Best Hard-Use AR15s in 2022?

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While I know PSA has had issues, I have never seen an issue with their stuff, and I have had a few and been around several dozen of them. When I shot 3-gun and helped run a shooting range, a lot of newbies showed up with them and never had any issues.

As of 2018, PSA owns DC Machine, who makes over 2K AR barrels per day. I have been told that during peak production, PSA can build 10K ARs per week. Even if they build to a 99.99% standard, a few lemons can make it out the door.

That said, I think the best hard use AR for the money is still BCM. Once in a while a quality issue will pop up on the web but they are quick to take care of it, and are few and far between.

[HCM]

Yeah they've gone all in on AKs, even bought tooling and know-how from an Eastern European ammunition manufacturer to begin domestic production of steel-cased Soviet calibers.

They bought AK maker DDI.

AFAIK they talked about it but the steel case ammo thing is not happening.

[titsonritz]

They bought AK maker DDI.

AFAIK they talked about it but the steel case ammo thing is not happening.

That sucks, I thought it was a done deal and was suppose to be up and running in 2023.

[HCM]

That sucks, I thought it was a done deal and was suppose to be up and running in 2023.

They are making brass cased ammo under the AAC brand.

I doubt making steel case in the U.S. would have been economically viable.

[SwampDweller]

I see many PSA AKs have to go back for warranty work at my place of employment. I wouldn't go so far as to say PSA has figured out how to consistently make a quality AK. Certainly not compared to my Russians, Polish, or Bulgarians. Weird metal deformation issues have been well documented on more AK-oriented sites. They've got to be cutting corners somewhere to keep the price down to something palatable. I suspect to make a truly high quality 100% US AK on par with foreign AKs made in military factories overseas would cost $2k or more.

[LittleLebowski]

And to add on/clarify the extreme other end that equation that represents low end brands, they just get whatever is shipped and don't even know the specifications themselves because none were set. They may be buying components from the same manufacturer as another high end brand, but they are commonly buying reject lots that didn't meet specification. They're just looking for X number of component for Y price, and those specs such as port size can change from lot-to-lot.

Perfect example: Palmetto State Armory has great customer service and wanted to answer a customer question on ARFCOM about port size for a specific SKU but didn't know the answer, so the CS dude asked the technical guys, who also didn't know. They just simply didn't know what they were buying, because there was no specification at all. That tells you more about the quality of the product than the actual answer of port size.

And that's how you're able to get an assembled upper for $179, and why it just might not be the equal of an upper than costs $800. (To be clear, I'm not a hater, I own both )

Meanwhile, Paul Bravo at BCM built a go/no go jig for gas tubes and he told me about that years ago.

[BWT]

I think PSA has decent product at a price point. They’re not one I’d consider for hard use, but their AK’s have been solid in my experience (very limited sample size though), and they do produce at a volume that others simply can’t. I will say that’s part of their model (volume and price point) and they say as much.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/about-psa.html

Following year after year of exponential growth, Palmetto State Armory’s core principle remains the same, and our commitment to freedom before profit remains unwavering. The idea is simple:

SELL AS MANY GUNS TO AS MANY LAW-ABIDING AMERICANS AS POSSIBLE.

Putting guns into "common use" is an important legal defense established by the Supreme Court that safeguards the rights of the people against tyranny by prohibiting restrictions on firearms found to be "in common use". Putting any gun into "common use" protects against any attempt by the government to further infringe on the Second Amendment right of all Americans.

OUR MISSION IS TO MAXIMIZE FREEDOM, NOT OUR PROFITS. WE WANT TO SELL AS MANY AR-15 AND AK-47 RIFLES AS WE CAN AND PUT THEM INTO COMMON USE IN AMERICA TODAY. OUR FOCUS ISN'T TO MAKE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY BUT TO SPREAD FREEDOM AS FAR AND WIDE AS POSSIBLE. OUR LEGACY WILL NOT BE ABOUT MONEY; WE WANT OUR LEGACY TO BE ABOUT MAXIMIZING AMERICAN FREEDOM. AND WE WORK EVERY DAY TO DO JUST THAT. WE MAKE HIGH-QUALITY FIREARMS AT AFFORDABLE PRICES FOR EVERYONE! THEN WE BACK THEM WITH A FULL LIFETIME WARRANTY

Is that 100% true? Maybe? I tend to think so. They are making so many different platforms and quickly.

