What do you AR users think, is this a good deal if a person was wanting spare parts for ........."just in case"?

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...utm_term=morning&utm_content=507617B

I wouldn't be able to help myself, would buy a cheap lower and put it together.

Check CDNN, they have rifle uppers without CH & BCG for $199 & up

I have checked them out. I was more interested in getting a spare parts kit and a BCG, when I saw the sale PSA was having on a complete upper. That upper they have on sale is like my DPMS upper and would be a quick switch if something happened to the one I have.
Doing a comparison, there is a $5 difference in price and the PSA deal includes a front sight, plus stock parts. The CDNN does not.
I buy a lot of stuff from CDNN, but the PSA deal seems better to me, but, and it's a big but, I am not an AR expert by any stretch.

I appreciate the help.

Rifle kits are cheap, I have had two PSA BCGs that I had to replace the extractor on, spotty accuracy with their barrels and had one upper that would only fit on the PSA lower it came with.

I have helped assemble several of the CDNN kits for friends, they have either used Anderson, Aero or PSA lowers and had no issues with fit or function.

CDNN offers kits as well, I just didn't bother looking.

AR15 Discount, CDNN, Joe Bob's, Arm or Ally, Right to Bear and a host of others have kits less the lower. Check the Equipment Exchange over on AR15.com for vendor specials.

It sounds like you are set on the PSA kit, so knock yourself out.

Buy an oopsie kit, a bolt, barrel and a spare upper receiver and save a ton of money. As long as you run quality ammo and reloads, there is little that can go wrong with the lower.

I don't buy kits or assembled receivers for my self, I have certain criteria for each build, other than handguard, barrel, grip and stock, I do not deviate. I seldom have issues with feed, function and ejection. I also never use an adjustable gas block and haven't had issues because of it.

Don't misunderstand me, I am looking for guidance, so I'm listening to you. I'm trying to rundown those sites you posted.

Awhile back I sought to build the cheapest couple of ARs possible. I used an ok lower and good BCG. The rest was cheap as possible. About $365 and they sucked, or at least felt cheapass. I think to nearly match the PSA Freedom kit you would need to buy China handguard, buffer assemblies, unbranded LPK, something like generic or Diamondback barrel on sale, or BCA crapshoot mystery parts... It's a decent deal and for a little more, they have others often I think are "better'. Their EPT nitrate 10.5" MOE rigs are pretty good at sale prices. Depending on what you want..


A worthy endeavor may be to let folks know what you have and ask what might be good back up or support parts? There's vast knowledge here but they're stubborn. LOL

I had one of those uppers and shot maybe 2K rounds in it before handing it down to a friend.

Most people will never shoot enough to find the failure point of a properly assembled AR or a Glock 19.

On the other hand, ARs are EASY to build and maintain, so just build one!

YouTube is your friend on this.

I also ran this upper built on an Anderson lower PSA 16" 5.56 NATO 1:7 MIDLENGTH NITRIDE 13.5" LIGHTWEIGHT M-LOK MOE EPT RIFLE for a year or so, and landed that down to my son. It also has 2,000+ rounds without any issues.

I still have go-to-war rifles (Colt, Sgt of Arms), but for anything less than a prolonged gunfight, the PSAs are value. At least they have been for me.

Thanks MtnBoomer and David Walter.

What I have that works great is a DPMS carbine (16") barrel. It's a flat top. I recently took the carry handle off since my eyes don't do so well with open/peep sights any more. I installed a Trijican RMR dual illuminated and I love it. I did install a Magpol rear pop up sight. Everything else is stock.

Also want to thank Darryle. I'm looking pretty hard at what CDNN has.

Here's another question I have concerning AR's.
It is not a rifle I shoot much, in fact, recently is the third time in 15yrs. that I've shot mine. So, how important would an Oops Kit, or BCG be to me? If I have to fire 2000 plus rounds in a bad situation, I'm probably in trouble anyway. At the age of 70, what are the chances of me needing spare parts or a spare complete upper?

Well, what if 12 rounds into the situation something breaks, do you want to give up or get back into it? I would suggest a maintenance and repair kit. Others know what's best though. I ended up with about a dozen spares, lol, so I don't know exactly what to say conclusively, possibly a bolt assembly, oops kit, and buffer spring? Parts are cheap and plentiful right now.

Other than the bolt, the carrier really can't fail as long as the key is properly staked.

So a replacement bolt is handy to have, along with a set of gas rings and a bolt repair kit

If you have to break down the lower for any reason, it's not hard to lose a spring or pin.

Here is a link to a few different kits, this will give you an idea about what to search for.

Lower Parts Repair Kits

Unless you have a sqib, there really isn't any reason to have a replacement upper or barrel. Wait until things relax and prices and availability improve to buy those big ticket items.

The carrier may not break but the cam pin does from time to time and a pierced primer will burn the tip of the firing pin off. It’s just easier to pick up a complete carrier at the prices they are selling for now.

Twr, what do you think about the titanium firing pins? Im running one just try out because I run a lot of CCI 400 primers. Never had one pierce on an ar, but had one very slightly pierce on my new 204 Ruger. Im now running CCI 450s in that rifle.

Also when doing that, get a known good one. BCM and RCA come to mind. Then if need be, use the other lesser quality BCG as the "backup".

I use CCI 41 primers and have for a long time in my AR’s and have never pierced one so I’ve never tried anything but a stock firing pin. But I have a buddy that used to shoot high power and he started off with Winchester primers and has a few firing pins with sharp ends burnt into them from doing so. I ran a few Winchester primers too but evidently my loads were not as hot as his.

I did try a high zoot firing pin in something it seems but all I can remember was it was supposed to decrease lock time, never a bad thing. I just don’t know enough about them.

Slim to none.

Kind of what I was thinking.