts???

preposterous!!!!

 

[clcustom1911]

View attachment 7450484

LIES, ALL LIES!!

No no no. That Can't be right.

Nobody else knows how to do that. We can't even fathom how to do it, let alone purchase or somehow get the machinery to do such firearm wizardry black magic.

@CrabsandFootball how can this be? I thought only the USSR/CCCP had this ultra, super, top-secret barrel technology?

I'm aghast, shocked, bewildered!

 

[clcustom1911]

@CrabsandFootball right about now.....

 

[Yondering]

GM AK barrels were know garbage. AK barrels. No one said anything about anything but AK barrels till someone brought up some unrelated shit because they got offended that someone trashed their brand. Im sure GM makes very nice bolt gun barrels or whatever the fuck they are into. Never once have I ever seen someone claim their GM AR barrel was comparable with any of the mid-top outfits, in fact, I have only seen them on budget parts guns. I have build hundreds of AR's over the years using just about every barrel you can name and don't recall once using a GM barrel, or having one requested. Perhaps there were one or 3 in some cheap parts build but I wouldn't know now. But thats not important. Whats important is we were talking about GREEN MOUNTAIN AK BARRELS. So if you don't have some knowledge or expereince with them, you are bringing nothing new to the table, other than trying to get your free shots in.

If simple reading comprehension is too difficult, maybe you should slow down and read before posting. Sorry you have zero experience with the platform. I own more 28ga shotguns than AK's but somehow a fanboi for having a small amount of knowledge of the subject. Must be an AR Demi-god by your logic.

Maybe, just maybe, AK builders and enthusiasts (Of which I have never claimed to be either) are the final word on AK barrel quality. Crazy Idea right?

yeah, because AK barrels are SOOO much different than anything else. What exactly do you think makes the AK barrels different than anything else, and what's wrong with them? Do they wear out too soon? Did they not chamber all the junk surplus ammo? Were they not accurate enough? An AK is hardly the platform to evaluate barrel accuracy and quality, unless we're talking about some particular fitting dimension that someone screwed up. Otherwise, a barrel is a barrel, and the quality mostly depends on the bore, how well it's chambered, and how solidly it's mounted. The barrel itself doesn't care what it's installed in, except maybe that the sheet metal AK platform flexes so badly you wouldn't know an accurate barrel if it whipped you in the face.

 

[LoCal247]

As noted above.

Is it crap metal in the extractor or a poor alignment causing the issue?

I think your only and most valid complaint if from the hang-up on the other end of the phone at PSA.

i can also imagine that when they didnt do it your way you werent exactly easy to deal with.

like this penny in my hand. 2 sides. Both quite different.

I have had an insanely shitty PSA customer service experience as well. Not trying to pile on but seems like people are defending a business that needs no defending . Great prices and selection. But at the same time can have faults.
With an AK go Russian. They make the best and sloppiest rifle around. Never had a problem with mine . Slap a CMC trigger in there and your good to go. All the American knock off rifles never seem to live up to what you expect from an AK.

 

[powdahound76]

I have had an insanely shitty PSA customer service experience as well. Not trying to pile on but seems like people are defending a business that needs no defending . Great prices and selection. But at the same time can have faults.
With an AK go Russian. They make the best and sloppiest rifle around. Never had a problem with mine . Slap a CMC trigger in there and your good to go. All the American knock off rifles never seem to live up to what you expect from an AK.

point missed by a mile.

Their CS did the right thing and quickly in this case.
Dude just didnt like it.
Apparently hadnt heard of Lawyers. While I agree they need eradicated, till then, stuff needs to be done a certain way to avoid them ass raping you with a cactus.

why do all you folks buy AKs anyways? Embrace yer inner commie or something?

 

[hlee]

Weirdly, during the pandemic/election season, my LGS is flush with 7.62 and 5.45x39. Pays to have options...

 

[LoCal247]

point missed by a mile.

Their CS did the right thing and quickly in this case.
Dude just didnt like it.
Apparently hadnt heard of Lawyers. While I agree they need eradicated, till then, stuff needs to be done a certain way to avoid them ass raping you with a cactus.

why do all you folks buy AKs anyways? Embrace yer inner commie or something?

haha yes I guess “hanging up” is the right thing and quickly . My point (missed by a mile)was that the real problem was trying to find an all American made AK to perform like a Russian . They make the best and loosest rifle.

 

[roostercogburn98]

You wanna know about shitty customer service, ask me about my dealings with a major car manufacturer over the last 7 months while my truck has been in the shop. I’ll trade you problems anytime OP.

 

[MarinePMI]

haha yes I guess “hanging up” is the right thing and quickly . My point (missed by a mile)was that the real problem was trying to find an all American made AK to perform like a Russian . They make the best and loosest rifle.

I hear that about some of their women too....doesn't mean I'm taking one home though...

 

[LoCal247]

I hear that about some of their women too....doesn't mean I'm taking one home though...

Hahaha yes to both

 

[Thumper2-4]

I am not a fan of the AK platform either. If you note on an actual AK the selector goes from safe to full auto and then semi. First the platform itself is not the most accurate weapon and second the fact that your first choice on the selector is full auto is a tell that it is a spray and pray weapon. As far as I am concerned scoping an AK is like putting a red dot on a blow gun. The AK platform was designed for use by an average, minimally trained combatant. The old saying "if you give a monkey a full auto and enough rounds he will eventually hit the target

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Weirdly, during the pandemic/election season, my LGS is flush with 7.62 and 5.45x39. Pays to have options...

AK fan bois are notoriously cheap and would NEVER pay capitalist pig's fair market value for ammo. They want communist price controlled 1980's prices.

 

[elfster1234]

Said the guy that knows it all....

Damn, what crawled down your rabbit hole 🕳 this morning?

A jerk off piece from another youtuber who thinks they know what they are talking about.

Like I said, you lack understanding on HOW and WHY a proper AK is a made. You think watching youtube makes you qualified to comment.

L O L. Poverty guns for low IQ "gun people". The good thing is ignorance is bliss.