I've done firearm repair just over 40 years and have seen more than my share of AR's. This is one of the most informative videos I've seen. Excellent job showing the steps necessary to thoroughly check a BCG.
School of the American Rifle I’m learning more and more from these videos and I have a huge question. My buddy has a M+M ak ar rifle and it struggled to feed at first, took it apart and his dang bolt face has bent edges from slamming into something in the rifle. He shoots it now and it runs flawlessly but I’ve told him many times that doesn’t look safe, would you able to look at it?
I didnt know how deep you could go into the health of a part like that. I got a deeper respect for gunsmiths now. I'm sure those gauges arent cheep either
Most gunsmiths don't go this deep either. A lot of them are mostly parts assemblers. If there is a gun you care a lot about you may very well pay more attention and have more specific knowledge about it than any generalist gunsmith. I found that very much to be the case for Saigs shotguns. It used to be routine on the sega forums to have people whose generalist gunsmith screwed up their shotgun because he assumed that it would be simple and work basically just like an AK. and then he would make basic mistakes that 20 minutes of googling would tell you what the correct values were and the correct methodology. ? But if you know it all already you don't have the attitude that you should learn.
@@GunFunZSTrue. While it’s not impossible to find a genuinely good gunsmith, it’s exceedingly difficult. I ended up finding one out of state. So I have to ship a gun off for any work I want done. Found plenty local to me, but all they do is basic assembly. Stuff I could do myself inside of 20 minutes.
For those making fun of "a doctor buying a PSA BCG", I build AR's for a lot of younger people. I have built 5 ARs for friend's kids this year alone. I am not putting $300 BCGs in those. These were $50 on sale, so I took a chance. The hardware is good, the QC is what is lacking. Being fixed, it should run fine. Another happy 18 year old, no? None of my 15 AR's has a PSA BCG, so rest easy.
I have PSA bcg's with thousands and thousands of rounds and zero issues. Never even thought of looking at any of these components under the knife like this guy does. I will be paying a little more attention now.
@teratos66 -- "The hardware is good, the QC is what is lacking." Exactly. People defending their PSA buying choices with statements about thousands of rounds, I wonder, what is your use? Mag dumping to feel macho? Who cares about merely "going bang," you can use bottle rockets and firecrackers if all you want is a big noise. A gun should be reliable AND accurate, not just a noisemaker.
Was really waiting for a psa breakdown. I had one that ate a set of rings in under 300 rounds, and not hard use at all. It still was functioning, I noted the rings worn and smeered over the groove when I tore it down for cleaning after match. To palmettos credit they did replace it free of charge.
Thanks for another great video. I didn't know Indian Head gasket shellac was an acceptable sealant on gas keys. I learn something new from every one of your videos. Keep them coming !
Finally. It's nice to finally find a knowledgeable person who speaks well. I'll be learning from you. As a retired machinist, I know and miss the perfection needed, for simple things. Because it's the simple things that will snafu you.
Love the videos, one suggestion: toss some numbers up with the go/no-go gauges. Never hurts to have a reference number if something looks and feels off
Permatex No: 3 Aviation form a gasket is the sealant used by most manufacturers that try to assemble parts per military specification. In this particular instance, the sealer was applied improperly. That and the lack of proper torque of the carrier key screws tells me that the guy that assembled this carrier at PSA was probably an inexperienced, undertrained unsupervised new guy.
Permatex gasket liquid is good if used correctly. Need to let the gasket set up because its thickness dimension will change as it cures. I've used it for head gaskets on Ford V-8s and I've seen friends use it incorrectly then have pressure leaks on the cylinder and the water jackets. They didn't let it set up and then their as-torqued spec became under-spec after curing.
PSA was all I could afford and the only way I could get into the AR world. Mine has held up fine since the day I built her. Hopefully it stays that way until I can save for a while and buy some upgrades.
First vid I've seen of a full physical test. I haven't been looking, either. Thank you. Very informative. You have a new sub and sharing with a few friends.
Too bad. Seems they did a great job dimensionally, but then dropped the ball when it comes to common, everyday issues (gas key and extractor spring). I do like these videos. Please keep them coming! Thanks.
