bfoosh006

Just for sh-ts and giggles... here is the pile of .308 cases used in the testing.... a nice big pile, filled more then 3 / .30 cal cans.

See !!! Good thing you didn't knock her up !

Next weekend.... I will try and sit down and shoot ... slower, more methodical 5rd groups with the various ammos that show promise. With a clean barrel ....

Lol...drainage gaps engineered in.... Perfect... Gotta love PSA !!

1. I think either the cotter key was soft, or the OEM violent cyclic action was messing with it... the new cotter key with the adjustable gas block is fine. 2. I have wonder about this myself... it of course makes sense... but as long as you do not torque the heck out the screws, ( another good reason why you should dimple the barrel, spreading out the force from the tipped screws... ) I would think you are fine. I have seen way to many USGI barrels with their tapered FSB pin hammered in tighter then Heck ( also applying force to the barrel ) .. fire spectacular groups. Maybe on the 6.5 Creedmoor barrel ( I am strongly considering ) I might use a clamp-on. 3. Always check headspace !!! I would, at the VERY least, have a gunsmith check it... having to wait a few days for him to do it is far better then the huge volume of propellant gas blowing up in your face. Also, since various brand parts don't have to follow a guideline.... you could easily have a headspace issue. On another forum.... I just saw some Tula that had cracked just above the rim, from a bolt action, it had cracked enough that had the rifle been a MSR... it probably would have been a full on KaBoom... the crack was 1/2 the way around the case head... if a MSR .308 had excess headspace, it most certainly would have been a kaboom. I realize we all want to go shoot it now... but, step back and seriously consider the possible consequences.... you wouldn't drive across the state with a questionable brake job on your car... so don't do it with something 8" from your face, eyes and such. Cycling issues can be from all sorts of things... not just a headspace issue. 4. Generally speaking... the Fed. 168gr Gold Medal Match fired quite well from all the barrels.... so do consider the FGMM. As for a less expensive round... the Sanitized DAG did very well from my barrels. YMMV. I suggest you buy some of all the cheaper surplus and see which round your barrel likes.... that way you will know for sure it is GTG. ( Barrels are like every person you have ever dated... while similar, they are all slightly different .

Lol....

Oops... and I will add, I doubt the scope is "bad"... just the parallax issue. I shot for a long time with a $99 Simmon's Scope 6.5-20x 50 ... this one, which is now $249 !! ( That shows how old I am ... Lol ) I still have it, and use it. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/746570/simmons-whitetail-classic-rifle-scope-65-20x-50mm-adjustable-objective-truplex-reticle-matte

I am going to guess that is a Parallax issue.... and you may not have noticed it in your lower powered scopes. https://www.targettamers.com/guides/rifle-scope-parallax-adjustments/ If your eye is not perfectly centered, every time, behind the scope... at that kind of magnification, it will throw your shots off.

Indeed it is ! A+ for effort !

The Eagle Eye 175gr SMK ammo issues.... Sadly, this ammo and barrel combo didn't like each other. Clear signs of over-pressure... and pierced primers, ( I can blow air through each case ) the little primer indentation disc wasn't allowed to "pop out". ( You can't see it clearly in the photos ) I will attribute the fact that I didn't have popped primers and those little disc's to a very heavy buffer ( 9.3oz), the added spring weight with the BCG closed from the Tubbs spring and an adjustable gas block... those 3 parts "retarded" the typically violent/ rapid cyclic action of the OEM configuration by just enough milliseconds to allow BCG movement and extraction at a more moderate chamber pressure.

