I just ordered a PSA KS47, any issues or feedback from anyone who owns one? Im also looking for suggestions on optics and sights? just could not pass up the deal!
Thanks
Huck

There's several threads here about this.  The big issues are regarding there being nothing in place to keep the magazine from tilting forward and up and rubbing on the bolt carrier.  That causes cycling issues.  P-mags rub on the bolt carrier even if you don't press up on them and you have to let the bolt carrier wear them down or do it yourself with a Dremel or file.  One dude drilled a hole in his upper and inserted a screw in from the left side to act as a stop for the magazine.

The other issue is lack of any bolt hold open at all.  Not manual or on the last round.


Due to those issues, my ks47 is only a range toy.  Its fun, but I don't trust it to work 100% when I'd need it to.  So when picking out sights and optics, I say you can go with range-toy quality optics to match the rifle.  Mine has a UTG red dot and magnifier off amazon and some $20 sights.

Installed a screw? Could drill across and insert a roll pin..

That sounds like something PSA should address.

I've had a KS47 since late last year and with a little work, I've had zero reliability issues.  Mine is a 16" mid-length gas setup.  If you don't rest the gun on the magazine while shooting, it'll never miss a beat.  If you want to use the mag as a rest, you'll need to do a little work to make it feed reliably.  Some will dremel the mags.  Myself and a few others went the route of fixing the issue by working on the bolt.  The 4:00 and 8:00 lugs are what drags on the mag when the mag is pushed up.   I sanded those lugs down a little bit and radiused both ends of those lugs.  Since doing this, I can rest the gun on the mag and not have feeding issues.  I also changed out the buffer spring to a Wolff extra power and changed to an H2 buffer.  These changes also help with felt recoil and reliable feeding.

To say there is nothing to hold the mag in place is false.  There is a machined surface on the upper that traps the lip of the mag between the upper and lower.  The problem is that the fit is not tight enough to hold every magazine tightly in the mag well.  I've found the 30 round Magpul M2 mags have a slight amount of wiggle as does a steel combloc mag, but the 30 round Bulgarian polymer mags lock up tight with no wiggle.  The person who put the small screw in his upper to fix the problem came up with an ingenious fix.

The gun definitely isn't perfect out of the box and it really would be nice to see PSA address the problems, but with some work it has become a reliable weapon for me.  Here's a link to one of the threads that has some good info in it.  KS47 thread

Wow I was looking hard at buy one but ran across a Radical Arms 7.62x39 upper from Primary Arms during the holidays and bought it. With CPD mags it work 100% and I'm quite happy. Never had to work to get an AR to function properly, thankfully. I've bought a lot from PSA, it sad that they aren't getting this taken care of....

Serious question.

Have any of PSA's new "innovations" worked properly once released?

I know they finally sorted out their 9mm builds. But their AKs, 9mm/7.62x39 ARs, and AR10s seemed to have problems that should of been fixed before their initial release.

Some of them were down right shelved or even discontinued. It does not inspire confidence.

Wow thanks! I did not realize it had that issue. I have not received it yet to check it out.
Thanks again!

Is there a better AR in 762/39 I should check out?
Huck

The KS-47 upper+bcg on a milspec lower works fine if you get those silly looking AR 7.62x39 magazines.  You get the bolt hold open and the magazine and bolt issue is gone.  If you want to stick with the AK mags, there are at least 5 different ones out there.  BRS47, cmmg mutant, LAR-47, DDI's got one in development.  Out of all of them, the ks-47 is the cheapest by probably $400.  AFAIK, none of them have a bolt hold open.  I guess it has something to do with the geometry of the AK mag.

DDI's is a piston upper, side charging, and sealed back so no gas in your face shooting suppressed.  Their lower look almost identical to the ks-47.
CMMG is based of the bigger AR-308 bolt rather than the AR-15.

For me, I'm cheap.  The KS47 can be made to work better for a lot less than the cost of any of the competitors.  If DDI ends up selling a stripped upper for less than an arm and a leg, I'd like to get one of theirs to go in my KS-47 lower.

Isn't the KS-47 upper non-standard? I thought it was wider to accommodate the AK mags, and wouldn't fit on a standard lower. Haven't seen one up close so I can't say for sure.

I've had good luck with AR-15s chambered in 7.62x39 & CPD mags. I have AKs & AK mags as well but there's so much variation in surplus mag dimensions it's hard to make a platform that reliably runs them all. All AKs don't take all surplus mags either.

Overall I think the KS47 is a pretty good platform and a bargain on sale, I wouldn't mind having one if I could make room for one.

The CMMG Mutant is pricey but seems to be a good design. For $1300 there's other rifles I'd rather have first.

But if DDI brings their new AR-AK hybrid to market for under a grand that might be a winner. It has a lot of features I like and if PSA stamps their name and sells it as either a replacement or alternative to their KS47 it'll wind up being inexpensive.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-ks47-stripped-upper-receiver.html

works with AR15 and KS47 Lowers
Accepts AK and AR magazines when used with appropriate lower receiver

Interesting. Never noticed but their KS47 BCGs are marked 'hybrid' like their 9mm BCGs.
And per their website they work in both their KS47 and AR47 uppers.

So I could convert my PSA AR47 on a multical lower to AK mags with their hybrid BCG & lower.

Anyone know if the PSA hybrid bcg uses a standard 7.62x39 bolt?

They just shipped it, cant wait to check it out, hopefully no problems. Any thoughts on the Windham Weaponry AR in 7.63-39?

Just got it, looks good so far, I need rear sight for it, any suggestions? Most I have researched are for flat to without fixed front sight...
Thanks for all the info on this!!!!
Huck

get a refund, get a WASR and the zhukov kit

Ouch, that bad?

What are cdp mags?
Thanks!!

Probably CPD aka C Products Defense who makes AR-15 magazines and a new Gen III mag in 7.62X39 which supposedly work in the AR-47.

C products defense magazines.  Like these

here

Ohhh... THANKS!!

I wouldn't go with anything KS47 until they fix the issues unless you want to DIY. See link for mag over-insertion fix, the other issue is the bolt dragging on mags which means you have to either dremel the mag feed lips or reduce two lugs on the bolt to fix it. I really wanted to jump in when they first came out, but all the issues have me waiting for a gen 2 at the very least.

Fix: https://thisguysguns.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/psa-ks47-magazine-fix/

From what I understand, the only difference with the carrier is they shave off some material on the bottom to make room for AK mag feed lips. The carrier should work in any milspec upper, and the bolt should work in any milspec carrier.