You have to love Jamin McCallum from Palmetto State.
It sounds like they have some cool stuff coming at SHOT Show next week, they always do but Jamin made it sound like this was going to be a special year. Sure they don’t execute perfectly all the time (see What A Long Strange Trip It Has Been and the epic journey my Palmetto State Dagger took on it’s way to Indiana) but while other manufacturers are tinkering around with gimmicks and the endless string of “precision rifles”, Palmetto State is making new and innovative stuff. Is PSA my first choice for my main, “go-to” AR? Nope but I definitely have some and am confident that if I need them, they will work.
Something interesting he said came around the 33 minute mark. Everyone assumes that Palmetto State sells for less because they cut corners but according to Jamin it is more that PSA sells for what an AR or pistol like the Dagger should cost and everyone else is jacking their prices up. I am sure there are quality differences, a PSA AR and a CMMG AR definitely have a different feel to them, but a lot of what you pay for is honestly just having a tacticool name stamped on your receiver. Some shooters, Gen-U-Wine certified internet shooters and actual, real life shooters, can justify the extra expense of a Gucci rifle but most of us are just not good enough, frequent enough, shooters to justify it. I will also say as an FFL that the prices a lot of gun stores are charging, even your beloved local gun store, are outrageously marked up.
Anyway, cool video from a cool guy ignoring the normiecon stuff in the last five minutes. It takes some balls and ready capital to do what he did and cranking about thousands of uppers every day, a million bolt carrier groups every year, etc means a whole lot of freedom in private hands and you know that makes Them very unhappy.
Growing so fast that they’re always hiring too.
I know somone who’s in their QC dept and they love working there.
Having not jumped on the ar bandwagon, I have not looked at psa.
I guess I have to now. If for no other reason than I like the way he talks.
Gotta be better quality than the 15-year old ATI Omni topped with a $50 rummage sale Bushnell red-dot I used to pop a ‘yote at 125 yards in pitch black waving a Bell+Howell TacLite Tuesday night.
I’m a big advocate of using shitty stuff to it’s full potential, the whole “collapse now and beat the rush” or whatever. A tool that works is better than one on the wishlist you’re saving up for in this retard’s view.
He’s probably right about his Competitors ‘charging too much’ for their (allegedly) Better Guns. I see the $4k+ Tacticool AR-15’s as a waste of Money (that should be spent on Ammo). Claiming that a Carbine that can Hit 2″ Paper Groups at 600 Meters is “Better” than a Reliable one that Hits ‘minute of commie’ at 200 Meters is missing what a Carbine is intended for. It’s like the whole AK vs. AR Debate- both designs, if built to original Tolerances, put Lead into what you Aim at, at short-to-mid Ranges.
The major diff between the “branded” Kool Kid” is primarily in the barrel and the barrel facing (barrel micro- metered/lapped to the face). A Cryo’d Cold Forged Hammer Barrel is going to outshoot a PSA ‘Standard’ chrome lined every time. The ‘other’ major component(s), for the most part are made of the same exact thing, down to the metallurgy, i.e. the lower and even in many cases the upper.
Trigger groups are also a determiner in that a standard milspec trigger isn’t going to be the same as a geissele, CMC or Elftmann comp trigger assembly.
BCGs are made of one of three steels, Carpenter no. 158, 8620, or 9310 with 158 being the ‘strongest’. The ‘cheaper’ steel, most common in commercial ARs is 9310, with the 8620 being what the DotMil has been using forever in the M-4/16 variants (full auto/3rd burst capable).
Firing pin material can contribute as well, with various material available. Titanium being VERY popular. That being said, Titanium is brittle, and the ONLY firing pin I’ve ever had break on me in 40 years of AR shewtin’ was a titanium pin, where the ‘nub’ or tip broke off… confused the fuck out of me why it wasn’t firing until I tore down the whole bolt.
The key is that you want QUANTITY (IMO) for a real fecal oscillation moment. Better a PILE of weapons and spare peices parts than ONE $4k Mercedes level AR that IF it breaks/damaged/lost, you’re fucked.
That is kind of my theory, have one or two fairly fancy ARs and then a decent supply of complete rifles and spare parts. Who the hell knows what might happen so if you put all of your AR eggs into one basket and something happens to that one, you are screwed.
I have a bespoke AR10 built on Aero receivers that cost as much as a decent car when optics and etc are factored in, and it shoots like a dream.
I also have a PSA “kit” that I bought for $399 that came with everything except the lower receiver, it has a stainless 1:8 barrel, mlok fore end, and magpul furniture. I added an ALG trigger and a cheap Vortex LPVO and it has become my goto gun for 5.56 at short distance 3 gun matches. Stupid thing shoots nice and has never not once failed, even when running some of my almost 25 year old steel case Wolf 55gr cheap stuff.
Now that’s not an apples to apples comparison but I know nice rifles and the PSA has consistently amazed me with its reliability, durability, and value.
Savage isn’t bad for rifles still. There’s a couple of others that are good too, some euro ones but I don’t recall them all.
PSA is gold if looking get what you need to build something with a printed lower.
I’m still gonna shill different ones like the UBar and Firebolt and Hoffman’s work.
I’ve had some good luck with PSA, they are who I refer new shooters ( not Gen-U-Wine certified internet “shooters”, of course) to for an entry level firearm to see if they like the sport or are actually interested in self defense. That seems to have worked out well.
Being a 5.7×28 fan I’m thinking of picking a PSA Rock. I’ve heard that it’s at least as good as the Ruger. I’d like a back up to my FN Fiveseven to have some quantity as Big Country suggests above. If I like it, I could get a few more for a lot less than the FN.
I’ve bought from PSA when they were including a chrome lined FN barrel maybe 10 years ago? That carbine is one of my favorites. I got zero issues with PSA. I will admit I’ve started using Bravo Company upper receivers for builds
I don’t know about this one is none stuff. Seems like it is marketing more than real life. Seal Team Six seems to go into the blender with just one AR per. If your AR malfunctions, it is going to be during use. If it is a sthf scenario, you lose.
Cryo anything is spending money on really nothing.
Buying a PSA because that is what you can afford is a good idea. Better an AR in the hand than you are saving up for that master blaster $4k carbine setup. You know. The type of carbine that Seal Team 6 uses.
Pingback:Holy Guacamole! – Dissident Thoughts