5th Target... long day of shooting and I could tell I was getting tired. Also a special note about the last group pictured... 7rds of 168Gr FGMM... this group was from a filthy barrel... and the Criterion barrel could still shoot as good as when it was clean. 1st photo, 10rds Black Hills 175gr TMK 2nd photo, 10rds Speer / CCI 150gr Gold Dot 3rd photo, some more cheap Malaysian berdan primed 4th photo, Speer / CCI 168gr Gold Dot 5th Photo, Sanitized DAG again.... still holding its accuracy , even from the dirty barrel. 6th photo, another FGMM group, rapid fire. 7th photo, Horn. TAP ELD 168gr Precision 8th photo, This, to me is outstanding performance from the Criterion barrel.... final group of the day... after a full 30cal can, and 1 quart ziplock bag worth of spent ammo cases.... The Criterion barrel still shot like it was sparkling clean. 7rds 168gr FGMM..( I stopped with 7 because I thought I'd fubar such a good group ! Lol )

4th Target... 1st photo, 20rds Port surplus Ball, also from way back when. 2nd photo, 14rds Hornady brass cased 155gr Match 3rd photo, 10rds Horn. TAP ELD 168gr "AR" 4th photo, 10rds SSA 165gr Accubond.. this shot MUCH better ( through the Criterion ) then both the OEM barrels results . 5th photo, another spot check with 168gr FGMM 6th photo, 10rds Fed. MSR Fusion... IMHO excellent performance from and great bonded bullet. 7th photo, Fed. 130gr OTM.. labeled T762TNB1 8th photo, SSA 150gr Accubond ... much better ! ... mislabeled as DAG

Thanks !

3rd Target... 1st photo, 10rds South African Ball , the stuff from those tubs. 2nd photo, 19 of 20 shown, Current CBC / Magtech Ball.. kind of all over the place photo missing the one off target on top 3rd photo, 9rds PMC XTAC 168gr Match 4th photo, 15rds ? , Hornady Steel Match 155gr OTM... I have gotten great results with this and the .75gr .223 load.. so steel cased ammo can shot. 5th photo, 20rds '76 Hirt. Berdan Primed. 6th photo, 10rds, Aust. Outback 165gr SGK, soft point. 7th photo , 20rds, Sanitized DAG 8th photo, Eagle Eye 175gr.... only 5 shoots... the barrel and this did not play nicely together... almost pierced primers and obvious signs of pressure. More photos later.

2nd Target results.... 1st photo, that gawd awful ZQI...19rds shown, 20 fired... the first was so off my zero.. I had to find it. Much better performance then before... but still kind .. well, sucks. 2nd photo, 8rds more 168gr FGMM , I was curious if my grouping had shifted after the first ZQI shot... so this was of the fly. 3rd photo, 20rds Fed. AE 168gr M1A 4th photo, 10rds Winc. 147gr White Box ball 5th photo, 16rds '83 Hirt. ball, boxer primed

New Criterion Barrel shooting results... First off, the barrel was 100% GTG in all aspects... no issues with its performance, or its install, as a matter of fact I couldn't be happier with it. The online Criterion Barrel install video is excellent and I installed it just like it shows. ( Video # 3 ) I allowed the Loctite 609 about 35+ hrs to dry... prior to shooting. http://criterionbarrels.com/media/videos/accurizing-the-ar-15-video-series Kudos to Criterion barrels for a those videos. I do think the trueing of the receiver face and the Loctite 609 are important, and easy to do, if you have the barrel off. I suspect Criterions knows what they are doing , ;) Lol ... and the benefits are less flyers and more consistent group sizes. I could tell when I was screwing up a group.... and really couldn't fault the PA10 GII for those flyers. Here are the first groups of the day.. ( I did fire 6 rounds to get on target ) 1st photo, FGMM 168gr, 6rds 2nd photo, FGMM 168gr, 5rds or 6 ?.. I don't remember, I was to excited to try , more ammo. 3rd photo, 20rds BH 168gr Moly coated 4th photo, 20rds Fed. M118LR, happy about this one because I got a great deal on these from PSA ( $300 / 500rds. ..way back when ) 5th photo, 20rds rapid fire 168gr FGMM... most of them went into that ragged hole !! 6th photo, 10rds Atomic 168gr Nosler 7th photo, 10rds Maylaisan ball 8th photo 20rds 2016 MEN ball

IMI 20rd AR10 mag photos...nice thick "rubber" base, smooth positive spring action....easy to take apart, seats easily holds all 20rds, fed and functioned 100% Might be 2nd or 3rd favorite mag... 1st P-Mag, then D&H or IMI... D&H is 100% GTG and is slick sided, to in and out of mag pouches is very easy. Ignore the whit powdery look... that is just a Dri-film lube. And the sprng to the left is from the C-Products mag.

