Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Update!! Replacing 5.56 PSA barrel

Recommendation, don't want to break the bank, $250-300ish. Would love a 1moa, 16" barrel, mid length gas, 1-7 or 8 for Calif. deer hunting (copper) 55-70g
I've got a Daniel defense that will do this right now but putting together another ar for my wife. Thanks

The go-to for that kind of price is White Oak.

On their website right now, is this what I should be looking at?https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/16-spr-barrel-1.html

Sorry don't know how to send a live link.

PSA barrel shot out or won't shoot? Just curious.

Brand new, I believe it just won't shoot, it's one of their cheap Freedom barrels and I've been shooting Daniel Defense and PSA side-by-side (both 1-7, 16" mid) as I'm working up loads and so far nothing is working in the PSA. Best group 2" and kind of scattered about with light loads, as I go higher load it drastically opens up and moves up and to the right.

Get ready to break that sucker loose. I've taken off 5 or so PSA barrels, and they are TIGHT. Almost looks like they put some kind of thread locker on em, instead of anti-seize.

I'm almost thinking about buying a whole new upper and making the PSA a plinker. The PSA Picatinny rail seems to be slightly undersized also. Don't know how to properly measure it but it's .005" narrower than other pic rails I measure and all my scope rings and cantilever mounts that are snug on the Daniel defense before tightening are very loose on the PSA rail.

I wonder if the scope is moving.

I guess I would expect a bad barrel to create a radial dispersion - not drifting up and to the right with heavier loads.

Just a thought.

These

Bought one about 15 years ago, maybe 1400 rounds down it. I don't shoot it much but it's never made me cuss.

Good thought because it was moving, I bought a Vortex cantilever that solved the problem. Before with a Nikon that basically just compresses on the Picatinny rail it was all over the place.

Might check SOTA Arms, they got a sale going on barrels for under $100 at the moment, US made with US steel. A 5.56 SS 16" with 1-9 twist at under $100. While shopping they have all the parts you will need. Good folks to deal with and decent stuff. They are the #1 competitor for Model 1 sales at big shows, like Tulsa.

That's what I'd look at.

Those PSA nitride barrels aren't real great. Those WO barrels will be noticeably more accurate in the field.

You may want to hit the upper with a propane torch or a heat gun if it has locktite on it. Just get it smoking.

I guess it just depends on who torqued it down. I've done barrel swaps on a couple PSA 5.56 uppers that didn't include any drama.

Thats exactly what a load does. Moves up and over as it passes nodes. I'm not sure always to the right but my memory says so.

Audette shows that consistently as a development method for years now.

That said it doesn't change the fact its a 2 moa barrel.

I'd contact them and see if they would replace it. Even the best barrel folks make a bad one now and then. Although 2 moa isn't really that bad, its not anything I"d be happy with either.

Well if anybody's interested I pulled the upper apart last night and the barrel almost fell into my lap. Barrel extension to receiver bore clearance would be .002" "IF" the bore were round but it's not, .005" out of round and if thats not bad enough the barrel extension outside diameter has .001" taper over the 1" length. You can actually move the barrel around inside the bore.

Anybody know if the foundries do the machine work before receivers are sold or are they sent out raw and gun makers do the machine work?

Anyways sent in a return request this morning and I'll see what they say...

You could "bed" the barrel in the receiver with some green Loctite 294

Yeah if PSA won't work with me that was my thought. I have some Loctite 680 retaining compound that I think would work.

Be hard pressed to think PSA would not replace that instantly.
You can bed it in 640. Would be almost impossible to ever get it apart again though.