I've had 3 PSA bcgs. My very first one I noticed some scratching on the face of my buffer. I was worried my buffer spring retention was off in my lower. But it was actually a burr on the back of my bcg. I took high grit fine sand paper and hit it with my hand a half dozen or so times and it's been perfect ever since.
As long as the home mechanic is not a hamfist, yes. Hamfists can take something perfectly working, or easily repaired, and turn it into useless junk. Seen it many times with automobile engines, motorcycles, and bicycles.
I have a PSA Premium bcg just like the one in the autopsy,I changed the psa extractor spring and o ring to a Colt copper colored spring that all of my Colts come with.I use only mil spec Barnul steel cased ammo and the weapon has been 100%.The staking looked good but after this autopsy I'll be checking it again.
@@paulbarclay4114 I’ve found that even psa guns usually only fail like this one when used extremely hard or long term use or when mis assembled ,of course there is the occasional lemon. And every machine will eventually break
I wonder what the date of manufacture is for this unit. A couple years back I noticed PSA went into high gear pumping out BCGs at super low price points (as well as rifle/pistol kits). it raised my eyebrows a bit because they were selling so cheap. If you see all that and don't question quality of product and process then you basically just don't care.
Yeah its probably good to question the quality but it could also be an increase of machinery/employees to be able to produce a little more. It could also be a supply/demand thinking they'll make more overall sales to compensate for the price drop. Economics are wack.
@@yolo-qr2fq I agree. PSA was at one point notorious for poor customer service and shipping and their website (once upon a time) was really not all that user friendly. Hopefully they've invested in their manufacturing the same ways they have with their customer service, shipping, and web presence.
@@jeremymenning56 yeah. Your going to find some bad apples though. If you haven't watched AK operators union video on the 5,000rds he put through one you should. One of the few rifles to complete his 5k round test. Personally don't have one but they look pretty good especially for the price.
Its cheaper to replace bad parts than do good quality control. Im sure that a lot of people who buy their parts dont know how to do things like check for correct ejection etc, they also dont put many rounds through their guns. so as long as parts barely function and last a couple hundred rounds they owner will never know the difference. (I know a lot of PSA owners are the guys who have 10 AR builds with less than 100 rounds through each of them)
@Concerned Citizen When buying PSA, there will be a certain amount of risk and potential headache if one ends up with something bad/out of spec that got past their QC considering the high volume output of the company in line with budget pricing. It's hard to gauge how many lemons per whatever number but if pulling the trigger on PSA, be sure to immediately test it out at the range and do some initial break in. If it is in spec, PSA offers a great deal on their price points for what one gets. A good entry point in which one can replace out parts over time until eventually there is a whole new rifle in play with a second one to boot. Again, if in spec, they are good to go. If not, then it's likely going to be headache city. They are a high volume seller so you'll see two diverging polar opposite views. Those decrying how great of a deal the PSA is and those upset with various issues. It's common to see a bunch of comments about how great the company is and then another set of comments lamenting their purchases. A mix of truths.
Just because the one he tested is good doesn’t mean yours will be. PSA’s QC is lacking therefore it is really a toss up as to whether or not you will get a good one.
cmoe BOOST well considering Ive checked some tolerances that passed and all of them have giving me years of great service Im pretty sure they are good to go!!!
Concerned Citizen Look man I have BCM and other “quality” platforms that my PSA has held up just as good... round after round for thousands..... PSA phosphate premium carrier is good to go period!!
Concerned Citizen Hahaha yeah ok man and I guess all the great service I’ve had over the years goes out the window why? Because YOU say so?? Get the fuk outta here with that noise.... they make great products and just like anybody else can get a lemon .... I’ve seen noveskes out of spec and fail as well as daniel defense so yeah.......
@@Marcus2750-u1t "good to go period" -- yeah except when there's insufficient torque to keep the fasteners retained. Tell yourself whatever you need to, I guess. "hahaha yeah ok man" -- what are you, a teenager? An unsafe BCG is just a joke to you? Seems like QC/QA apathy is a hallmark of PSA parts. Sounds like they employ people with your juvenile, "it doesn't matter man, just go dump mags at the range, bro!" attitude. It's a good idea to expect quality from any firearms maker or seller. Quality's not hard to reach -- unless the seller is lazy, or cheap, or greedy. Then the seller cuts corners to maximize profit, without a care for the bad results by the end user.