Appears to be the same follower... mine came in a much heavier plastic bag , and I can see from your photos mine is a lot rougher surfaced. Here are some photos, along side a M14/ M1A spring as well... and next to the IMI spring. Please pardon the Dri-Film lube ( whiteish powder ) on the various mag parts.

If it helps at all....mine also shows the same gapping. And it has fired many hundreds of rounds just fine. I did tighten up the fit with some of VarmintLights.com "X-Shim" kits... not a lot but enough to minimize the wobble. http://varmintlight.com/x-shim-kits/ I can't prove they help at all... ( accuracy wise ) , but they make me feel better. Decent photos... with the X-Shims installed.

As for the testing of the new Criterion barrel, a much more detailed "report" is coming.... but, to cut to the chase, it shot most everything better and I couldn't be happier. No problems at all with the Criterion barrel. I was at the range from 08:00 - 15:30... fired 100's of rounds, and still got nice, predictable small 10rd groups from its favorite ammo at the end of the day.... with no cleaning at the range at all... the rifle ran 100%. I fired all the different types of .308 / 7.62x51 I had with me.... I am guessing around 30-40 different rounds. 20rd or 10 round groups. The Lancers with their stiff springs ( probably not helped by the gas block settings ) caused sluggish feeding.... but all the other mags ran like champs... especially the P-Mags, D&H, and the IMI. One other brief highlight was the ZQI ammo no longer shots like a 25yd duckbilled buckshot pattern.... it is not a small group... but it is better. Also, while I am confident the new Criterion barrel helped with the group flyer issues... I can't help but wonder if trueing the receiver face and using the Loctite 609 helped with flyers.... I could see if I messed up the shot. I started realizing that the "flyers" were a result of me, more often than not, because of my poor bench skills....IE, not maintaining proper rifle holding skills. I guess what I am saying is.... true up your receiver faces and use the Loctite 609... I will even pull apart the 18" SS upper and do the same thing to it. I seriously mean it when I say thanks for all the help from this forum and from all you guys... you all helped instill confidence and offered help with a helpful demeanor, something that lacks at other forums sometimes... no one here ever looked down on the lowly PSA PA10 GenII. After some morning coffee and such, I will start photographing and reporting.

I would be very interested in seeing photo's of your C-Products... I forgot to mention, mine appeared to be painted ?!..... a fairly rough surface coating. Nothing like any of the other mags.

Just so you know....I know that if I can do it... you can do it. It truly was that easy, especially if you are mechanically minded. Even changing the barrel was ( with the right tools ) far easier then I thought it would be. ( Thank God.. ) As for the Adj. gas block... buy a good one and get the dimpling jig, drill gently, and re-watch the SLR install video... numerous times... Lol ( the whole measure twice, cut once thing ) I am glad you are enjoying your bargain rifle.

So I received the IMI 20rd mag and the C-Products 20rd mag.... The IMI is GTG, 100% function, drops free loaded and unloaded, holds all 20rds, has just the right spring pressure.... and is OD Green.. ;) The C Products is... rough cycling almost like it was binding with the BCG holds only 19rds if you want it to seat in the PSA PA10, doesn't drop free at all, the follower looks like something I whittled out of plastic, is NOT anti tilt .. and frankly looks like it uses a M14 mag spring, seriously....I can't say I will buy more C-Products mags.

Before I forget... I need to thank everyone here for all their help !! Thanks Guys !!

Thank you. With no mil-spec I was kind of concerned...( parts fitting wise ) but you are right.