bfoosh006

So.... as you all can see and IMHO... PSA can make a perfectly good 6.5CM upper. Buy one and enjoy it. I will post back after I have completed the receiver face truing and Loctite'd barrel .... hopefully the weather will allow chronographing as well. *Hold on to your AR-15s. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them.*

Hornady Superformance 129gr SST Creedmoor Sports 140gr Nosler BTHP Federal Fusion 140gr

Hornady 120gr A-Max FGMM 130gr Hybrid OTM Hornady 140gr ELD Match Norma Match 130gr HPBT..... very similar groups, box markings, case and bullet as the PRIME ammo PRIME 130gr HPBT Match

SIG Match Grade OTM 140gr Federal "Non-Typical" 140gr SP.... ( I was hoping these would do better ....Flat base and all ) Hornady American Gunner 140gr BTHP ... NOTE 2 separate groups with two separate POA Browning 129gr BRX Hornady American Whitetail 129gr Interlock

If I repeat some of the photos .... oops ahead of time. I think it would be easier then jumping back and forth between the posts. First the more accurate groups. Hornady Match 120gr ELD Nosler Match Grade 140gr HPBT Creedmoor Sports 142gr SMK HPBT Federal AE 140gr OTM

Some of the details.... 2 things I have to mention first.... The PA65 arrived missing the "slotted key" used to secure the free float tube to the barrel nut ... not a problem as I borrowed one from another PSA .308 upper. Next, I didn't receive the "High pressure/ small diameter firing pin bolt" , instead it arrived with a .308 bolt and firing pin..... BUT !! I had NO issues using the .308 bolt and .308 firing pin....none , no pressure signs... nothing. I contacted PSA concerning both issues and Fred is sending me all the correct parts !!! WHO says PSA CS can be troublesome !!! .... NOT me ! IMHO, PSA is correcting the issues as good as anyone could !! Onward to the good stuff ! Details on the rifle as it is currently setup... Upper.... PA65 OEM complete upper, 20", rifle length gas, SLR .750 clamp on gas block, Lantac .30cal muzzle brake, Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 The .30cal brake seemed to work good enough... well enough that I won't bother to buy a 6.5 brake. I mildly polished the feed ramps, and slightly polished the chamber with 0000 steelwool spun on a .30/06 chamber brush via a drill. NOTE: not a AR chamber brush...but one used for a .30/06 bolt action rifle. Lower.... The same setup I used in my .308 PSA rifle as seen in the other thread.... PSA "Multi" marked lower, LaRue MBT trigger, Magpul 1.1 grip, KAK 9.3oz .308 rifle length buffer, and a Tubbs .308 Flatwire spring. I will add... the lower has been polished at the full length inside of the buffer tube, magwell burnished, trigger face slightly polished. I also use Varmint Lights " X-Shims" to minimize the play between the upper and lower. I am one of those guys that believes it makes the firing the rifle accurately "easier" and more consistent in my shooting stance at the bench. I am happy to say, there was no interference from the barrel nut against the gas tube... the charging handle did not bind as a result. Frankly.... the whole upper was a trouble free affair... after changing parts ( that I wanted ... SLR , muzzle brake ) it was a plug and play deal. I fired it first with the SLR wide open... just to see how it was, It certainly recoiled less then the PSA .308 upper... but was certainly gassing more then needed. I adjusted the SLR to 5 clicks from closed... and was GTG with all the ammo tested. No hiccups, no sluggishness, and as mentioned before no signs of pressure issues.... the abrupt cyclic speed is now gone... I tried the Magpul 20rd, and 10rd mags, the Lancer 20rd, the IMI 20rd, and the D&H 20rd and 10rd mags.... all performed as meant to. oddly, my .308 doesn't "enjoy" the Lancer 20rd for some reason the BCG seems to drag with it.... no such issue with the 6.5 upper.... can tell the Lancer spring is strong, but in the 6.5 the Lancer never once was sluggish cycling. Factory Ammo.... As you will see... the PSA 6.5CM barrel had its likes and dislikes accuracy wise... perfectly normal. For the most part, and given its price point... I think the barrel performed very well. Onto the accuracy photos.... I didn't fire a bunch of 5rd groups of each ammo, just 2ea 5rd groups...showing the best of the 2.... the reason being, I will retest later after I true up the receiver face and Loctite the barrel into the receiver. I am hoping that will help with the overall consistency of the different ammos.... and help clean up the dreaded cold bore flyer, as well as some of the other fliers. Did I mention how happy I am with this upper !!

I am just sitting down to dinner.... but, just a brief preview of the better groups.... ( I will edit this post later, with considerably more info ) 100yds, benched, scoped, bagged front, wedge bag rear.... 5rds each.... PSA factory 20" barrel, SLR adjustable gas block, Lantac Dragon .30cal brake. Please bear in mind.... this is from an AR platform, yes.. IMHO, a bolt action would have most likely been more accurate.... BUT, from a $500 complete upper, I consider these groups to be outstanding Nosler 140gr HPBT Federal AE 140gr Hornady 120gr ELD SIG 140gr OTM

PRIME 175gr BTHP... BTW the biggest .308 box of ammo ever... and 2 groups, different POA And the rifle as it will remain configured.