I received a PSA BCG that was not staked at all, they completely missed it. The bad part of this is that I had to send them a picture before they would create a RMA and then they waited till they received the defective BCG before sending me a new one. It's like they didn't believe the customer even though I had purchased thousands of dollars worth of items in the past. They tried to make me feel like it was somehow my fault. So, all in all it took nearly a month to get the BCG I ordered. Bottom line is PSA's customer service is complete garbage so I wouldn't buy from them unless absolutely necessary. It's too bad because I like everything else about PSA.
I’ve had 2 PSA premium BCG that the bolt heads sheared off...... I’ve herd good things about there BCG’s but I won’t use them anymore..... I use BCM, Fail Zero and I have 1 Tool Craft nib with no problems with them
Concerned Citizen number one psa is a company all companies are all about the money that’s the reason for having a fucking business number 2 psa is about getting as many guns in peoples hands as possible especially ARS and AKs so they become a commonly used weapon and therefore harder to ban, they are a very pro 2nd amendment company unlike some gun manufactures out there that have been 2 face or run by people who really are all about the money like Springfield or the people who bought Remington years ago speaking of which PSA will soon be sister companies with former Remington owned companies, DPMS,H&R,storm lake and AAC silencer company because they bought them from Remington
@@jesseterrell9354 PSA has really come a long way. It's disappointing to see that they are failing on the little everyday stuff. But they are definitely making big strides to have better quality control. Still not quite there yet
I just finished my first PSA in six years. Sorry to all the haters, but damn they are feeling good these days. To be fair, I wasnt feeling well and slapped er together, but she checked out visually and felt smooth as glass. I still remember the last one feeling like it had just come out of a sandbox when it was done. My only complaint is the ambi ch I usually run felt like garbage, standard handle ran fine. I'll get into that tomorrow as spec charging handles are the singular biggest flaw with the ergos of this platform.
Awesome to have all those tools for checking things. I did a test fire (just three rounds) of a DPMS pattern LR-308 build and all I will be able to do is look for very obvious things. Nice catch with the gas key.
What issues could happen with running the extractor spring with both the insert and donut? I've seen you mention that you don't recommend them several times but unsure the rational behind this.
I think he said that you only need one or the other with a proper quality spring and using both is a way to mitigate failure rates on cheaper components.
My guess is that even the extreme Holly Grail parts under such scrutiny would have similar results. Here's what i know, My PSA keeps shooting and puts rounds where I want them. Chevy's work, Ferraris are for people with weak minds.
Accuracy and reliability go hand in hand. Some people want their round to go where it's aimed, others simply want it to go "BANG!" and send relatively down-range.
I've been doing some catching up on your video's here and the Shock and Awe is incredible. The "items" you find, come across leave me scratching my head asking "How did, why was this Not see OR not found by its owner?" I know I'm FAR from perfect and NOT a Master Armor sir. But come on here. In some of your videos I can understand Manufacture Defects to a Point. The rest? These are some great weapon instructional videos on what to look for and how to properly gage. Please keep them coming Sir.
I hate to be "that guy" but you seem particular enough to appreciate valid criticism. The term autopsy is traditionally reserved for post-mortem inspections of a human body, and the term necropsy is used for post mortem inspections of everything else.
With a touch of engineer. Machinists you have to understand metrology and dimensions and rigidity but a gunsmith also has to understand dynamic forces and pressure. And things under recoil. Add in a dash of mechanic too. most of the daily work is just solving routine problems and installing accessories.
I'm new to your channel and have watched several videos lately. I really appreciate the knowledge you share. I'm also new to the AR scene and have a couple that I've purchased used and have been pleased with them so far. However, I would like to purchase a high quality AR and was wondering which companies/models you would recommend? Also, do you have a list of companies and the parts from each company that you would recommend if I wanted to build my AR instead of buying a complete rifle. Thank you.
