Sooo I wanted another 308 rifle, and was pondering back and forth between going Aero, PSA, or buying something used off here. My financial priorities do not align with mid to high tier 308AR/AR10's so under $1500 but closer to $1000. This would not be precision focused and will wear a 1-4/1-6 LPVO for general fun steel shooting or the occasional hog/coyotes. I know a decent bit about the variations and differences between the 308AR patterns and the nuance to getting them to run right. In that learning journey I've also learned quite a bit about how PSA has screwed the pooch on a reliable out of the box rifle, but that correcting those issues isn't always that hard, provided you end up with a rifle that doesn't shoot.
I was leaning more towards the Aero, but PSA had a shot show sale, and I ended up with the 18" upper build kit that has everything besides the lower for $600 shipped. Bought a blem lower for $100 shipped (plus $25 for my ffl transfer fee). So I'm sitting at $725 shipped for a complete rifle. This is just an experiment to dick around and get a 308AR to run well.
I'm not really trusting of the way PSA set up the rifles, so I did buy some upgrades to put on it. However, I did want to actually give the rifle a go and see if it: 1.) Reliably functions 2.) How accurate, or lack thereof, it is 3.) Felt recoil/general shoot-ability.
Before I start shooting, I was going to take a few measurements to see how "in spec" it is and what specs they're using for my specific rifle. I'll check:
-Inside depth of buffer tube
-Length and weight of my buffer
-Gas port diameter
-Gas tube length and position in relation to cam pin cutout in the upper.
-How far back the BCG rides in comparison to the lower buffer tube ear area.
-General fit/finish
Once I get it put together, I'm gonna lube it up and run a few different factory rounds through it and see how she goes. I'll try to get a "feel" for recoil and how it shoots, obviously any function issues, and some basic accuracy tests.
After that, I'll put on the upgrades and reassess. So far that is:
-Superlative arms AGB
-308 carbine buffer tube, 5.4oz carbine buffer, and 308 buffer spring; all from Armalite.
-If the gas tube is too short, I'll also get the proper Armalite carbine(midlength) gas tube which is just over a 1/4" longer.
-Another addition, since midlength gas on an 18" barrel sucks, is cut and rethread to 16". Luckily my buddy works at a machine shop so he can do it for some beer. Possibly chuck it on a lathe and take some weight off the barrel since these PSA ones are pretty heavy too, but we'll see.
Since PSA runs Toolcraft nitride BCG/Bolt, I wasn't planning on upgrading that provided I don't have issues.
Can anyone think of anything else to check/measure? Any additions you'd make besides what I have? Maybe @mtrmn can assist.
**I'LL MAKE EDITS ALONG THE WAY**
I was leaning more towards the Aero, but PSA had a shot show sale, and I ended up with the 18" upper build kit that has everything besides the lower for $600 shipped. Bought a blem lower for $100 shipped (plus $25 for my ffl transfer fee). So I'm sitting at $725 shipped for a complete rifle. This is just an experiment to dick around and get a 308AR to run well.
I'm not really trusting of the way PSA set up the rifles, so I did buy some upgrades to put on it. However, I did want to actually give the rifle a go and see if it: 1.) Reliably functions 2.) How accurate, or lack thereof, it is 3.) Felt recoil/general shoot-ability.
Before I start shooting, I was going to take a few measurements to see how "in spec" it is and what specs they're using for my specific rifle. I'll check:
-Inside depth of buffer tube
-Length and weight of my buffer
-Gas port diameter
-Gas tube length and position in relation to cam pin cutout in the upper.
-How far back the BCG rides in comparison to the lower buffer tube ear area.
-General fit/finish
Once I get it put together, I'm gonna lube it up and run a few different factory rounds through it and see how she goes. I'll try to get a "feel" for recoil and how it shoots, obviously any function issues, and some basic accuracy tests.
After that, I'll put on the upgrades and reassess. So far that is:
-Superlative arms AGB
-308 carbine buffer tube, 5.4oz carbine buffer, and 308 buffer spring; all from Armalite.
-If the gas tube is too short, I'll also get the proper Armalite carbine(midlength) gas tube which is just over a 1/4" longer.
-Another addition, since midlength gas on an 18" barrel sucks, is cut and rethread to 16". Luckily my buddy works at a machine shop so he can do it for some beer. Possibly chuck it on a lathe and take some weight off the barrel since these PSA ones are pretty heavy too, but we'll see.
Since PSA runs Toolcraft nitride BCG/Bolt, I wasn't planning on upgrading that provided I don't have issues.
Can anyone think of anything else to check/measure? Any additions you'd make besides what I have? Maybe @mtrmn can assist.
**I'LL MAKE EDITS ALONG THE WAY**
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