First range session with PSA PA10.

[mley1]

Hurricane Harvey delayed my PA10 lower and upper, and they finally arrived. I put my rifle together yesterday. And, I hit the range today. 

I mounted a Pentax Gameseeker III 8.5-32x50AO scope on it using Nikon P series mounts. I lapped the scope rings and got everything straight, and the screws all torqued down properly. I know the scope isn't top quality, but wanted to make sure I didn't handicap it with a poor mounting job. 

I had three types of ammo for this range trip. I had Remington Core Lokt 150grn, Federal Non Typical 150grn soft points, and Monarch 147grn steel cased fmj's. The most accurate ammo was the Remington ammo. Next was the Monarch. And the least accurate was the federal. Everything shot fine. I had two malfunctions that were not the guns fault. The first was a failure to feed. It was my 10rnd Magpul Pmag not fully seating and dropped down. It does fit a little tight. I may work on that later. The other malfunction was a stove pipe. I believe that was cause by the screen the range uses to separate shooters. I was a bit close to mine, and the round bounced back to the rifle, and was caught by the bolt. Just the case mouth was caught, with the rest of the case sticking out. First time I've ever seen that happen. 

I want to comment on the EPT trigger. While it did feel smoother than some AR's I've shot, the pull weight seemed heavy. I was left feeling I wanted a much better trigger. I seemed to feel that it was much heavier than any of my bolt actions, and that may have affected some of my accuracy  

I had no sand bags. I only used the boards the range has, and they were a poor rest. I sighted in with the Remington ammo. I was pleased with the groups. 3 shot groups were always around an inch or so, with 5 shots opening it up a bit to close to 2 inches. The Monarch was very similar. The federal had poor groups. Most were 3-4 inches. I won't be buying anymore federal. 

I took some pics of several targets. I shot 180 rounds. I apologize for not writing on the targets to indicate which groups are which. Suffice to say my rifle likes Remington ammo the best so far. Also, I don't know if the rifle is over gassed or not, but it does have significantly more recoil than my AR15.  However, it has much less than my bolt guns in 30-06 and .270.

To conclude, I gotta say this PSA PA10 is probably the best value .308 AR styled rifle on the market. I got the lower and upper for 579.00 plus 30 transfer fee. So 609 for the rifle. The scope mounts cost me 50, and my buddy gave me the scope. So I have less than 675.00 in the gun.

 

[mley1]

I forgot to mention that my shooting was done at 100yrds. I ran out of time, or I would have hit the 200yrd range. I do want to get a better rest for next time though. Trying to shoot off of a carpet covered board with not much else as support is difficult for accuracy.

[Sisco]

Glad to hear everything worked OK.

[mley1]

2 hours ago, Sisco said:

Glad to hear everything worked OK.

Thanks. To be honest, I was a little concerned reading reviews and seeing videos on the gen 1's. There were some issues with them. This one is a gen 2, and it looks like the issues from the gen 1 have been resolved. 

I think the accuracy potential for this rifle is good. I was happy that the Remington Core Lokts were the most accurate load this trip, as I like using that ammo for hunting. This rifle is destined to be my new deer and hog rifle. 

I want to comment on the scope for a minute. I experienced some large poi changes when shooting from 8.5 power and moving to 32 power. I zeroed at 8.5. When I tried to shoot using 32 power the poi moved laterally almost 6-8 inches. Elevation stayed the same. I didn't shoot at other magnifications. Although, I should have. I thought I'd leave that for another range session. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with the rifle. I'm looking forward to more shooting with it. 

[Malig8r]

Glad to hear your PSA rig is working out for you. With respect to your scope and changes in POA/POI; check this link out for a nice explaination on 1st vs 2nd focal plane scopes.

 http://rifleopticsworld.com/first-vs-second-focal-plane-scope/

[mley1]

Thanks for that info, and link. So, I'm guessing my scope is a second focal plane scope. Interesting, but I'm still a little confused as to why the change in poi. I've only ever used 3-9, or scopes in that range of power. So, I'm not used to using a scope with such large magnification.

[bfoosh006]

On ‎9‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 4:50 PM, mley1 said:

I forgot to mention that my shooting was done at 100yrds. I ran out of time, or I would have hit the 200yrd range. I do want to get a better rest for next time though. Trying to shoot off of a carpet covered board with not much else as support is difficult for accuracy.

Indeed it is !

A+ for effort !

[bfoosh006]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 9:23 AM, mley1 said:

Thanks for that info, and link. So, I'm guessing my scope is a second focal plane scope. Interesting, but I'm still a little confused as to why the change in poi. I've only ever used 3-9, or scopes in that range of power. So, I'm not used to using a scope with such large magnification.

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.

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2017 by bfoosh006

[bfoosh006]

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

[mley1]

On 9/10/2017 at 4:43 PM, bfoosh006 said:

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've got a couple Simmons scopes. One is a 3x9 that isn't on a rifle at the moment. I thought about using that one on the PA10, until my friend gave me the Pentax. On my bolt 30-06 I have one of the older Simmons 44mag scopes. It's been flawless for a long time. Once I zeroed it I've never had to adjust it again, ever. It's been a great scope. So far I do like the Pentax. It'll just take some getting used to, because I've never used a scope with that large of magnification. It's definitely not a woods hunting scope. I'll be using it on an upcoming deer hunting trip though. Me and 8 buddies go on a hunt up in the panhandle of Texas in December every year. It's a meat hunt, and we shoot nothing but does. We are allowed 3 each. The hunting area's are mostly fields, and mostly long range. Well, long range for me. Most of my shots last year were 200+, with one kill at a bit over 325yrds. For me, that's long range. I'm used to East Texas woods hunting, where shots are typically less than 100yrds. Sometimes, much less. And, I use a crossbow a lot. So, this long range hunting is not something I do a lot. I may also use it on a ranch out near Post Texas. I go there usually once a year to hunt hogs and aoudad sheep. Ranges can be long in the caprock country there. My longest shot there was close to 350yrds. On those hunts I typically have my bolt guns, the 30-06 Savage 111, or my Browning A-bolt .270. Once I get comfortable with a good solid load with this new PA10 it'll probably go along on those hunts. I have a feeling I may need to go to 165grn bullets or larger, from everything I'm seeing online, and youtube. It seems like these rifles prefer the heavier weight bullets. The ammo I have right now though is all either 147 or 150grn. The Remington 150's being the most accurate. With what little practice I've done so far, I'd be comfortable attempting a shot on a deer out to 200yrds with the Remington stuff. With a little more practice, maybe farther. I need to find some of the Remington 165's so I can see if they'll be more accurate. If they are I'll use them for the hunting. So far all I've seen is the 150's and 180's. I'm not ready to spring for the 180's, as the velocity is a lot less, and I'm not sure how badly that will affect my poi at longer ranges. I don't want to lose too much velocity by going to heavier bullets. I shoot the 165's in my 30-06, and they seem to be the perfect compromise in that caliber. So, I'm hoping to find some for the .308.