Jim Fuller thought their AK’s are atleast decent. I think their Premium AK line is quality. In my also limited experience - my SGL21 had a safety lever so tight it scraped the finish off the receiver and had to be shipped back to Arsenal for a re-application of the spray paint equivalent finish (I installed a different pistol grip and they said that would make it out of warranty which is only good for a year). After several emails I was able to re-configure it to factory condition and they agreed to fix it. That was Russian made and from Arsenal. So it’s not like anything from Russia was flawlessly built by the finest gun smiths Russia had to offer. My PSA AK 103 has a better finish and didn’t even scrape it off when shifting it from safe to fire (Limited sample size - others did not have the same experience). But anyway, I’m ranting about PSA’s and AK’s in an AR hard use thread. This’ll be the last of it from my end.

I’d say any gun your expecting for hard use that’s a rifle - at this point you’re probably expecting to go north of $1,000-1,200. The Colt 6920 would be an exception, but as soon as you add a rail you’re at that price point even if you install it yourself.

[Screwball]

I have an 11.5” pistol that I built out of a PSA kit. Built it mainly as a Heat build… and put in a Fostech Echo trigger to give me the third position on the cheap.

All parts were good to go. Only issue was the front sight block was canted to the point that the rear sight was all the way to left when zeroed. Sent it back, they fixed it… it isn’t completely centered… but the rear sight is more in the center than it was.

Is it a gun I put my life on each and everyday? No, but if you go over it… it is a very affordable gun that will get most basic jobs done. For a range gun, and possible home defense use… PSA can work, as long as you vet the gun (recommend that for any gun). In today’s economy, rather see someone with a PSA than them having no AR at all.

I do have an AK-P from them, which is a nice 10.5“ 7.62x39mm AK. I did use it when I had work going on with my truck gun, but just couldn’t get over that pulling an AK out of my truck would get me shot… even wearing a POLICE marked vest. Never had a major issue with the AK-P, just that there isn’t a KNS piston that works with it.

Only complete AR I own is one of the new Colt 6920s (“Carbine”). I have a few ARs, but wanted one that came complete from the factory. I added the accessories off my Tavor when I decided bullpup wasn’t for me (Aimpoint PRO, Surefire Scout).

Very happy with the Colt, but the two ARs I use religiously were pieced together. Both are currently pistols. My main truck gun is a 11.5” Adams Arms upper, which runs most of the time with my Griffin Bushwhacker 46. The backup is a 6” 9mm Stern upper, which I swapped the upper for one without a forward assist or ejection port. That runs my Dead Air Odessa. Main reason I run that one is because it uses Glock magazines… which I’m issued a Glock 19.

I did pickup another KelTec SUB2000, in 9mm with Glock 19 grip, just as another backup gun. I’m not a huge KelTec fan, but the SUB2000 is actually a nice base gun to start with. Redo the internals with MCARBO parts… and you actually get a very functional carbine. I had one in .40, but sold it when we transitioned from .40 to 9mm. Figured if I have to SBR the pistols, at least I’ll have a “rifle” that can fit the lockbox until they get squared away. Besides, I like options… especially ones I can suppress.

[Snidely Whiplash]

I purchased one of PSA’s premium AK’s two years ago. It was, by far, my worst firearm purchase ever. It was completely unreliable even after two trips back to PSA and I found the customer service reps generally were indifferent and unhelpful; One was outright rude and dismissive. I had to post a video of my issues on another forum before PSA would acknowledge the problems. Very odd that the post and video disappeared not long after. I sold the rifle for a loss (fully disclosing the problems) and was happy to have it out of my safe.

As to quality AR manufacturers, I’ve been very happy with my Daniel Defense rifles. I’ve never had any issues but have found customer service to be prompt and helpful when it comes to questions.

[SwampDweller]

I purchased one of PSA’s premium AK’s two years ago. It was, by far, my worst firearm purchase ever. It was completely unreliable even after two trips back to PSA and I found the customer service reps generally were indifferent and unhelpful; One was outright rude and dismissive. I had to post a video of my issues on another forum before PSA would acknowledge the problems. Very odd that the post and video disappeared not long after. I sold the rifle for a loss (fully disclosing the problems) and was happy to have it out of my safe.

As to quality AR manufacturers, I’ve been very happy with my Daniel Defense rifles. I’ve never had any issues but have found customer service to be prompt and helpful when it comes to questions.

Most of the long term customers I've had get PSA AKs ended up getting rid of them in a similar fashion and haven't had a peep of a problem since switching to Arsenals and other quality AKs.

Yeah, I think I'm decided on the DD4 RIS III. 16" midlength 5.56 with the RIS III Mlok handguard.