Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Palmetto PA-10 Gen3 308

I ordered one of these 'blems' from PSA,

https://palmettostatearmory.com/ble...lightweight-m-lok-str-2-stage-rifle.html


20", rifle gas, HBar, 308, 1/10 twist. Comes with two-stage trigger, adjustable gas block.

Added a Midwest Industries muzzle brake, Magpul pistol grip, Arken 6-24x50 on a 20 MOA base. Waiting on Midway for arrival AR-10 rifle length buffer system (extension tube, spring, buffer), and I'll put an A2 buttstock on it.



I've got some IMI M80 ball ammo on hand for initial shooting. I'm not expecting great thing as far as accuracy with that ammo, probably 2-3 moa or so.

I did pull the bullets out of five rounds of the IMI, and replaced them with Hornady 155gr ELD-M, so we'll see how that compares to the 150gr FMJ. Hopefully a bit better.



I did boresight the scope. On the 20 moa base, that leaves 16 mils of 'up' in the erector, and then the reticle has a 12-mil x-mas tree type of reticle. That will be plenty to get out to 1500+ yards for that long-range plinking.

Anyhoo, thought I'd share as I go along. Wifey thought I deserved a nice birthday gift to myself, and this is it.

Anyone else out there shooting a PA-10 308, feel free to share here too.

Nice rifle. I was watching a video the other day, and they seem to shoot very well for an AR10. Keep us posted. Sounds like a good one..

I purchased one of their complete uppers with the adjustable gas block and a stripped lower.
Put it together and have really been enjoying it. Use it with a Silencerco Omega

Nice. I'd imagine the 308 puts their dicks in the dirt right away. Do you use ball ammo, or some kind of soft point?

Well I got the PA-10 out to the range, and got her zero'd.

I went with a 50/200 zero using the IMI M80, then compared the five rounds of IMI with the bullets replaced with the Hornady 155gr ELD-M. Accuracy was about 2.5-3.0 MOA. The Hornady bullets didn't really change that.

I did the target shooting at 50 yards, lasered. First I fired a 15-round group with the IMI ball ammo (lower group). Using that as a reference, I made scope adjustments, and the fired 5 rounds of the IMI (top left). Then another scope refinement, and five rounds with the 15gr ELD-M (top right).



After getting a basic 50/200 zero, I went out to 900 yards for some plinking with the IMI ball ammo. I haven't chrono'd this stuff, so I kind of swagged an 8-mil dial-up on the scope. I was a little high, dialed down to 7.5 mils, and was on target. Granted, at 900 yards, my 'group' (beaten zone????) would be around 27 inches or so. But it didn't seem that bad watching the impacts through the scope.

The rifle is a pussycat to shoot. With the HBar, and brake, it feels about the same as a 20" AR in 5.56. But it is loud, as would be expected.



Long range rock plinking gallery,



I like the Arken 6-24x50 scope, but I'm not really a high magnification guy. I used it at 8X for the 50 yard zeroing, and 10X for the 900 yard plinking. Glass is really very clear. The reticle being FFP, gets kinda thin at 6X though. Still visible enough in open country, but might be kinda tough in the woods. It is illuminated though, so that would help out in the woods.

Gratuitous Montana springtime scenery,

I should also mention that the rifle ran smooth from the first round. No hitches, glitches, or failures of any kind.

Thanks for posting

Been looking at an LMT or Daniel Defense DD5.

But funds are saying PSA

What a playground. You are truly blessed. Hope you like your product from the Palmetto state because the Palmetto state surely appreciates the scenery there.

We are blessed here to still have a good amount of public lands.

I've got several AR and AK uppers and rifles from PSA. They have all been very good.

I use a handload 150gr Hrdy Sp and a mild load of IMR3031.
Works great for the intended range of 200yrds max.

I bought a Pulsar Thermal that I'll be putting on it.
Been well please with it.

Good looking rifle. Thanks for posting. I guess I could use the excuse that I already have an Omega. 🤩😜

Good deal!

That sounds legit to me!

So I wanted to add a rifle-length buffer system and stock.

I ordered an AR-STONER rifle "extreme" buffer/spring/tube setup for the AR-10, from Midway.

The spring and the buffer seem ok, but the rifle extension tube was a complete QC fail. The aft end of the tube was missing the wrench flats, and the hole for the butt screw wasn't even threaded.

Well, thankfully I had a spare rifle length buffer tube in the 'spare parts box', so the A2 stock install went off without any other drama.

Check out this extension tube,

Was that a "blemished" one. Looks like it's missing some stuff, like you say. Dang.. Are you going to send it back? Wondering if the hole is small enough that you can still tap it? The flats would be easy to add as well, but a guy shouldn't have to do the finishing like that..

No, not sold as blemished. I'm not sending it back, because it is part of a set, including the spring and buffer that I'm now using in the rifle.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019426713?pid=274887

Rather than sending the whole set back, I'm just going to take the hit. There is enough meat on it to thread it myself.

If it's true that BCA makes all the AR-STONER line of parts, that kind of explains a lot.

I probably wouldn't send it back either then. Especially if the hole is still small enough that I could tap it myself. That's pretty easy to do. That's a pretty big mistake on QC though. Not even laughable..

just curious what is the weight of the rifle? also that arken scope is $300??

I got it for $225. there's a 25% off code still in effect,

https://www.arkenopticsusa.com/lh4-...s-turrets-illuminated-vhr-vpr-30mm-tube/

Weight with A2 buttstock, scope, Harris 9-13 bipod, and magazine with 18 rounds of M80...........13 lbs, 13 oz.

The issued carbine buffer weighs 3.8 oz.

