PSA AR9

[jwilkinson6]

I bought a few boxes of WWB when I first got my PSA ar9. The first time I tried to load it the bullet was pushed way back into the case. After that it shot 200rds with no problems. First time I took it to a match, the white box wouldn't feed when started with a full 33rd mag.

 

Changed to some shorter reman ammo(highland lakes, angelfire) and everything began to work perfectly. This ammo measured from 1.08-1.11 OAL.

 

Any ideas on what the real issue is?

 

 

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[Flatland Shooter]

That's my only complaint about PSA AR-9 guns.  The lead on the chamber may be cut to factory specs but it requires we load ammo short.  My USPSA load is 147 gr Xtreme plated RN bullets loaded to 1.080" (max is 1.085").

 

Have you tried the "plunk" test on your ammo?  Drop a round in the chamber and see if you can rotate it.  If not, its too long and the bullet is catching on the rifling.  Ammo too long for the chamber can result in several issues like bullets sticking on unload and show clear (sometimes even pulling the bullet out of the case leaving it stuck in the barrel)  rounds failing to fully chamber and bullets pushed back into the brass casing.

 

Its my understanding that PSA now ships their guns with an improved barrel that has longer lead cut into the chamber.  But it sounds like you have one of the older barrels like mine.  You have several options.  (1) Load ammo short enough to pass the plunk test,  (2) Get the chamber opened up with a throat reamer, or (3) install a new barrel.  A 4th option may be to contact PSA and see if this is covered by their warranty.

 

Since the barrel is nitride coated, not many gunsmiths will risk destroying their 9mm throat reamers.  One exception is 1911luvr here on the forum.  He had some carbide reamers special ordered and can open up your barrel quickly and accurately.  He did one of mine and I recommend his work.

 

Once you get these bugs worked out, your PSA PCC should be good to go.  My primary match gun has over 7000 rds through it with only one minor problem.  The gas key screws came loose after around 6000 rds.  Changed out the screws and properly staked them and problem solved.

 

 

[OPENB]

Is it failing to feed, or is the bullet chambering, but is too long?  It sounds like the round is failing to feed, is slamming into the barrel face, causing bullet set back in the case, is that correct?  Buddy has a PSA factory built lower with a KVP barreled upper, with the exact problem. We're experimenting with buffer springs, heavier/lighter buffers, & changing OAL lengths. The factory lower he has came with standard weight AR buffer & spring. 

 

He was trying Federal FMJ that was 1.155". 

Edited October 23, 2017 by OPENB

[3GLewie]

I bought a new PSA AR 9 around labor day. I believe I have the newer barrel with the longer chamber.  I have had a few fail to feed issues, mostly due to my Taccom magazine splice with factory Glock mags (17/31). After speaking with Tim at Taccom most of my issues have been resolved. It has been feeding better with only one issue in last match due to a FTE, not the Glock splice. I did recently try some Federal Aluminum cased ammo with some issues, it fired out of battery, blew the primer,  and split the case due to bullet setback. Looked like the bullet slammed the back of the barrel face causing an overpressure. Since going back to factory Federal 115gr. brass cased only the one FTE. Also ran a few few of my 9mm reloads thru it with a OAL of 1.150 and 3.7gr. of Titegroup with a 124 gr. coated bullet and it seemed to run real well. I will load up some more and test it further over the winter.  I really like the rifle, it is a blast to shoot, even though it has had a few hiccups. For $500 I think it will be just fine

[Flatland Shooter]

4 minutes ago, 3GLewie said:

I bought a new PSA AR 9 around labor day. I believe I have the newer barrel with the longer chamber.  ....................... Also ran a few few of my 9mm reloads thru it with a OAL of 1.150 and 3.7gr. of Titegroup with a 124 gr. coated bullet and it seemed to run real well. ......................

 

I read somewhere that the new PSA barrels that allow longer bullets is stamped "PCC" near the muzzle.  If you have no problems running 1.150" loads, its probably the new version barrel.

 

I'm curios to hear if anyone has developed a load that shoots well through the PSA barrels at extended distances (100 yards minimum, 200 yards better still).

[TGibe]

12 hours ago, jwilkinson6 said:

 

I bought a few boxes of WWB when I first got my PSA ar9. The first time I tried to load it the bullet was pushed way back into the case. After that it shot 200rds with no problems. First time I took it to a match, the white box wouldn't feed when started with a full 33rd mag.

 

Changed to some shorter reman ammo(highland lakes, angelfire) and everything began to work perfectly. This ammo measured from 1.08-1.11 OAL.

 

Any ideas on what the real issue is?

 

 

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As Flatland Shooter mentioned I have the PSA upper marked as "PCC" and it will chamber out to 1.150+", but I found 1.135" to be perfect for me due to my bullet profile (MG 124g FMJ).

 

I added the Taccom ramp and ran it in a match yesterday with 220+ rounds without a single issue. I added the ramp because I had a FTF issue in the prior match and could see impact marks on the tips of loaded (but unfired) rounds. This weekend I put all of the rounds cleared after a stage in my pocket - later inspection showed no impact marks leading me to believe that the ramp is helping in my setup.

 

I have not tested accuracy for longer distances (greater than 25 yards) as I only plan to shoot this in USPSA PCC division.

[3GLewie]

I have considered doing the Taccom feed ramp and probably will over the winter just to eliminate any possible issues. $20 is cheap insurance and I work part time in a machine shop.