A few other ammos tried... Federal 130gr Varmint HP ... big HP, I was worried it might not feed well, but no issues Creedmoor Sports 165gr SGK

Just a heads up for those interested in ....JP 308 Low Mass Complete Bolt Carrier Group Including Enhanced Bolt - Stainless $349... MUST login to see price.. https://dsgarms.com/jpbc-4spa

I should be able to get to the range this weekend to try the OEM 6.5CM upper and the .308 Criterion at 200-300 yds. Sorry about the delays... fecking tons ( literally ) of leaves are now at the recycle depot....

Thanks for sharing !!

Very Nice !!

Sorry to say .... The Criterion 1n8 was a typo. Criterion e-mailed this morning... should read 1n10 twist.

Thank You ! Enjoy that rifle !!

Criterion shows one....http://criterionbarrels.com/barrels/.308_AR/ar-10-hybrid "1018S-HYM" I just sent them an e-mail asking if it is a typo.

Link ?

VERY nice groups !! I am glad the rifle is shooting softer.. it is nice to see those mods work for others as well ! If you are interested... I still suggest the Tubbs Flatwire .308 spring.

My PA10 GenII works with ( in order of most consistent function as well as drop free ) Magpul 25rd, 20rd, and 10rd mags... and D&H 20rd and 10rd ( a tie between those 2 ) , Lancer 20rd and 10rd.. the .308 bolt kinda drags at times in the .308 uppers, but not as "bad" in the 6.5CM PSA upper ?! The IMI 20rd works well. The C-Products and Brownells ... while feed ok... are less reliable. And the Brownells spread the feed lips so bad, that when loaded with 20rds... insertion is frustrating ( as in slap the hell out of the base ) and drop free is never going to happen.

PSA sells the 6.5CM upper with a small FP and hole ... it is on the webpage and was confirmed by PSA on another forum. The PSA webpage says.... on the very bottom of the description ... Includes: High pressure/ small diameter firing pin bolt I will post photos of the differences later, the firing pin is different shaped, towards the tip..... as well as other info. That said... I believe I will try the .308 bolt.

Update on the 6.5CM PSA upper.... I got the 6.5CM Upper... but it came with the wrong bolt and firing pin... and no retaining key for the FF rail. I got a .308 Bolt and firing pin... same dimensions as my .308 upper's bolt and firing pin. Good news is, Fred at PSA is sending me the proper "High pressure/ small diameter firing pin bolt" and retaining key. Very nice to see PSA be so prompt with the correction.... Thank You very much Fred ! So .... at this point... I want to know everyone's opinions on firing the 6.5CM with the .308 ( larger firing pin and hole ) bolt. Am I asking for problems ? I'd like to think it would be ok. Or should I wait for the "correct" bolt and firing pin... I will post other photos later.... gotta say, I like the barrel profile...good n' heavy. Gas tube makes just a tiny bit of contact with the barrel nut... not enough to be concerned.

Jsnake711... Your barrel is fine.... the only way you could seriously hurt your barrel is if you did a dozen 20rd mag dumps in a row. Try shooting off a bag as well... some people do better with a bag and vice versa... As for accuracy... and no offense intended at all... but is this your first .308 AR ? If it is... IMHO , the PSA in its stock form is pretty over gassed... so if you are learning with a abrupt cycling rifle, it will be hard to focus on your shooting skills. And your learning curve / accuracy/ skills might be affected by the jolt of the stock gas system. In order to be consistent at the bench, you need to be able to focus on your skills ... not the rifle bucking you from every shot. IMHO, I would install an adjustable gas block to help tame the cyclic speed. It is quite easy to do. And.. your barrel might be a shooter or it might not be one... You are going to need to try a variety of ammo , to see what your barrel likes. FIRST.... Sooo... Check the basics first.... Barrel nut tight ( yes I have gotten a PSA 5.56 upper that had a hand tight barrel nut )....gas block tight...gas tube is free floating in the upper hole, no binding.... flash suppressor tight ( ditto on one of those hand tight from PSA ) .....,etc. If you don't have the tools needed... either buy them ( depending on your budget ) or take it to a gunsmith, tell him your reason for being there ( you doing the QC ) and ask him if for a "smallish" fee, if he could check it out for you and fix it. If everything is tight and GTG.... I'd buy the adjustable gas block first.... certainly prior to trying a bunch of different ammo. A softer cycling .308 AR rifle will make your time spent at the bench FAR more productive... and you will stay on target easier. As for trying different ammo.... buy the Milspec surplus first... I am still surprised how well the cruddy DAG shot.... I have seen numerous examples over the years ( and over the calibers ) of inexpensive ammo shooting better then ammo costing 3-5 times as much. Keep us posted on your progress... and don't fret about asking any question.... we are all more then happy to offer up our opinions !! Lol

Jsnake711... have you done any modifications to the PSA ? Or tell us what the current setup is... completely factory ? .. different buffer or buffer spring ?..etc..

Happy Halloween !!! Lol !!

Thanks to Hummer70 for linking these !!! Remember these started in 1991 and ran until 2001... so while the ammo may be old... the results are still very informational. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_PmkwLd1hmbd3pWYVVJeGlGaFE Mods... if there is a more suitable forum... please move.