The replacement rifle buffer weighs 5.0 oz.

Looks a lot better. I always forget you shoot left handed. That stock has some miles on it. Good choice though.

I also have a Magpul fixed rifle stock on hand, but the A2 has that nice sloping angle on the underside that works well with a rear beanbag.

Maybe could send just that part back. I would call them.

Nope. They would happily exchange the entire set, but not piece-meal.

Oh well. It was a thought.

Why did you buy that,
Instead of this,
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025634253?pid=379129.


Am I missing something?

Full length stock?

DB, I was switching from a carbine stock/buffer system, to a rifle stock/buffer system.

I shot it today for the first time with the rifle length buffer system and A2 rifle stock. Super smooth and soft shooting. My best 5-shot group was 2" at 50 yards. Ammo was more of the IMI 7.62 NATO 150gr FMTBT.

Sounds like crap, but it was going 3" on the first outing. I've seen reference to these barrels needing 100 rounds or so for break-in, so maybe it will tighten up more as we go along. I've put about 75 rounds through it now.

I need to snag some FGMM 168gr and 175gr and see how those shoot. They are pretty much the benchmark for 308 accuracy ammo.

Tuning the gas block to IMI 150gr FMJ.

PSA calls the gas block a '3-position' gas block. That's kind of confusing. It's actually 3 detent positions per full revolution.

Starting off I turned the adjustment screw fully inward (clockwise viewed from the front). This closes off the gas system completely.

For the following sequence, I only loaded one round into the magazine, to test for lock-back on the empty magazine.

I opened the port 4 'clicks' for the first shot. The fired case only extracted about halfway, did not eject.

I opened the port 1 more click to 5 clicks total. The fired case ejected, but the bolt didn't lock back.

I opened the port 1 more click to 6 clicks total. The fired case ejected, but no lock-back.

I opened the port 1 more click to 7 clicks total. Ejection at about 4-oclock, and the bolt locked back.

I left it there at 7 clicks. The information that came in the box with the rifle did indicate 7 clicks was the factory setting for 150gr ammo. Since I had changed the tube/buffer/recoil spring to rifle length, I went through that tuning process, but it turned out to be the same as the carbine system setting.

Shane, you handload, don't you? The FGMM may be the epitome of accuracy according to some, but I was always able to load better ammo for my Armalite AR10 308.

BSA, Yes I do handload. The thing is, nearly all my .308" bullets are in the 208-225gr range. These bullets will be too long for anything in the magazine of the PA-10. Also, my powders are more for the heavy bullets (RL-17).

I do have some H335, and Ramshot X-Terminator on hand though. Those should be about the right burn rate for a 168gr or 175 gr bullet. Maybe I just need a box of bullets.

Just remembered I have some Remington 180gr PSPCL bullets on the shelf, maybe I'll load up 10 or so and see how that goes. Not a match bullet, but likely more consistent than the M80 style 150gr FMJ.

I thought you did. Yes, that X-terminator powder should work well. Or, If you have any CFE223 or IMR8208, or AR Comp, those powders work very well with those weights. My AR10 loved AR Comp with the 168gr bullets. Those 180gr PSPCL will work well too, for plinking and barrel break in. As for the 150gr FMJ. I had a bunch of those, and loaded some up for my AR10. They actually didn't do too bad, considering they are not a matchgrade bullet. They shot around 1.6 moa for 10 shots. Not great, but not horrible either.

I was expecting about 3 moa with the 7.62 Ball ammo, and actually I have done a little better than that with some sub 1.5" groups at 50 yards.

Anyhoo, I ordered a few different kinds of AAC ammo from Palmetto, a box of 20 each of these AAC 308 offerings:

150gr FMJ
168gr OTM
168gr SMK

So those will give a few more data points. In the mean time I gave the barrel a good scrub, and will put more of the IMI Ball through it to continue seasoning the bore.

I cleaned the bore with Bore Tech Eliminator. The barrel had about 75 rounds down it.

With the Eliminator, the patches turn quite blue if the bore is coppered up. The patches indicated there was hardly any copper in the bore, so that's not a bad sign.

Montana,
Are you going to leave the adjustable gas on there or change it to a standard block?

Nice looking rig by the way.

I have two of these PA 10's.

One is set up with irons for as a full knock around rifle in .308.
The other is scoped for longer stuff.

Best
Heavy

Heavy, I'm going to leave the gas block as it is, so long as it is working well. So far there haven't been any failures, except when I deliberately choked down the gas port, for the purpose of tuning it.

I could see picking up another upper down the road, like an 18" mid-gas with the A2 profile barrel and FSB, for a lighter option if I was going to pack it around very much.

Curious how the AAC Ammo does for you. I too have three to try.

150 Sabre Blade
150 SP
168 OTM

BTW, awhile back I bought two blem PA10 SS 18" mid uppers and two blem EPT MOE lowers to go with them. Nothing but pleased with the parts. Yah, 7 clicks on the 3 click AGB. Not too heavy. Everything fit well. Functioned perfectly. A nice bargain with rubber grip, decent butt and trigger. EZ come EZ go.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I haven't gotten out and shot my AAC ammo yet. Should get that done in the near future. I'll definitely share the results here, be they good, bad or ugly.

Right on. I'm tempted to test some in a bolt rifle, maybe also.

That's what I was planning on too. Comparing groups with the PA-10, to a Rem 700 rifle that I know is a sub-moa shooter with good ammo.

I was kind of planning on getting out there today, but it's getting breezy, and forecast is gusting to 37 mph this afternoon. I'll do it on a calmer day, and try to give the rifle/ammo a fair shake.