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Posted: 1/28/2026 10:07:20 AM EDT
[Last Edit: chilehed][Edited]
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Hello, all. I've been lurking here for a while planning my first AR and now that I'm going to the range it's time to talk about where I am and invite feedback. I got a PSA phosphated pistol kit in 300 Blackout with an 8.5" barrel, mated it with an 80% lower, swapped in a Ballistic Engineering AR Core trigger and an adjustable gas block, and got a SilencerCo Scythe-Ti can (here's to the $0 tax stamp, hopefully all that mother-may-I crap will get totally dismantled someday). Magpul MOE-K2+ grip and angled fore grip, and an SBA5 brace. The buffer weighs 3.0 ounces. The sight's a cheap red dot I found on FB marketplace for $80, it works but I plan to get something better eventually (Holosun HS510C ?). I started doing subsonic load development using Sierra Gameking 205 gr and A1680, with CCI #41 and Ginex UN0044 primers. Brass is mixed. I'm using an RCBS single-stage with the RCBS Uniflow dispenser, and I checked each round on my little Frankford Arsenal electronic powder scale to try to keep the charge as consistent as possible. About every ten rounds I verified COL with my calipers; with the Sierra-recommended value of 2.124" my initial results are: CCI #41 Charge (gn) 11 11.2 11.4 MaxFPS 1088 1116 1125 Min 971 1014 989 Avg 1015 1047 1053 StDev 31.4 26.7 35.0 # of samples 20 18 16 Ginex UN0044 Charge (gn) 11 11.2 11.4 MaxFPS 1097 1082 1114 Min 907 930 958 Avg 994 995 1019 StDev 53.0 42.7 41.5 # of samples 17 14 19 |
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Assuming an evenly random distribution of brass types it looks pretty clear that the CCIs are more consistent and make better use of the powder. Also, I got one failure to fire on a Ginex, even though the pin hit it pretty hard. I’ll roll a couple hundred more of each primer at 11.1 gn and get more data. I’m not really happy with the SDs, but since this is intended for HD I can live with it and this is all range ammo anyway. I could separate the brass but there are at least ten different headstamps in my bin and it’d be a pain. I’ve put three or four hundred rounds through it and now there are a couple of wear spots on the inside of the receiver, where the rear end of the upper carrier rails are when the BCG is in battery. Photo attached, I can feel the divots with my fingertip. Can anyone suggest what might be going on? I thought I was lubricating it well enough; I’m using a mixture of about 25% Pro-Shot Pro-Gold grease in Pro-Shot 1-Step, am not stingy and absolutely didn’t miss that spot before I ever fired it. The last 150 rounds was with the can and it was very overgassed, the block was wide open and I had stupidly left all my tools at home; my plan is to set it just wide enough to lock the bolt back on an empty mag plus one more click. Anyway, it’s a fun piece. The suppressor is sweet, hearing safe even at the indoor range. |
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Your pic didn't attach - but matching twin divots near the chamber area are for the charging handle to go into the channel. If there's a different, rough edges, or irregular wear - for sure post a picture. Your loads look fine for regular 300BO, but I don't have suppressed experience. |
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Originally Posted By Cantshootstrate: Your pic didn't attach - but matching twin divots near the chamber area are for the charging handle to go into the channel. Okay, I figured out how to get a photo in. Looks to me like excessive wear on the carrier guides and the mating surface on the receiver. Attached File |
| If it's working right, I wouldn't worry about that. If it ever stops working right, buy new parts or a new upper. It's a basic PSA AR upper. It's nothing to fuss over. ARs in general aren't worth fussing over, even higher end ones. Shoot them until they don't shoot right, then replace parts as needed. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: If it's working right, I wouldn't worry about that. If it ever stops working right, buy new parts or a new upper. It's a basic PSA AR upper. It's nothing to fuss over. ARs in general aren't worth fussing over, even higher end ones. Shoot them until they don't shoot right, then replace parts as needed. Are you saying that this is normal wear? Worn spots in the upper over 0.1 mm deep after only about 400 rounds? That seems crazy to me. |
| Probably milled a tiny bit high and you have a tiny bit of bolt tilt. Once it wears in it'll stop. |
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Originally Posted By fxntime: Probably milled a tiny bit high and you have a tiny bit of bolt tilt. Once it wears in it'll stop. As long as it runs, it'll wear in for a little while until it normalizes itself. |
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Originally Posted By Thefryzone: Unless you're really good at cleaning things, it doesn't look like you've ever put any oil on it. Your bolt is wearing on the carrier rails and those need to be lubed I have a lot of experience getting lubricated parts extremely clean, and can assure you that the BCG (and everything else) was very well lubed. I specifically rubbed it into those rails on both the carrier and the upper, and then added more on both. I'm gonna polish those spots out with my ultra-fine stones and continue to monitor. Thanks for the feedback. |