I have a few bcg's with the o ring. I never had a problem with them so I just left them in. I will have to experiment with and without the o ring at the range and also check spring tension or pressure.
On an issue with firing pin protrusion, could the overal length of the bolt cause an issue with firing pin protrusion? I have noticed I never see a measurement on the bolt length from the bolt tail to the bolt face.
Genuine question. Why would 300 blackout warrant more spring pressure on the extractor than 223/556? The case head is the same and typically as I understand it the cycling forces are less. I could understand some of the other calibers that use a different case head wanting more extractor force but I don't understand it in this application would you be willing to explain?
I still have my logo-less PSA BCG and Bolt, had it since 2013. Not any issues, but I do know they have more failures or QC issues than most. They need to slow down quantity a bit and do more QC.
If they did that they’d have to raise the cost of their parts. Its cheaper and easier to replace anything defective and sent back than to pay labor costs to do proper QC on everything..thats part of what you pay for when you get quality parts from other companies....Besides most people wont put enough rounds through their guns to notice or cause an issue
The Permatex liquid gasket cures and its thickness reduces slightly as the liquifying component evaporates. When you're talking torque, and thicknesses in fractions of millimeters, it matters! When applying, more uniformity is better than not. But the process of mating two milled-flat surfaces under torque usually spreads the liquid to uniform thickness -- if not applied carelessly and if not torqued unevenly.
I purchased a PSA nickel teflon BCG about 4 to 6 years ago and fired less than a mag will not cycle after 10 rds and looked at BCG and gas key was loose.
I put 200 rounds through my new PSA 16” upper it started having cycling issues and the gas key came loose I discovered the gas key fasteners were spinning free and the staking job was horrible. I sent the BCG back to PSA and waiting for them to repair.
Iv owned 3 palmetto bcg’s. all three chewed up gas rings much faster than normal. Seeing the inside of this one makes me suspect they bore these out a little haphazardly.
Yeaa i had a gas key that wasn't torqued or staked and it ended up bananaing my key, luckily they sent a new one and i torqued it and staked it my self.
i like psa ar15 rifles but damn i bought a gen 4 ar9 from them just a simple blowback operated bolt and it had some horrible machining and a design flaw. the firing pin is simply held in place with a cotter pin and a flimsy spring requiring the pin to travel at least 1/4 of an inch on pure inertia from the hammer. on top of that there was some really sorry machine work on the inside of the bolt that would cause the firing pin to become jammed inside when struck with the hammer. ran about 100 rounds thru it just fine and then the damn thing couldnt shoot more than one round at a time without jamming. luckily because of the gun panic i still sold it for a profit!!
Is this one of their "premium" BCGs? I have 2 of their "premium", and one that came with a kit (which lacked chrome clinging in the bolt carrier) all of them have deeper staking of varying amount, and the extractor spring don't come out.
I know it’s a 3 year old video and you may not answer. I’m waiting on a Blem Sabre Lower and will be getting a Sabre upper at some point. I will be doing the reverse torque test first thing. Have you ever had a gas key pass that test and then fail quickly anyway? Should I assume MicroBest assembled the BCG, or is it probable that they supplied the parts and PSA assembled it?
Chad, would you be willing to do a video on the modifications you did to the Depth Gauge for firing pin protrusion? I have it in my "cart" but would love to know what's involved in the modification first, if possible. We have about 200 new rifles being shipped to our agency, so I'd really like to streamline our initial inspection process. Thanks!!!!
I modify one of the attachments included with the gauge. I use a lathe to do it. Pretty easy with the right equipment, but very challenging without. If you send me your attachments I can modify one for you.
You addressed ever single question I had about your motives including at the end how you stated you "could" use the gas key in a pinch, Why don't they use Loctite on that as well as Staking the pin?
I've heard you mention in multiple videos about not needing both the spring insert and the o ring for the extractor. I understand something not being necessary, but is there any harm that can come from having both?
I've had similar issues with my PSA products. I love mine but when I wrench on them theres surprisingly little torque on the bolts (sample size of 2, one foregrip, one pistol grip screw)
