Well I thought I had made my decision on which Sub $700 AR I was going to buy when someone suggested that there were other PSA AR's better than a M&P sport as well as PSA's own Freedom carbine for not much more $$$. I was advised to look at the PSA M4 Mil Spec AR. Turns out it's only $90 more than the M&P Sport and the Freedom carbine for the cash price. I only have two questions.

#1-Is the PSA Mil Spec a better AR where it matters than the Freedom carbine?
#2-Does anyone know for certain if the Mil Spec has a FN barrel?

Thanks one last time
Art.

If you get us a link, I'm sure we'd be able to let you know for sure whether it's FN made or not. As far as whether their standard rifles are "better" than their stainless Freedom rifles, I think it's more that they're just slightly different, and that's just the barrel. Their Freedom stuff is usually midlength and 416SS, whereas their standard carbines are just that... carbine. I don't know if anyone has found out who makes the 416SS barrels for them, nor have I seen any reviews. I'd say they're probably pretty similar as far as accuracy goes, with the Freedom maybe slightly edging out ahead.



You really can't go wrong with either one, and if you're just plinking, assuming you take care of your rifle(making sure the barrel is dry so it doesn't rust), it's basically aesthetics.

Does the upper in question have "PTAC" anywhere in the description? If so, no I don't believe they have FN barrels.  As far as being better than the Freedom line or not, it's really just that they are different products with different purposes. Freedom uses stainless barrels and the Premium line uses FN chrome lined or CHF barrels, one isn't necessarily better than the other, they fulfill different roles.

How does one post a link? The add describes the barrel as being: CMV 4150 steel chrome lined 1:7 twist. The term "PTAC" is no where to be found in the AR's description in either add at Bud;s or Grab a Gun.

Uh....copy and paste the address, we can figure it out from there.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/411550993 vs http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/psa-16-stainless-mid-length-1-7-moe-freedom-carbine.html

That looks like their standard model, and while it's possible that FN supplies all of their barrels, I only that PSA says they supply Premium and CHF barrels. Why don't you buy directly from PSA instead of Bud's?


Also, their standard models are of lesser quality than the Premium, in general.

OP...for $700 you can do much better then the Sport or Freedom.  PSA has their complete lowers for under $200, Premium BCG for $100 and Premium Uppers for under $300 bringing your total to $600.

If its FN, PSA will clearly state it in the description. If it doesn't call it out, assume its not.