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Originally Posted By chilehed: Are you saying that this is normal wear? Worn spots in the upper over 0.1 mm deep after only about 400 rounds? That seems crazy to me. Probably not, but I wouldn't ever notice something like that. If for some reason I happened to, I wouldn't give it a second thought. ARs, particularly PSA basic models, are beater, military-type rifles with plenty of margin for error and cheap, easily replaced parts. You're overthinking this AR thing. 90% or more of the "is this normal wear" threads are from users new to the platform. I would look at my choices as: 1. Keep shooting it since it works fine. 2. Call PSA to see if they'll exhange the upper. 3. Buy a new upper receiver and/or bolt carrier to see if it happens again. Nos. 1 or 2 seem to make the most sense to me. If you're worried about wear, I'm not seeing the point of stoning it, since that's just speeding up what shooting it more will do. It also might hamper your ability to get PSA to exchange it, if you want to go that route. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: Probably not, but I wouldn't ever notice something like that. If for some reason I happened to, I wouldn't give it a second thought. ARs, particularly PSA basic models, are beater, military-type rifles with plenty of margin for error and cheap, easily replaced parts. You're overthinking this AR thing. 90% or more of the "is this normal wear" threads are from users new to the platform. I would look at my choices as: 1. Keep shooting it since it works fine. 2. Call PSA to see if they'll exchange the upper. 3. Buy a new upper receiver and/or bolt carrier to see if it happens again. Nos. 1 or 2 seem to make the most sense to me. If you're worried about wear, I'm not seeing the point of stoning it, since that's just speeding up what shooting it more will do. It also might hamper your ability to get PSA to exchange it, if you want to go that route. Excellent counsel. |
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A place called Bowman Arms is selling M16A1 parts kits from Malaysia. These parts are splattered with red paint denoting "no good". People are replacing the cracked furniture and whatever making them perfectly functional weapons again. There are plenty of beat to shit AR platforms still performing in the field worldwide that look horrible, but work just fine. Run your rifle. Oil it, you don't have to be nice to it. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: Probably not, but I wouldn't ever notice something like that. If for some reason I happened to, I wouldn't give it a second thought. ARs, particularly PSA basic models, are beater, military-type rifles with plenty of margin for error and cheap, easily replaced parts. You're overthinking this AR thing. 90% or more of the "is this normal wear" threads are from users new to the platform. I would look at my choices as: 1. Keep shooting it since it works fine. 2. Call PSA to see if they'll exhange the upper. 3. Buy a new upper receiver and/or bolt carrier to see if it happens again. Nos. 1 or 2 seem to make the most sense to me. If you're worried about wear, I'm not seeing the point of stoning it, since that's just speeding up what shooting it more will do. It also might hamper your ability to get PSA to exchange it, if you want to go that route. Originally Posted By CatBacker: Excellent counsel. Originally Posted By gurn-blanston: A place called Bowman Arms is selling M16A1 parts kits from Malaysia. These parts are splattered with red paint denoting "no good". People are replacing the cracked furniture and whatever making them perfectly functional weapons again. There are plenty of beat to shit AR platforms still performing in the field worldwide that look horrible, but work just fine. Run your rifle. Oil it, you don't have to be nice to it. Cool. In my field wear like that signals impending doom; I'll keep shooting and see how things develop. Thanks again. |
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I’ve put five or six hundred more rounds through it and the wear hasn’t gotten noticeably worse, so as y’all said I didn’t need to worry about it. Thanks again. I ran a ladder with N110 and I much prefer it to A1680; it’s much less gassy, provides more consistent velocity, and is cleaner. Plus, it's 20% cheaper on a per-round basis. Sierra Gameking 205 Ginex UN0044 (4,5/3-P3) Vihtavuori N110 Charge (gn) 8 8.4 8.7 9.0 9.6 Avg FPS 971 1033 1078 1106 1178 StDev 11.7 13.6 9.6 17.7 10.6 # of rounds 10 8 8 9 8 I’d never handled a suppressed gun before and didn’t know what to expect other than “it’ll be a lot quieter”, which it is. But to anyone who’s where I was going into it and happens to stumble on this post, be aware that the talk about “the loudest part is the action cycling and the bullet hitting the backstop” is only true when you’re using hearing protection. When unprotected it’s not at all uncomfortable, but don’t think you’re gonna light a round off in the backyard and not have your neighbors know that something happened. It’s still loud. Listen carefully to the youtube videos that sound Hollywood quiet and you might notice an occasional echo coming back from the surrounding forest; that echo indicates what it’s really like better than the mouse fart that seems to be coming straight from the gun. For example, in this video the shot at 1:37: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgr-LQViItE&t=95s It’s really cool that at 1000 FPS you can see the bullet traveling between the muzzle and the target if the lighting’s right. |
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