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[Intel6]

 

I just went out and ran a few hundred reloads through my PSA AR9.  I won it off a prize table a few weeks ago at the High Desert Classic in Albuquerque, NM. I initially went out with some Federal aluminum 115 gr ammo and it shot it but I had issues.  I ran some of my reloads with 124 gr Blue bullets and it seemed to like the 124 gr better.  Went out again yesterday with my new Glock 33 round stick and some of the ETS mags.  Shooting more of my reloads with the 124 gr Blue bullets I had initial problems with the Glock big stick and thought "Crap if it doesn't work with these I am screwed."   I then ran an ETS 31 round, a 140 sized 22 round and a regular 17 round mag and they all ran with no issues. I  then ran a stock Glock 17 rounder and another one with an Arrendondo extension and they all ran fine?  I was worried about the Glock big stick so I loaded it back up and it ran fine? I loaded it up again a few more times and had zero issues. I guess it just needed some more rounds through it to knock off the rough edges as it ran for another 150 rds without any issues.

 

As far as the barrel I am guessing it has one of the new versions in it. I looked for the markings but the gunsmith that built it (I assume he put it together) also did a custom cerakote job on it and the barrel was coated grey so the laser etching PSA does got covered up. My loads were loaded for Glocks so they were probably 1.140"  and they seemed to run fine. 

 

The next thing is to work on the buffer and spring and change out the trigger.   

 

Here is a pic of it. 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2017 by Intel6

[OPENB]

Did you guys PSA guns come with regular 223 buffers & springs? I thought it was odd it didn't come with a heavier buffer. 

[jwilkinson6]

I'll probably end up giving it some extra threat with the reamer. I did add a spacer to buffer system that did help with the recoil.


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[jwilkinson6]

 
I just went out and ran a few hundred reloads through my PSA AR9.  I won it off a prize table a few weeks ago at the High Desert Classic in Albuquerque, NM. I initially went out with some Federal aluminum 115 gr ammo and it shot it but I had issues.  I ran some of my reloads with 124 gr Blue bullets and it seemed to like the 124 gr better.  Went out again yesterday with my new Glock 33 round stick and some of the ETS mags.  Shooting more of my reloads with the 124 gr Blue bullets I had initial problems with the Glock big stick and thought "Crap if it doesn't work with these I am screwed."   I then ran an ETS 31 round, a 140 sized 22 round and a regular 17 round mag and they all ran with no issues. I  then ran a stock Glock 17 rounder and another one with an Arrendondo extension and they all ran fine?  I was worried about the Glock big stick so I loaded it back up and it ran fine? I loaded it up again a few more times and had zero issues. I guess it just needed some more rounds through it to knock off the rough edges as it ran for another 150 rds without any issues.
 
As far as the barrel I am guessing it has one of the new versions in it. I looked for the markings but the gunsmith that built it (I assume he put it together) also did a custom cerakote job on it and the barrel was coated grey so the laser etching PSA does got covered up. My loads were loaded for Glocks so they were probably 1.140"  and they seemed to run fine. 
 
The next thing is to work on the buffer and spring and change out the trigger.   
 
Here is a pic of it. 
 
 

The hiperfire trigger has been flawless


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[jwilkinson6]

Did you guys PSA guns come with regular 223 buffers & springs? I thought it was odd it didn't come with a heavier buffer. 

Mine came with a slightly heavier than normal buffer, but a normal 223 spring. Adding a small spacer to it seem to make the recoil impulse less clunky


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[DFABOVE]

 PSA is great about taking care of it's customers and will issue an RO to customers that are having feeding or functioning problems.If your barrel was manufactured on 08-01-2017 or later it will have PCC on the barrel and has been improved to function with a proper chamber depth as well as a taper to assist in bullet feeding .I bought mine in April and even started a thread on getting it to run.I sent my upper back with the RO and received my upper back with a brand new barrel marked PCC barrel and it now runs 100%.I have run everything under the sun through it with 100% functioning (all reloads).

[rishii]

One thing to check on the psa bolts is the roll pin holding the extractor in place

I was having extraction problems and it drove me nuts, replaced the extractor, reamed the barrel because I was getting stuck rounds,  nothing worked

then I noticed the extractor could be pushed back into the bolt tunnel because the roll pin was bent, when it went into battery sometimes the extractor would snap over the rim, others it would push back into the bolt and drive the round harder into the chamber and repeated cycling to clear the round only made it worse

i now consider the rollpin to be a wear item, every time I pull the extractor I’m replacing the roll pin

[vinconco]

20 hours ago, Flatland Shooter said:

 

 

I'm curios to hear if anyone has developed a load that shoots well through the PSA barrels at extended distances (100 yards minimum, 200 yards better still).

I have a New Frontier Match barrel that needed re chambered because the throat was too short.  I'm thinking most of these barrels came from the same manufacturer using the same worn out reamer.   New Frontier did eventually fix it for me.

 

I did develop a long range load for it that will consistently print under 6 inches at 200 yards.  It seems the bullet is the main factor in longer range accuracy.  I'm using 124 jacketed flat nose (RMR Matchwinners) over 5.7 IMR 4756 and a Winchester SR primer with a calculated velocity of 1175 fps.   Using my Applied Ballistics App and a BC of .156 I generated a firing solution out to 460 yards and was able to put hits on a 24" round by dialing up the drop on my Vortex 1 x 4 viper PST of 21.5 mils. 

Round nose bullets did NOT perform well past 100 yards.

 

Here is a video of me shooting a 10" square plate @ 200 yards rapid fire using this load.  (2nd part)

 

[1981Shooter]

Damn, really making that plate sing!

[Flatland Shooter]

6 hours ago, vinconco said:

I did develop a long range load for it that will consistently print under 6 inches at 200 yards. 

 

 

Vinconco, excellent information.  Thank you.